Yokohama
Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World
Guidelines for
Natural Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Mitigation
World Conference
on Natural Disaster Reduction
Yokohama, Japan, 23-27 May 1994
Yokohama
Message 
We, the States Members of
the United Nations and other States, having met at the World
Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, in the city of Yokohama,
Japan, from 23 May to 27 May 1994, in partnership with non-governmental
organizations, and with the participation of international organizations,
the scientific community, business, industry and the media, deliberating
within the framework of the International Decade for natural
Disaster Reduction, expressing our deep concern for the continuing
human suffering and disruption of development caused by natural
disasters, and inspired by the Yokohama Strategy and Plan of
Action for a Safer World,
Affirm that:
- The impact of natural disasters in terms
of human and economic losses has risen in recent years, and
society in general has become more vulnerable to natural disasters.
Those usually most affected by natural and other disasters
are the poor and socially disadvantaged groups in developing
countries as they are least equipped to cope with them.
- Disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness
and relief are four elements which contribute to and gain from
the implementation of sustainable development policies. These
elements, along with environmental protection and sustainable
development, are closely interrelated. Therefore, nations should
incorporate them in their development plans and ensure efficient
follow-up measures at the community, national, subregional,
and international levels.
- Disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness
are better than disaster response in achieving the goals and
objectives of the Decade. Disaster response alone is not sufficient,
as it yields only temporary results at a very high cost. We
have followed this limited approach for too long. This has
been further demonstrated by the recent focus on response to
complex emergencies, which, although compelling, should not
divert from pursuing a comprehensive approach. Prevention contributes
to lasting improvement in safety and is essential to integrated
disaster management.
- The world is increasingly interdependent.
All countries shall act in a new spirit of partnership to build
a safer world based on common interests and shared responsibility
to save human lives, since natural disasters do not respect
borders. Regional and international cooperation will significantly
enhance our ability to achieve real progress in mitigating
disasters through the transfer of technology and the sharing
of information and joint disaster prevention and mitigation
activities. Bilateral and multilateral assistance and financial
resources should be mobilized to support these efforts.
- The information, knowledge and some of
the technology necessary to reduce the effects of natural disasters
can be available in many cases at low cost and should be applied.
Appropriate technology and data, with the corresponding training,
should be made available to all freely and in a timely manner,
particularly to developing countries.
- Community involvement and their active
participation should be encouraged in order to gain greater
insight into the individual and collective perception of development
and risk, and to have a clear understanding of the cultural
and organizational characteristics of each society as well
as of its behaviour and interactions with the physical and
natural environment. This knowledge is of the utmost importance
to determine those things which favour and hinder prevention
and mitigation or encourage or limit the preservation of the
environment fro the development of future generations, and
in order to find effective and efficient means to reduce the
impact of disasters.
- The adopted Yokohama Strategy and related
Plan of Action for the rest of the Decade and beyond:
- Will note that each country has the sovereign responsibility
to protect its citizens from
natural disasters;
- Will give priority attention to the developing countries,
in particular the least developed,
land-locked countries and the small island developing
States;
- Will develop and strengthen national capacities and capabilities
and, where appropriate,
national legislation for natural and other disaster prevention,,
mitigation and preparedness, including the mobilization
of non-governmental organization and participation of local
communities;
- Will promote an strengthen subregional, regional and international
cooperation in activities
to prevent, reduce and mitigate natural and other disasters,
with particular emphasis on:
- Human and institutional capacity-building
and strengthening;
- Technology sharing, the collection, the
dissemination and the utilization of information;
- Mobilization of resources.
- The Framework of action of
the International decade for Natural Disaster Reduction provides
all vulnerable countries, in particular the developing countries,
with the opportunity to achieve a safer world by the end of
this century and beyond. In this regard, the international
community and the United Nations system in particular must
provide adequate support to the International Decade for Natural
Disaster Reduction, and its mechanisms, especially the secretariat
of the Decade to enable them to carry out their mandate.
- The Yokohama Conference is at a crossroad
in human progress. In one direction lie the meagre results
of an extraordinary opportunity given to the United Nations
and its Member States. In the other direction, the United Nations
and the world community can change the course of events by
reducing the suffering from natural disasters. Action is urgently
needed.
- Nations should view the Yokohama Strategy
for a Safer World as a call to action, individually and in
concert with other nations, to implement policies and goals
reaffirmed in Yokohama, and to use the International Decade
for Natural Disaster Reduction as a catalyst for change.
Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action
- Introduction
The World Conference on Natural Disaster
Reduction,
Having met at Yokohama from 23 to
27 May 1994,
Recognizing the rapidly rising world-wide
toll on human and economic losses due to natural disasters,
Recalling the decision
of the General Assembly in its resolution 44/236 of 22 December
1989 to launch a far-reaching global undertaking for the 1990s
to save human lives and reduce the impact of natural disasters,
Recalling also the
forward-looking decision of the General Assembly in its resolution
46/182 of 19 December 1991 to adopt an integrated approach for
disaster management in all its aspects and to initiate a process
towards a global culture of prevention,
Recognizing that
sustainable economic growth and sustainable development cannot
be achieved in many countries without adequate measures to reduce
disaster losses, and that there are close linkages between disaster
losses and environmental degradation, as emphasized in Agenda
21, 1
Reaffirming the Rio
Declaration, 2 in particular Principle 19,
which stresses the need for the international community to assist
States afflicted by natural disasters and other emergencies that
are likely to produce sudden harmful effects in the environment
of those States,
Reaffirming also
the role assigned by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
to the emergency Relief Coordinator, Under-Secretary-General
of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, through the IDNDR
secretariat in charge of the Decade, in promoting and directing
activities of the IDNDR in conformity with general Assembly resolution
46/182,
Emphasizing the need
for the United Nations system to pay special attention to the
least developed and land-locked countries and small island developing
States, and recalling in this regard that the outcomes of the
first Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States and the Programme of Action for the
Least Developed Countries for the 1990s call for giving priority
attention to small island developing States and least developed
countries in the activities of the Decade,
Responding to the request
of the General Assembly in its resolution 48/188 of 23 December
1993 to:
A. Review the accomplishments of the Decade
at national, regional and international levels;
B. Chart a programme of action for the future;
C. Exchange information on the implementation of Decade programmes and policies;
D. Increase awareness of the importance of disaster reduction policies;
- Appeals to the world, at the time of
reaching the mid-point of the International Decade for Natural
Disaster Reduction and in the light of increasing human losses
and damage caused by disasters and acting in a new spirit of
partnership to build a safer world, based on common interest,
sovereign equality and shared responsibility to save human
lives, protect human and natural resources, the ecosystem and
cultural heritage, to reaffirm its commitment to pursuing,
through national, regional and international efforts, the transformation
of the International Framework of Action for the Decade into
a decisive intersectoral Plan of Action;
- Invites all countries to defend individuals
from physical injuries and traumas, protect property and contribute
to ensuring progress and stability, generally recognizing that
each country bears the primary responsibility for protecting
its own people, infrastructure and other national assets from
the impact of natural disasters, and accepting at the same
time that, in the context of increasing global interdependence,
concerted international cooperation and an enabling international
environment are vital for the success of these national efforts;
- Adopts the following Principles, Strategy
and Plan of Action.
I.
Principles
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- Risk assessment is a required step for
the adoption of adequate and successful disaster reduction
policies and measures.
- Disaster prevention and preparedness
are of primary importance in reducing the need for disaster
relief.
- Disaster prevention and preparedness
should be considered integral aspects of development policy
and planning at national, regional, bilateral, multilateral
and international levels.
- The development and strengthening of
capacities to prevent, reduce and mitigate disasters is a top
priority area to be addressed during the Decade so as to provide
a strong basis for follow-up activities to the Decade.
- Early warnings of impending disasters
and their effective dissemination using telecommunications,
including broadcast services, are key factors to successful
disaster prevention and preparedness.
- Preventive measures are most effective
when they involve participation at all levels, from the local
community through the national government to the regional and
international level.
- Vulnerability can be reduced by the application
of proper design and patterns of development focused on target
groups, by appropriate education and training of the whole
community.
- The international community accepts the
need to share the necessary technology to prevent, reduce and
mitigate disaster; this should be made freely available and
in a timely manner as an integral part of technical cooperation.
- Environmental protection as a component
of sustainable development consistent with poverty alleviation
is imperative in the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters.
- Each country bears the primary responsibility
for protecting its people, infrastructure, and other national
assets from the impact of natural disasters. The international
community should demonstrate strong political determination
required to mobilize adequate and make efficient use of existing
resources, including financial, scientific and technological
means, in the field of natural disaster reduction, bearing
in mind the needs of the developing countries, particularly
the least developed countries.
A. Basis for the Strategy
- Natural disasters continue to strike
and increase in magnitude, complexity, frequency and economic
impact. Whilst the natural phenomena causing disasters are
in most cases beyond human control, vulnerability is generally
a result of human activity. Therefore, society must recognize
and strengthen traditional methods and explore new ways to
live with such risk, and take urgent actions to prevent as
well as to reduce the effects of such disasters. The capacities
to do so are available.
- In this context the least developed counties,
small island developing States and land-locked countries are
the most vulnerable countries, as they are the least equipped
to mitigate disasters. Developing countries affected by desertification,
drought and other types of natural disasters are also equally
vulnerable and insufficiently equipped to mitigate natural
disasters.
- In all countries the poor and socially
disadvantaged groups suffer most from natural disasters and
are least equipped to cope with them. In fact disaster contribute
to social, economic, cultural and political disruption in urban
and rural contexts, each in its specific way. Large-scale urban
concentrations are particularly fragile because of their complexity
and the accumulation of population and infrastructures in limited
areas.
- Some patterns of consumption, production
and development have the potential for increasing the vulnerability
to natural disasters, particularly of the poor and socially
disadvantaged groups. However, sustainable development can
contribute to reduction of this vulnerability, if planned and
managed in a way to ameliorate the social and economic conditions
of the affected groups and communities.
- Vulnerable developing countries should
be enabled to revive, apply and share traditional methods to
reduce the impact of natural disasters, supplemented and reinforced
by access to modern scientific and technical knowledge. The
existing knowledge and know-how should be studied and efforts
should be made to ameliorate, develop and better apply them
today.
- Global social stability has become more
fragile and reduction of natural disasters would contribute
to reducing this fragility. In the effort towards effective
disaster management, the full continuum from relief through
rehabilitation, reconstruction and development to prevention
must be the concept guiding actions towards the reduction of
human and physical losses which remains the ultimate objective.
- Notwithstanding the full continuum, disaster
prevention is better than disaster response and achieving the
goals, objectives and targets of the Decade as adopted by the
relevant resolutions of the General Assembly would result in
greatly reducing disaster losses. This requires maximum participation
at community level which can mobilize considerable potential
and traditional expertise in the application of the preventive
measures.
B. Assessment of the status of disaster
reduction midway into the Decade
Approaching the midpoint of
the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the
World Conference has identified, on the basis of national reports
and technical discussions, the following main accomplishments
and failures: - Awareness
of the potential benefits of disaster reduction is
still limited to specialized circles and has not yet
been successfully communicated to all sectors of society,
in particular policy makers and the general public.
This is due to a lack of attention for the issue, insufficient
commitment and resources for promotional activities
at all levels;
- At the same time, however, activities
during the first years of the Decade in training, technical
applications and research at local, national and international
levels and in regional cooperation, have had positive results
in some regions in reducing disaster losses;
- Equally, the creation of the organizational
framework called for by the General Assembly, which includes
National Decade Committees and Focal Points and, at the international
level, the Special High Level Council, the Scientific and Technical
Committee and the Decade secretariat, has laid the basis for
intensified preventive and preparedness efforts in the second
half of the Decade;
- These new efforts in the field of disaster
reduction have not systematically been part of multilateral
and bilateral development policies;
- Education and training programmes and
facilities for people professionally involved and the public
at large have not been sufficiently developed with a focus
on ways and means to reduce disasters. Also the potential of
the information media, industry, scientific community and the
private sector at large has not been sufficiently mobilized;
- It must be noted that not all entities
of the United Nations system have contributed to the Decade's
implementation to the extent possible and desired by the General
Assembly in adopting its resolution 44/236. In recent years
emphasis has again been placed primarily on disaster response
both within the United Nations and beyond. This has slowed
down the momentum of the Decade's initial phase, based on the
consensus of the importance of action before disasters strike;
- A number of positive results have been
achieved during the first five years of the Decade, although
unevenly and not in the concerted and systematic way as envisaged
by the General Assembly. Only if these achievements are recognized,
consolidated and accelerated, will the Decade be able to reach
its goals and objectives and contribute to the development
of a global culture of prevention. In particular the existing
tools which can yield improvements in disaster response, as
part of a comprehensive approach towards disaster management,
are not always utilized to the full extent of their potential;
- There is a strong need to strengthen
the resilience and selfconfidence of local communities to cope
with natural disasters through recognition and propagation
of their traditional knowledge, practices and values as part
of development activities;
- Experience has demonstrated that, although not a part of the
mandate of the Decade, the concept
of the disaster reduction should be enlarged to cover natural
and other disaster situations including environmental and technological
disasters (NaTechs) and their interrelationship which can have
a significant impact on social, economic, cultural and environmental
systems, in particular in developing countries.
C. Strategy for the Year 2000 and beyond
The World Conference, based
on adoption of the Principles and the assessment of the progress
accomplished during the first half of the Decade,, has formulated
a Strategy for Disaster reduction centred on the objective
of saving human lives and protecting property. The Strategy
calls for an accelerated implementation of a Plan of Action
to be developed from the following points:
- Development
of a global culture of prevention as an essential component
of an integrated approach to disaster reduction;
- Adoption of a policy of self-reliance
in each vulnerable country and community comprising capacity-building
as well as allocation and efficient use of resources;
- Education and training in disaster prevention,
preparedness and mitigation;
- Development and strengthening of human
resources and material capabilities and capacity of research
and development institutions for disaster reduction and mitigation;
- Identification and networking of existing
centres of excellence so as to enhance disaster prevention,
reduction and mitigation activities;
- Improvement of awareness in vulnerable
communities, through a more active and constructive role of
the media in respect of disaster reduction;
- Involvement and active participation
of the people in disaster reduction, prevention and preparedness,
leading to improved risk management;
- In the second half of the Decade, emphasis
should be given to programmes that promote community-based
approaches to vulnerability reduction;
- Improved risk assessment, broader monitoring
and communication of forecasts and warnings;
- Adoption of integrated policies for prevention
of, preparedness for, and response to natural disasters and
other disaster situations including environmental and technological
hazards;
- Improved coordination and cooperation
among ongoing national, regional and international disaster
research activities, at universities, regional and subregional
organizations and other technical and scientific institutions,
having in mind that links between causes and effects, inherent
to all types of disaster, should be investigated though interdisciplinary
research;
- Effective national legislation and administrative
action, higher priority at the political decision-making level;
- Placing higher priority on the compilation
and exchange of information on natural disaster reduction,
especially at regional and subregional levels, through the
strengthening of existing mechanisms and improved use of communication
techniques;
- Promotion of regional and subregional
cooperation between countries exposed to the same natural hazards
through exchange of information, joint disaster reduction activities
and other formal or informal means including the establishment
or strengthening of regional and subregional centres;
- Making available the existing technology
for broader application to disaster reduction;
- Integration of the private sector in
disaster reduction efforts through promotion of business opportunities;
- Promotion of the involvement of non-governmental
organization in natural hazard management, in particular those
dealing with environmental and related issues and including
indigenous non-governmental organizations;
- Strengthening the capacity of the United
Nations system to assist in the reduction of losses from natural
and related technological disasters, including coordination
and evaluation of activities through the Decade and other mechanisms.
II. PLAN OF ACTION
Recommendations for action
Based on the Principles and
the Strategy and taking into account information provided to
the Conference in the national summary reports presented by
a large number of countries and in the scientific and technical
presentations, the Conference adopts a Plan of Action for the
future, comprising the following specific actions to be implemented
at the community and national levels, the subregional and regional
levels, and the international level, through bilateral arrangements
and international cooperation. Activities at the community and national
levels
During the remaining part of the Decade all countries are called
upon to:
- Express
the political commitment to reduce their vulnerability, through
declaration, legislation, policy decisions and action at the
highest level, which would require the progressive implementation
of disaster assessment and reduction plans at the national
and community levels;
- Encourage continued mobilization of domestic
resources for disaster reduction activities;
- Develop a risk assessment programme and
emergency plans focusing efforts on disaster preparedness,
response and mitigation, and design projects for subregional,
regional and international cooperation, as appropriate;
- Develop documented comprehensive national
disaster management plans with emphasis on disaster reduction;
- As appropriate, establish and/or strengthen
National Committees for the Decade or clearly identified bodies
charged with the promotion and coordination of disaster reduction
actions;
- Take measures to upgrade the resistance
of important infrastructure and lifelines;
- Give due consideration to the role of
local authorities in the enforcement of safety standards and
rules and strengthen the institutional capacities for natural
disaster management at all levels;
- Consider making use of support from non-governmental
organizations for improved disaster reduction at the local
level;
- Incorporate disaster reduction prevention
or mitigation in socioeconomic development planning based on
the assessment of the risk;
- Consider the possibility of incorporating
in their developmental plans the conducting of Environmental
Impact Assessments with a view to disaster reduction;
- Clearly identify specific disaster prevention
needs which could use the knowledge or expertise that may be
available from other countries or from the United Nations system,
for instance, through training programmes designed to enhance
human resources;
- Endeavour to document all disasters;
- Incorporate costeffective technologies
in reduction programmes, including forecasting and warning
systems;
- Establish and implement educational and
information programmes aimed at generating general public awareness,
with special emphasis on policy makers and major groups, in
order to ensure support for, and effectiveness of, disaster
reduction programmes;
- Enrol the media as a contributing sector
in awareness raising, education and opinion building in order
to increase recognition of the potential of disaster reduction
to save human lives and protect property;
- Set targets which specify how many distinct
disaster scenarios can reasonably be given systematic attention
by the end of the Decade;
- Stimulate genuine community involvement
and empowerment of women and other socially disadvantaged groups
at all stages of disaster management programmes in order to
facilitate capacity building, which is an essential precondition
for reducing vulnerability of communities to natural disasters;
- Aim at the application of traditional
knowledge, practices and values of local communities for disaster
reduction, thereby recognizing these traditional coping mechanisms
as a valuable contribution to the empowerment of local communities
and the enabling of their spontaneous cooperation in all disaster
reduction programmes.
Activities at the regional and subregional
levels
Considering the many common
aspects of disaster vulnerability among countries of a same
region or subregion, cooperation among them should be strengthened
by implementing the following actions:
- Establishing or strengthening
of subregional or regional centres for disaster reduction and
prevention which, in cooperation with international organizations
and with a view to enhancing national capabilities, would perform
one or more of the following functions:
- Collecting and disseminating
documentation and information to improve public awareness
of natural disasters and the potential to reduce their impact;
- Formulating education and training
programmes and technical information exchanges aimed at human
resource development;
- Supporting and strengthening natural
disaster reduction mechanisms;
- Given the importance of vulnerability
of developing countries, particularly least developed countries,
technical, material and financial resources should be made
available in support of concerned subregional or regional centres
to strengthen regional and national capacities to reduce natural
disasters;
- Improving the communications on natural
disasters among the countries of the region in the context
of preparedness and early warning systems;
- Establishing and/or strengthening early
warning mechanisms for disaster reduction;
- Commemorating the International Day for
Natural Disaster Reduction;
- Establishing mutual assistance agreements
and joint projects for disaster reduction within and between
regions;
- Reviewing periodically in regional political
forums the progress made on disaster reduction;
- Request and enable regional organizations
to play an effective role in the implementation of relevant
regional plans and programmes on natural disaster reduction;
- The international community should give
highest priority and special support to activities and programmes
relating to natural disaster reduction at subregional or regional
level in order to promote cooperation between countries exposed
to the same risks;
- As decided by the General Assembly, special
attention should be given to the least developed countries
in support of their activities in the field of natural disaster
reduction;
- Regional arrangements should be carried
out in close coordination with and should supplement the national
programmes for disaster reduction;
- The international community should assist
the developing countries in establishing measures to integrate
disaster prevention and reduction within the existing machinery
and strategies at the national, subregional and regional levels
for poverty eradication in order to achieve sustainable development.
Activities at the international level,
in particular through bilateral arrangements and multilateral
cooperation
In the context of global interdependence
and in the spirit of international cooperation, all activities
to reduce disasters, in particular those laid down by the International
Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction should be encouraged
and supported in the following ways: - It
is recommended that extrabudgetary resources be provided
for implementation of the Decade and, therefore, that
voluntary contributions from Governments, international
organizations and other sources, including the private
sector, be strongly encouraged. To this end, the Secretary-General
is urged to ensure an effective and efficient administration
of the Trust Fund for the Decade, established as requested
in General Assembly resolution 44/236;
- It is recommended that donor countries
should increase the priority on disaster prevention, mitigation
and preparedness in their assistance programmes and budgets,
either on bilateral or multilateral basis, including increasing
contributions to and through the Decade Trust Fund, in order
to support fully the implementation of the Yokohama Strategy,
particularly in developing countries;
- Disaster prevention and mitigation should
become an integrated component of development projects financed
by multilateral financial institutions, including the regional
development banks;
- Integration of natural disaster reduction
into development assistance programmes, through effective means,
including as suggested in subparagraph 13 (b) above;
- Ensuring the cooperation in the area
of research and science and technology development related
to natural disaster reduction in order to enhance the capacities
of the developing countries to reduce their vulnerability in
this respect;
- The Trust Fund for the Decade should
give priority in financing the establishment and strengthening
of the early warning systems of the disaster prone developing
countries particularly of the least developed, land-locked
and small island developing States;
- Ensuring that from the formulation phase
development projects be designed in a way to contribute to
reducing, and not increasing, vulnerability to disasters;
- Improving the exchange of information
on disaster reduction policies and technologies;
- Encouraging and supporting ongoing efforts
aimed at developing appropriate indicators of vulnerability
(indices);
- Reaffirmation of the roles of the Special
High Level Council and the Scientific and Technical Committee
in promoting Decade activities, in particular the awareness
of the benefits of disaster reduction;
- Enhancing the activities of, and cooperation
between, organizations and programmes of the United Nations
system, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations
and the private sector related to disaster reduction, including
more efficient use of existing resources;
- Supporting efforts of Governments at
the national and regional levels in the implementation of the
priority areas of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed
Countries for the 1990s, and the Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States,
related to the management of natural and environmental disasters
through measures referred to in paragraph 13 (b) above;
- Providing wider support for the existing
mechanism for disaster management and reduction of the United
Nations system, in order to expand its capacity to give advice
and practical assistance, as required, to countries facing
natural disasters and other disaster situations including environmental
and technological hazards;
- Providing adequate support for Decade
activities, including those of the secretariat of the Decade,
in particular with a view to ensuring the timely implementation
of the Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action. In this regard
it is time to consider proposals on ways and means to ensure
functional security and continuity of the secretariat of the
Decade, to the extent possible through the United Nations regular
budget;
- Recognition of the need for adequate
coordination of international disaster reduction activities
and strengthening of the mechanisms established for this purpose.
International coordination should relate, in particular, to
the formulation of development projects which provide assistance
for disaster reduction and their evaluation;
- Establishment or improvement, as a priority,
of national, regional and international warning systems and
more effective dissemination of warnings;
- Effective coordination of international
disaster management, in particular by the United Nations system,
is paramount for an integrated approach to disaster reduction
and should, therefore, be strengthened;
- Holding of a review conference on natural
disaster reduction at the end of the Decade in order to map
a strategy for continued disaster reduction activities into
the twenty-first century.
III. FOLLOW-UP OF ACTION
With the aim of ensuring the
early and successful implementation of the Yokohama Strategy,
the Conference decides to: - Transmit
the report of the World Conference containing the Yokohama
Strategy for a Safer World: Guidelines for Natural
Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Mitigation, through
the Economic and Social Council, to the General Assembly
at its forty ninth session;
- Request the General Assembly to consider
adopting a resolution endorsing the Yokohama Strategy and making
an appeal to all countries to continue working towards the
objective of a safer world for the twenty-first century;
- Transmit the outcome of the World Conference
to the midterm global review conference on the implementation
of the Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries, to
be held in 1995, as decided by the General Assembly in its
resolution 48/171, and to the Commission on Sustainable Development
in the initial review of the implementation of the Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States, undertaken by the Commission in 1996, in accordance
with the Commission's multi-year programme of work;
- Reaffirm the crucial importance of a
substantial reduction in the loss of lives and in the physical
damage caused by disasters by the year 2000 and of continuing
the disaster reduction process beyond the end of this century,
as appropriate;
- Request the Secretary-General to ensure
that the outcome of the Conference be given as wide as possible
dissemination, including transmission of the Yokohama Strategy
to relevant international and regional organizations, multilateral
financial institutions and the regional development banks;
- Request the secretariat of the Decade
to communicate the outcome of the Conference to national committees
and focal points for the Decade, relevant nongovernmental organizations,
scientific and technical associations and the private sector,
and to facilitate the review of the implementation of the Yokohama
Strategy and further planning by these institutions at the
regional level before the year 2000;
- Request the Secretary-General to submit
an annual report to the General Assembly, based on information
provided by Governments, regional and international organizations,
including the multilateral financial institutions and the regional
development banks, the United Nations system and the nongovernmental
organization community, on progress made in the implementation
of the Yokohama Strategy;
- Recommend
the inclusion of a sub-item entitled "Implementation of the outcome of the World Conference
on Natural Disaster Reduction" in the provisional agenda
of the Assembly under the item entitled "Environment and
sustainable development";
- Request the United Nations, through the
secretariat of the Decade, to provide Governments, upon request,
with technical assistance in the preparation and development
of disaster management plans and programmes.
- Report of the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June
1992, vol.I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United
Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8), resolution 1, annex
II.
- Ibid., annex I.
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