26 March 2019: The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has published its 2018 Annual Report, which overviews results achieved towards the reduction of disaster risk and losses, including under the UNISDR Strategic Framework 2016-2021 and the UNISDR Work Programme 2016-2019 and its Results Frameworks.
The report notes that, in 2018, UNISDR launched the Sendai Framework Monitor to track progress against the 38 globally agreed Sendai Framework indicators and national indicators. By the end of 2018, 88 countries were using the Sendai Framework Monitor.
The publication highlights a new approach implemented by UNISDR in developing the UN Global Assessment Report on DRR (GAR), which now includes analysis on the expanded scope of hazards introduced in the Sendai Framework for DRR and focus on the systemic nature of risk. GAR 2019 is the first edition to be published since the adoption of the SDGs, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sendai Framework in 2015. It includes: an introduction to the systemic nature of risk in the context of sustainable development and interconnected systems; and an analysis of national reporting in implementing the outcome, goal, targets and priorities of the Sendai Framework and disaster-related SDGs. The flagship report will be launched at the Global Platform for DRR in May 2019.
In addition, the report notes, UNISDR launched a system for tracking voluntary commitments to implement the Sendai Framework, which provides information on implementation efforts to avoid duplication and maximize impact; adopted a Partnership and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, which sets out priorities and expectations for partnerships; and continued engagement with the science and technology community, the private sector, youth, women, parliamentarians and other civil society actors. UNISDR is also a member of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF), an industry-led public-private partnership (PPP) supporting achievement of the SDGs, the Sendai Framework and the Paris Agreement.
The publication reports on the regional DRR platforms organized in the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas and the Caribbean and Europe, as well as a combined Africa-Arab regional platform and a sub-regional platform for the Central Asia South Caucasus region. The regional platforms emphasized, among other things, the need for: coherence in implementation of the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement and the SDGs; and greater focus on increasing the number of countries with national and local DRR strategies and the importance of inclusion. The report notes that the regional platforms and data from the Sendai Framework Monitor informed global processes, in particular the 2018 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
According to the report, UNISDR provided over 4,200 local governments with tools, best practices and policy guidance to implement the Sendai Framework through the Making Cities Resilient Campaign.
The report also highlights cases from specific countries that have benefited from UNISDR support. For example, with technical support, Afghanistan established formal reporting mechanisms to assist in reporting against the Sendai Framework targets and the SDGs. In the Pacific region, an introductory training was held on using and applying the Monitor, which draws data from the Pacific Disaster Loss Database and can assess progress against the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific, as well as the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.
UNISDR worked closely with the SDGs Monitoring Unit of the UN Statistical Division in support of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IEAG-SDGs) and, as a result, all the Sendai Framework-related indicators have been classified as Tier I or Tier II in the SDG indicators. Tier I indicators are both conceptually clear, and available data exist for their measurement. Tier II indicators have a clear methodology but inadequate data. In contrast, Tier III indicators require methodological development.
The report flags that UNISDR continued to encourage DRR mainstreaming across the UN system, including by joining the new UN Sustainable Development Group and convening the UN Senior Leadership Group on DRR. It also sought to advance coherence in UN support to Member States’ implementation of, inter alia, the Sendai Framework, the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. [UNISDR 2018 Annual Report] [Report Landing Page] [ReliefWeb Update]