June 2015: Participants discussed the way forward from the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) and implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in the Asian region at the Disaster Risk Reduction (ISDR) Asia Partnership (IAP) meeting.
The Asia region experiences 80% of the world’s disasters from natural hazards, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Countries throughout the region supported the Sendai Framework’s emphasis on shifting from disaster management to disaster risk management (DRM).
The meeting discussed how to achieve the Sendai Framework’s targets in Asia, focusing on reducing mortality, numbers of people affected, damage to infrastructure, economic losses and improving early warning systems. Indonesia presented a roadmap for implementing the Framework over the next 15 years. Participants also considered how to mitigate drivers of risk, such as destruction of ecosystems, poor urban planning and non-compliance with building codes.
Also in June, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) endorsed the Sendai Declaration and the Sendai Framework. The UNGA also agreed on a resolution calling for the creation of an intergovernmental working group on indicators that will enable measurement of progress towards the targets over the next 15 years. In the resolution, the UNGA decides that the group will hold one session in 2015 and two sessions in 2016.
UNISDR Head Margareta Wahlström welcomed the UNGA resolutions. She noted the UNGA’s endorsement of “a major shift in emphasis from disaster management to DRM,” pointing out that “the world has ample evidence that the creation of new risk can be avoided and existing levels of risk can be reduced if we eliminate underlying drivers of risk.” Wahlström further emphasized that the Sendai Framework has “extended the scope of DRM to include both natural and man-made hazards with particular reference to environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks.”
UNISDR’s Regional Office for Asia and Pacific organized the meeting, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 3-5 June 2015. [UNISDR Press Release on UNGA Action] [UNISDR Press Release on IAP Meeting] [UNGA Draft Resolution: Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030] [UNGA Draft Resolution: Establishment of an Open-Ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Indicators and Terminology Relating to Disaster Risk Reduction]