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Title	Date	Type
Funding crucial for national disaster prevention plans In an era of climate change, countries without national disaster prevention plans will find their cities and municipalities repeatedly engulfed by disasters, warned Philippine Senator Loren Legarda, UNISDR Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in the Asia Pacific, who said governments should not be “content with post-disaster relief and rehabilitation” alone.	29 Dec 2011	News briefs
DRR gains media attention in India When a city joins the 'Making Cities Resilient' campaign, the media gets very active, explained Piyush Ranjan Rout, co-founder and Executive Director of the Local Governments Network, a non-government organization in Bhubaneswar, India.	28 Dec 2011	News briefs
More Lebanese cities pledge to become resilient In 2010, Beirut, Baalbek, Byblos, Tyre, Saida and Tripoli, six of Lebanon’s most prominent and historic cities, together joined the UN’s “Making Cities Resilient” campaign, signalling a strong intent to improve their people’s safety and preparedness. Today, the number of Lebanese cities in the campaign has grown to 58.	26 Dec 2011	News briefs
DRR exchange between Japan and the Philippines UNISDR has organized an exchange visit between the Philippines and Japan, two of the countries worst-affected this year by a series of disasters ranging from a major earthquake which triggered a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in Japan, and back-to-back typhoons in the case of the Philippines...	22 Dec 2011	News briefs
Strengthening impact of cities campaign The UN office for disaster risk reduction, UNISDR, and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability have completed a four-month pilot test of the Local Government Self-Assessment Tool (LG-SAT) designed to help disaster risk reduction efforts in over 1,000 cities and local governments that have signed up to UNISDR's global "Making Cities Resilient" Campaign. LG-SAT has been made possible with funding from the World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid branch, ECHO.	14 Dec 2011	News briefs
Venice braces for climate change It's one of the world's greatest cultural attractions. About 20 million tourists pour through its streets each year and travel its waterways. Venice, Italy, sits at sea level, and any changes in the mean sea level leaves the city open to floods, endangering the artistic and cultural heritage of this 1,000-year old UNESCO world heritage site.	13 Dec 2011	News briefs
Disasters now key in multinational country assessments Disaster risk is now a key factor influencing the way corporations look at living standards, particularly when structuring compensation packages for expatriate employees.	12 Dec 2011	News briefs
Mexico City brings some good news to COP17 While good news remains in short supply from the main climate change talks here in Durban, there is a growing sense that local government is taking the lead on mitigation and adaptation without waiting for their central governments to direct their efforts.	8 Dec 2011	News briefs
Adaptation Charter – good start to the week The Durban Climate Change Adaptation Charter for Local Government adopted yesterday was hailed by UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlstrom, as "the best possible start to a critical week in the life of this planet when we so urgently need real leadership on mitigation and adaptation."	5 Dec 2011	News briefs
UNISDR welcomes local government focus on climate adaptation The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the Durban Climate Change Adaptation Charter for Local Government agreed yesterday by Mayors from around the world as "the best possible start to a critical week in the life of this planet when we so urgently need real leadership on mitigation and adaptation.	5 Dec 2011	Press release
Invest today for a safer tomorrow says President Zuma South African President, Jacob Zuma, borrowed the UNISDR slogan "invest today for a safer tomorrow" when he spoke today at the opening of the Durban Local Government Convention which aims to develop an Adaptation Charter this weekend which will feed into the high-level segment of the UNFCCC-COP17 climate change negotiations.	2 Dec 2011	News briefs
ICLEI takes the lead on climate change Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) is the driving force behind a major effort to have the voices of cities and local governments heard at the UNFCC-COP17 climate negotiations in Durban.	2 Dec 2011	News briefs
Action plan for disaster risk reduction takes shape in the Arab region The League of Arab States (LAS) and UNISDR move one step closer to a plan of action on disaster risk reduction for the Arab region. The action plan is expected to be endorsed at the first-ever Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Arab region planned for 2012.	23 Nov 2011	News briefs
Kristianstad inspires with flood protection measures The municipality of Kristianstad in Southern Sweden, one of over a thousand cities that have now joined UNISDR’s World Disaster Reduction Campaign (2010-2015) - Making Cities Resilient: "My city is getting ready" was recently awarded role model status by UNISDR.	22 Nov 2011	News briefs
Thirty-Six more local governments in Philippines sign up for Making Cities Resilient Campaign Today 36 more cities in the Philippines signed up to UNISDR’s ‘Making Cities Resilient Campaign: My City is Getting Ready!’ They joined the Campaign during the 3rd League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) Global Convention and Exposition in Manila on the theme of Bridging Cities, Transforming Lives.	18 Nov 2011	News briefs
Community resilience gaining ground in Asia Seeking new ways to strengthen community resilience, city officials from Thailand and Viet Nam today began a two-day exchange with counterparts in the Philippines to examine the award-winning “Purok system” used by the city of San Francisco, Philippines, to empower ordinary people to find solutions for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.	14 Nov 2011	News briefs
UNISDR head meets with private sector in China to discuss disaster risk reduction The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, is in China today for a first round of consultations on disaster risk reduction with entrepreneurs and business people.	8 Nov 2011	Press release
Role Model Cities Highlight Campaign Benefits Role model cities from around the world are meeting for two days in Geneva to brainstorm the next phase of the campaign “Making Cities Resilient – My City is Getting Ready!” and have agreed on extending it to 2015.	1 Nov 2011	News briefs
Disaster management under pressure in Nicaragua As the number of people in Central America affected by tropical depression 12-E rises to 1.9 million, the UN has launched its second flash appeal in two days and is now asking for US$14.3 million to assist Nicaragua which is being devastated by heavy rainfall and floods.	28 Oct 2011	News briefs
Turkish earthquake puts building practices in the spotlight says UNISDR The tragic loss of life in yesterday’s earthquake in the Ercis region of Turkey and the reported collapse of almost 1,000 buildings underlines the importance of providing the right incentives and information to builders and owners in the world’s most dangerous earthquake zones, says UNISDR, the UN office for disaster reduction.	24 Oct 2011	Press release
Egypt celebrates the International Day for Disaster Reduction side by side with children and youth UNISDR, the UN's disaster risk reduction office, in Egypt joined events around the world to celebrate the International Day for Disaster Reduction, 13 October, with the theme of recognizing the role of children and young people as partners in disaster risk reduction.	23 Oct 2011	News briefs
Lebanon puts army and civil service on front line of risk reduction UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the news that both the Lebanese Army and the National Institute of Administration, the country’s civil service, are to make disaster risk reduction a core element of staff training.	21 Oct 2011	Press release
Many children dying and jobs being lost in Asian floods says UNISDR The floods which have affected eight million people across South East Asia, and which now threaten Bangkok, have underlined shortcomings in disaster risk reduction with many children drowning because they cannot swim, and thousands of workers now unemployed because of poorly located manufacturing plants, the Head of the UN’s Bangkok Office for Disaster Reduction, UNISDR, Jerry Velasquez said today.	21 Oct 2011	Press release
Lebanon acts to scale up disaster reduction One of the world’s most earthquake-prone and heavily urbanized countries, Lebanon, is bringing together 96 mayors and other leaders from over 80 cities and municipalities for two days this week to discuss progress on disaster risk reduction across a wide range of threats.	20 Oct 2011	News briefs
Cape Town: What it takes to be a role model city On 12 October, following the launch of its Disaster Risk Management Centre (DRMC), Cape Town joined 14 other cities around the world who have been awarded ‘Role Model City’ status by UNISDR, the UN office for disaster risk reduction.	19 Oct 2011	News briefs
Saijo City Japan 'Steps Up' with school disaster risk reduction education programme Recognizing the importance of risk reduction, the Japanese city of Saijo expanded their disaster risk reduction (DRR) education program to train children and young people to be future leaders in DRR. The program, which now trains students older than twelve-years old, was launched as part of the International Day for Disaster Reduction celebrations in the city.	17 Oct 2011	News briefs
Floods reveal risk reduction gaps in Thailand The annual monsoon season in South East Asia continues to wreak havoc on lives and economies across many parts of the region with Thailand reportedly suffering from the worst floods in 50 years.	17 Oct 2011	News briefs
Vulnerability to Natural Hazards Rising Rapidly in Europe Vulnerability to natural hazards is rapidly on the increase in Europe, UNISDR Chief, Margareta Wahlström, told the Second Annual European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) yesterday in Skopje, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.	11 Oct 2011	News briefs
Major Pakistan Cities Join UNISDR ‘Resilient Cities’ Campaign More than 30 cities across seven provinces in Pakistan signed up to the UNISDR World Disaster Reduction Campaign Making Cities Resilient on Saturday though many of them are still under water or recovering from heavy floods.	10 Oct 2011	News briefs
26 Years after Major Earthquake - Mexico City Targets at Risk Buildings Between observance of the 26th anniversary of the September 1985 earthquake in Mexico City and Mexico’s hosting of the global celebration yesterday of the 2011 World Habitat Day under the theme Cities and Climate Change, the municipal government of the capital city has passed a new law on structural safety that will further protect people living with earthquake risk.	4 Oct 2011	News briefs