UN Bonn office to monitor global disaster losses

Source(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Scene from Codrington town in Barbuda after the category 5 hurricane in September 2017 (UN Photo/Rick Bajornas)
Scene from Codrington town in Barbuda after the category 5 hurricane in September 2017 (UN Photo/Rick Bajornas)

BONN, 17 October 2017 – The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr. Robert Glasser, today announced that next year will see the start of worldwide monitoring of disaster losses from extreme weather events and earthquakes through the Bonn office of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

Speaking at the UN Campus in Bonn, Mr. Glasser said: “The accumulation of disasters over the last 12 months underlines how important this work is to understanding how we can prevent and mitigate disaster impacts and switch from disaster management to disaster risk management. We need to get better at identifying what works in reducing disaster losses if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and eradicate poverty, particularly given the impact of climate change.”

Mr. Glasser continued: “The key task of the Bonn office will be to support governments as they report on progress in reducing loss of life, reducing the numbers of people affected by disasters, reducing economic losses and damage to critical infrastructure as agreed in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which was adopted by UN Member States in 2015 and has a deadline of 2030.

“The Sendai Monitor will be launched in Bonn early next year and many countries have already carried out a data readiness review in preparation for that. This work is also important to another Sendai Framework target which is to have a substantial increase in the number of national and local strategies for disaster risk reduction in place by 2020.

“Locating this work in Bonn will encourage greater integration of work on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is also located here. It positions us well to participate fully in discussions on national climate change adaptation plans and we will be active at the forthcoming COP23 climate conference here in Bonn next month.”

Also featured on
Attachments
Country & Region
Share this

Is this page useful?

Yes No Report an issue on this page

Thank you. If you have 2 minutes, we would benefit from additional feedback (link opens in a new window).