6 August 2008: The World Bank, the UN International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction
and Recovery (GFDRR) have released an interactive report entitled ‘Climate
Resilient Cities,’ which provides cities and their governments with guidelines
to reduce their vulnerability to climate change and strengthen disaster risk
management.

The report, oriented towards cities in the East Asia and
Pacific regions, provides a tool to plan for climate change impacts and
impending natural disasters through sound urban planning.
The report encourage
cities to develop strategies for climate change adaptation and plans to
mitigate the consequences of future natural disasters, as well as ways to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the measures are as simple as:
increasing public awareness of the consequences of climate change; providing
more green space; encouraging people to walk or use bicycles; and increasing
the use of energy-efficient public transport.
Others require legislative
support and public investment, including providing alternatives to fossil
fuels, and improving the quality of public infrastructure and buildings. The
report provides examples of sound practices from cities that have already taken
measures to improve climate resilience, presenting a wide range of mitigation
and adaptation options.
It also gives local governments information to actively
engage in training, capacity building, and capital investment programmes that
are identified as priorities for building sustainable and resilient
communities. [The
interactive report]