13 January 2015: The UN Institute for Training and Research’s (UNITAR) Decentralized Cooperation Programme together with the Municipality of Santa Tecla in El Salvador hosted a conference on ‘The Role of Municipalities in the Post-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action on Disaster Risk Reduction,’ bringing together about 150 local government officials and municipal council members from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and the Dominican Republic to exchange best practices to plan for disasters and reduce risks.

UNITAR underlines the important role of local governments in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and implementing the Post-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action. The conference focused on, inter alia, how to integrate DRR and climate change adaptation strategies into urban planning. Participants presented on experiences in their countries, including on: security and disaster risk management in Ecuador, which has implemented a coordinated security to ensure citizen’s security and facilitate timely information to response to disasters; seismic vulnerability and risk reduction in key sectors, such as roads, schools, hospitals and airport infrastructures, in the Dominican Republic; and including disabled persons in DRR in Ecuador.

In addition, an International Training Centre for Local Actors’ (CIFAL) was launched in El Salvador. The Centre will facilitate collaboration between the governments and UNITAR to provide training to government officials and leaders from Central America and other countries in Latin America in such areas as DRR, competitiveness, leadership and the post-2015 development agenda. [UNITAR Press Release]