UNDRR News

One of the high points of this week’s Arab Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction came when a 19-year-old medical student took centre stage to read out a strong declaration on behalf of one of the region’s most endangered groups, children and youth.

The 19 Arab States meeting in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, this week have made a sweeping series of recommendations for inclusion in the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction which will be adopted next March in Sendai, Japan, at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The Sharm-El-Sheikh declaration calls for a strong focus on water and food security, the effects of climate change and extreme weather events, including drought, on dry lands and arid zones which are home to two billion people around the world.

There were calls today for gender to be mainstreamed into the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction in a major debate on the role of women as change agents for resilience at the 2nd Arab Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Agricultural drought and climate change are changing the landscape of the Arab region with enormous implications for food security, rural-urban migration and social stability, an expert told the 2nd Arab Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction yesterday.

The Egyptian governorate of South Sinai yesterday advanced a proposal to raise funds from the private sector and other donors, to combat flash floods such as those which destroyed exclusive parts of the Taba Red Sea resort area on May 8 last.

UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, yesterday described the post-2015 development agenda as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” when she addressed the opening day of the Second Arab Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

The 2nd Steering Committee Meeting of the UNISDR Making Cities Resilient Campaign came to a close yesterday in the city of Salford, Greater Manchester, UK, following two days of intense discussions on how urban priorities can be accommodated in the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

Greater Manchester today becomes the first UK city to join the UN’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign and has been recognized as a “Role Model for Total Resilience” because of its focus on implementing the Campaign’s entire ten-point checklist for building resilience to disasters.

Rice and sake from Fukushima are part of a charm offensive currently underway by the office of the Governor of Fukushima as Japan prepares to host the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March, 2015.

Disaster risk reduction is at the center of a raft of commitments and actions in the outcome document officially adopted today at the conclusion of the four days of the International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Samoa. The outcome document is titled SAMOA – SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action – Pathway.