Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Sustainable Development: DRR Action Planning Workshop

Background and Introduction

At the Third UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in March 2015, 187 UN member states adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 – the global blueprint for disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The Sendai Framework was the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda, with seven global targets and four priorities for action. It provides the way forward to prevent and reduce disaster risk and offers a solution to saving lives, livelihoods and assets as well as for reducing the fiscal burden on governments to bail-out the aftermath of failed ‘development’.

The Sendai Framework’s primary focus on stronger risk management is one of the key elements that binds together the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.  Implementation of the Sendai Framework, addressing a broad scope of both natural and man-made hazards and related environmental, technological and biological hazards, will substantially lower the level of disaster risk and losses, and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Under the leadership of national governments embracing all actors at all levels, and all-of-society engagement, the Sendai Framework is a means to protect the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of people, communities, businesses and countries.

Learning from the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA), the Sendai Framework recognizes the primary role of States and emphasizes the importance of local level actions. The framework specifies in its Priorities for Actions activities at local and national level.

Among its seven global targets (a) – (g), target (e) calls to: Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020. This precise target is shared with indicators of SDG 1 that calls for an end to poverty, SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities, and SDG 13 on climate action.

Within the guidance and spirit of the Sendai Framework, the UN member states have requested UNISDR to continue its mandate of facilitating the implementation, review and monitoring of the framework. Accordingly, the UNISDR provides training on disaster risk reduction with affiliated organizations to countries and relevant stakeholders.

Workshop Purpose

The overall purpose of this National Implementation of the Sendai Framework: Development of Risk Reduction Strategies and Plans workshop is to strengthen understanding of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in coherence with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the particular the role of states together with other relevant stakeholders in developing national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020.

Objectives:

Overall, the training course will provide an opportunity to:

• Better understand concepts and global trends in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation
• Understand the Sendai Framework and overall requirements for implementation at national and local level in coherence with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement on climate change – in particular
  
  SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15
• Understand how to develop a draft national DRR action plan towards the alignment of current plans against the Sendai Framework – in particular towards the achievement of Sendai Framework target (e) by 2020, shared by SDG targets on ‘climate action’ (13.3.1 and 13.3.2), and SDG indicators on ‘no poverty’ (1.5.3) and ‘sustainable cities and communities’ (11.b.1 and 11.b.2).
• Plan the way forward: scaling up capacity development on Sendai Framework implementation and aligning development plans and strategies with the Sendai Framework

Expected Outcomes

• Participants better understand the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, in particular, its expected outcome and goal, priorities for action, global targets, and the role of States and other relevant stakeholders
• Participants understand the core recommended components of supporting national implementation of the Sendai Framework – in particular, towards the achievement of target (e) by 2020
• Participants understand the UNISDR tools available for Sendai Framework implementation assessment at national levels and use them to identify implementation gaps and opportunities for action planning
• Participants become familiar with disaster risk reduction case studies to highlight and inspire implementation mechanisms by Sendai Priority for Action
• Participants understand how to develop a draft action plan with SMART indicators and objectives based on identified gaps, towards the alignment of current national and local plans with Sendai Framework by 2020
• Participants are equipped to plan the way forward– in particular, towards the achievement of target (e) by 2020