Bonn, 9 December 2018 – The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR, has held a technical forum to support monitoring of the Sendai Framework for Risk Reduction, the global plan for reducing disaster loss.
The event, recently held at the UN Campus office in Bonn, provided participants an opportunity to learn more about data collection and reporting requirements regarding the implementation of the Sendai Framework as well as to discuss and review relevant issues including coherence of the Sendai Framework with other global agendas such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
A total of 73 participants from 40 countries attended. The majority of them were from government, representing the Sendai Framework Focal Point Organization and a number of other institutions. Participants hailed from all part of the world ranging from Tonga in the Pacific to Barbados in the Caribbean. They represented institutions at the global, national and local level and included both senior leaders and technical staff.
Speaking at the opening, Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNISDR, said: “The development of the Sendai Framework Monitor, now in the third phase, already embeds Analytical module for validated data which allows the users to track trends and make comparisons across Regions, countries, targets and indicators.
“After the completion of two reporting milestones this year, this Technical Forum is a great opportunity to take stock, discuss lessons learned, find where the gaps are and improve what we are doing,” said Ms Mizutori.
Hon. Jutta Schmitz, Ambassador Liaison Office for the UN Campus from the Bonn Federal Foreign Office of Germany, commented: “Unfortunately, in many countries including Germany, there are still gaps in disaster-related data and national loss accounting systems. These gaps need to be filled as soon as possible to enable proper planning and monitoring.”
Also speaking at the opening, Mr. Thomas Helfen, Head of Division Peace and Security - Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, highlighted the important links between implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and other key development agendas and processes, especially the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.