The PDF version of
the report can be viewed at http://drm/Newsletter/WCDRR_Report_170315_from_Sendai.pdf and to view photos of the fourth day proceedings of
WCDRR, please visit http://www.iisd.ca/isdr/wcdr3/17mar.html Thanks. G. Padmanabhan and Mahendra.R.
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Day Four
-17 March 2015
The
Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Sendai, Japan. 14-18,
March 2015.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Negotiations
at the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) gathered
pace in Sendai, Japan, as delegates worked in informal drafting groups aiming
to finalize the post-2015 framework for DRR for adoption at the end of the
conference on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a high-level partnership dialogue took
place in the morning on “Inclusive DRM: Goals, Communities and Groups,” and a
ministerial roundtable convened on public investment strategies for DRR in the
afternoon. Several working sessions also took place on food security and
disaster-resilient agriculture, children and youth, and the participation of
persons with disabilities in inclusive DRR.
Country
delegations continued their delivery of formal statements in a general exchange
of views that included accounts of disaster impacts and DRR strategies,
development of legislative frameworks and education as a key component of
national DRR strategies.
MAIN
COMMITTEE
The
Main Committee convened informally in the morning, after having engaged in
detailed textual discussions until 3 am on Tuesday morning.
Delegates
noted that implementation of the post-2015 framework for DRR would require
UNISDR to be significantly “more activist” in future, especially in relation to
interacting with other sustainable development processes, but that UNISDR
currently had limited resources compared with many other UN agencies.
Delegates
discussed possible review processes for the post-2015 framework for DRR,
including the UN General Assembly’s integrated and coordinated follow-up
processes to UN conferences and summits, potentially involving one or more of
ECOSOC, the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) and the quadrennial comprehensive
policy review. Margareta Wahlström, UNISDR, said UNISDR’s existing reporting
approaches would be the basis for complying with broader UN review processes.
Delegates
also discussed the timing of periodic reviews of progress, and developing
country delegates noted that continuing to conduct biennial reviews would
involve significant resources.
Delegates
discussed establishment of an open-ended intergovernmental expert working group
to develop possible indicators to measure progress in DRR. Developing country
delegates expressed concern about the potential resource implications and the
need for balanced representation. Developed country delegates suggested the experts
be appointed by governments, and that the UNISDR Scientific and Advisory Group
(STAG) should support the group with technical advice.
At
mid-day, the Co-Chairs circulated two non-papers for discussion, capturing the
Main Committee’s discussions of key unresolved issues contained in the
preambular text, description of the expected outcome and goal of the framework,
and guiding principles, as well as paragraphs on international cooperation and
technology transfer.
In
the afternoon, the Committee reconvened and decided to continue “informal
informal” negotiations on the main unresolved issues in two working groups with
twelve countries represented in each: one group on climate change and
international cooperation, and the other on technology transfer and other
issues. The working groups continued discussions late into the night.
HIGH-LEVEL
PARTNERSHIP DIALOGUE
Inclusive
Disaster Risk Management - Governments, Communities and Groups Acting Together:
Noel
Arscott, Minister of Local Government & Community Development, Jamaica,
chaired the session, while Veronica Pedrosa, media correspondent, moderated.
Anote Tong, President, Kiribati, delivered a keynote speech, noting the need to
establish DRR legislation and overcome international bureaucracy in accessing
global funds for DRR and climate change.
Laila
Iskander, Minister of Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements, Egypt, underlined
the role of NGOs as trust-builders between the government and local
communities. Fatimatou Abdel Malick, Mayor of Tevragh-Zeina, Mauritania,
emphasized the need to preserve the rights of communities.
Nicola
Valluzzi, President of the Province of Potenza, Italy, highlighted work in
building resilience at the local level, stressing the need to consider cultural
attitudes to risk management in DRR policymaking.
Anthony
Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF, called for children in vulnerable communities
to be involved in assessing risk, citing examples of youth involved in disaster
mapping, reconstruction and restoration efforts in Nepal, Brazil and Japan.
Underscoring
the need to “leave no one behind,” Carlos Kaiser Mansilla, ONG Inclusiva,
proposed inclusion standards for DRR. Josephine Basibas Castillo, Damayan ng
Maralitang Pilipinong Api Inc., the Philippines, said involving grassroots
communities in DRR planning and implementation reduces corruption in projects
and programmes and facilitates scaling up of DRR solutions.
Participants
commented on, inter alia:
creating a “partnership of equals” between researchers and local communities;
building virtual inclusive DRR communities; and encouraging media to be
proactive in providing accurate information as a part of DRR efforts.
MINISTERIAL
ROUNDTABLE
Public
Investment Strategies for DRR: Raed Arafat, Secretary of State, Department
of Emergency Situations, Romania, chaired the event.
Speakers
gave examples of national actions, including the establishment of dedicated
funds, making use of tax revenue, and allowing a percentage of public investment
to be spent on DRR. Participants highlighted the importance of transforming
institutional arrangements, for example, by harmonizing funds for climate
change and DRR, as well as guiding investments to areas in most need through
disaster mapping.
Egypt
described three sources of funds for DRR investments: property registration
fees for residents of informal settlements who have already invested money in
their dwellings; domestic banks; and national budget allocations. El Salvador
called for eliminating corruption in the construction industry as part of
disaster prevention measures. Vietnam and several other developing countries
noted their limited resources for public investment and expressed their need
for international support for DRR investment, including through ODA. The East
African Community noted its emphasis on investing in, or promoting private
sector investment in high quality infrastructure, including through tax
incentives. Uzbekistan has put in place a programme aimed at technical and educational
measures to address earthquake vulnerability at the local community level. Cabo
Verde noted the difficulties faced by small, poorer countries in preparing for
severe disaster events, highlighting it has suffered a volcanic eruption for
the last three months, destroying infrastructure.
The
World Meteorological Organization noted that over the last five years, 90% of
disasters have been caused or aggravated by weather and water, the impacts of
which could have been significantly ameliorated through better early warning
systems (EWS), which generate a very high return on public investment. The UN
Economic Commission for Europe noted that cross-sectoral approaches to
assessing projects, which also involve finance ministries, will have a better
chance of obtaining public funding. Youth Beyond Disasters called for greater
public investment in technology. A Palestinian local government participant
called for the opening of borders during disaster events.
WORKING
SESSIONS
Food
security, disaster-resilient agriculture and nutrition: Amir Abdulla, Deputy
Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP), moderated the session.
Dominique
Burgeon, Director, Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, FAO, highlighted the
need to strengthen DRR planning in agriculture and improve EWS on extreme
weather and food insecurity. Amb. Shameem Ahsan, Bangladesh, presented national
measures to improve crop diversity, resistance to pests and storage systems.
David Farrell, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Barbados,
recounted efforts to strengthen EWS, including through structures that ensure
information is delivered. He highlighted the work of the Global Framework for
Climate Services, and the regional Climate Outlook Forums that develop weather,
health and agriculture scenarios for the Caribbean.
Other
speakers explained how resilience measures had served to mitigate the impacts
of floods and drought, with examples from Ethiopia, Kenya and Namibia, also
noting Kenya’s establishment of a National Drought Management Authority.
Children
and Youth – Don’t Decide My Future without Me: Ahmad Alhendawi, UN
Special Envoy for Youth, moderated this session, inviting children and youth to
showcase their aspirations and actions to advance an ambitious DRR agenda.
Keynote speaker Anthony Lake, Director-General, UNICEF, said that children and
youth are part of the solution for coping with disasters. He highlighted the
importance of school safety and measures such as swimming lessons as practical
steps towards effective DRR. Children and youth representatives called for new
avenues to participate in decision making. Themes raised in the debate
included: budget allocation for youth engagement; importance of youth in
volunteering; global solidarity; and inter-generational equity and links to
human rights. Alhendawi concluded the session stating that children and youth
must be perceived as “an asset to save the future.”
Proactive
Participation of Persons with Disabilities in Inclusive DRR for All: Monthian Buntan, UN
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, moderated the session.
·
Yohei
Sasakawa, Chairman, The Nippon Foundation, Japan, expressed hope that
accomplishments at the WCDRR will help to advance disability inclusiveness in
global development including the SDGs.
·
Setareki
Macanawai, Chair, Pacific Disability Forum, Fiji, called for the implementation
of multi-hazard and multi-sectoral disability-inclusive DRR policies.
·
Underlining
the importance of planning “with” and not “for” communities, Marcie Roth,
Federal Emergency Management Agency, US, stressed that the role of people living
with disabilities must not be “tokenized.”
·
Satoko
Akiyama, Bethel’s House, Japan, performed a role play demonstrating a process
of developing early warning messages with people with disabilities, as well as
those with post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and depression.
·
Sonnia
Margarita, The World Federation of the Deaf Blind, called for government
support for measures including educating children on communicating with the
deaf-blind.
·
Paul
Njoroge, Senator, Kenya, lamented that only 16% of people with disabilities in
his country held paid employment, which, he stressed, deepened their
vulnerability.
·
In
closing, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Latvia,
highlighted the efforts made by the EU in creating a disability-inclusive
regional DRR framework.
IN
THE CORRIDORS
Tensions
ran high on Tuesday morning in the Main Committee, as delegates resumed
discussions after a very late night. The mood was sufficiently overcast to
prompt the host country to make an appeal from the podium, urging delegates to
show “the spirit of compromise” to enable the post-2015 framework for DRR to be
agreed and a political declaration to be crafted. While most remained confident
of agreement being reached by Wednesday, the slow pace of progress on sensitive
text led one delegate to make “a firm prediction of an all-nighter” for already
weary delegates.
Commenting on the relatively intense
politicization of the DRR process at this conference, one delegate sighed, “If
this was being held after the SDGs and the climate COP, instead of beforehand,
it would be so much easier.” Another, however, welcomed the sudden injection of
new energy through the leadership of countries that are “politically far
apart,” but united in their ambition to move the process forward. While some
countries protested that they did not feel represented by the newly formed
drafting groups, the majority seemed willing to fall in line with some
delegations’ calls for a greater level of trust and goodwill. They were
encouraged, in this, by the appearance of roses in the meeting room, flown in
courtesy of one of the negotiating countries. With the hosts having generously
provided dinner in anticipation of a long night, delegates hunkered down to
thrash out their differences.
IISD Reporting
Services,
WCDRR,
Sendai, Japan.
