Central Asia and South Caucasus Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction Facilitating effective implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

The need for a Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction for Central Asia and South Caucasus (CASC) to facilitate focused dialogue and strategic planning similar to the other regions has been strongly voiced in regional discussions leading up to the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), held in Sendai, Japan, in March 2015. 

The CASC Regional Platform meeting will convene national authorities and relevant stakeholders to discuss specific measures for effective planning and implementation of the Sendai Framework in the region, including planning and implementation guidance, training and capacity enhancement, as well as plans of action, commitments, benchmarks and indicators of progress. The potential and modalities of how the regional platform mechanism can optimally benefit the region will also be explored.

CASC Regional Platform for DRR will be followed by a two day Training of Trainers Programme: 'Guidance on planning and implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR'. The ToT aims to strengthening understanding of the Sendai Framework for DRR  and develop capacity on how to use tools proposed by UNISDR to identify gaps and develop action plans to align policies and plans for implementation, as well as to support the advancement of capacity development initiatives for DRR and resilience building in the countries of the CASC region.

What's Included

The proposed Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in CASC aims to:

1. Discuss and agree on policy guidance and support required for effective planning and implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in the region; at the national and regional levels
2. Take stock and assess the status of implementation of Sendai framework for Disaster Risk Reduction at the national and regional levels, update and identify areas for priority action
3. Facilitate planning and implementation with guidance, training, capacity enhancement and support required in the region through partnerships, guidance for resource mobilization
4. Discuss plans of action, commitments, benchmarks and indicators of progress at the national and regional levels
5. Support the contribution and learning of the CASC region, inform and build on the global and regional platforms, policy forums and guidance processes, including Asia Ministerial Conference for DRR (AMCDRR), the Worldwide Initiative for Safe Schools (WISS), Global Platform for DRR, and the UN Plan of Action on DRR for resilience. 

Intended Audience

Taking into consideration that Sendai Framework calls for ‘risk sensitive development’, and ‘investing in disaster risk reduction as a precondition for developing sustainably’, participation will include multiple stakeholders from disaster and climate risk management as well as from main development sectors. Accordingly, Ministers and senior representatives of disaster management, Ministries of development planning and finance, economic and social sector development, representation of sectoral development, ministries such as Education and Health, environment and natural resource management will be invited to join. Further, the representation of the regional research, scientific and technical institutions, the private sector, media, UN agencies engaged in disaster risk reduction, the regional development partners and donor community, and the representation of key thematic areas such as risk assessment, gender and social inclusion will be actively sought.