Aqaba declaration on disaster risk reduction in cities

A declaration by the Mayors and Local Government representatives together with National Government Officials emphasizing the importance of reducing disaster risk in Arab cities, in which the participants of the First Arab conference for disaster risk reduction recognize the vulnerability Arab cities and towns to disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, flooding, flash flooding and storms, as well as to climate change induced droughts, desertification, flash flooding, and storms leading to food insecurity. They call for: (i) sustainable development principles to be closely linked to urban development planning across all sectors, including infrastructure, environment, energy and socio-economic development, in order to to increase resilience to disaster; (ii) strong disaster risk management policies and functional implementing institutions; (iii) sufficient investments in disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities; and (iv) for the engagement of civil society organizations in strengthening capacities and enhancing community awareness.

Recalling the World Disaster Reduction Campaign 2010-2015 Making Cities Resilient: "My city is getting ready!" and the Mayors’ Statement on Resilient Cities at the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, they resolve to 16 actions, including: set up a dedicated local unit for planning and management of DRR strategies, recommend issuance of legislations and ensure enforcement of laws and regulations, allocate between 1% and 5 % of city’s annual budget for DRR, prepare at least one risk assessment report of the city, prepare city’s DRR strategy, implement at least one public awareness campaign, recommend the development of education and training programmes on DRR, build or restore at least two infrastructure, ensure the implementation of disaster mitigation measures in schools and hospitals, monitor the enforcement of building regulations, setup a municipal early warning committee, setup local community volunteer groups, implement at least two schemes to protect natural resources and mitigate disaster risks, pay special attention to historical sites and world cultural heritage, strengthen joint cooperation among Arab cities and towns, and announce the 21st of March every year the Arab Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.