UNISDR reports on record-breaking year

GENEVA, 18 July 2012 - UNISDR's 2011 Annual Report is now available online and reveals that its two landmark Global Assessment Reports on Disaster Risk Reduction Reports (GAR) for 2009 and 2011, have had over 200,000 chapter downloads over the last three years.

It also demonstrates that, "despite some degree of unpredictability in its voluntary funding," UNISDR had an implementation rate of 93% against resources received in 2010 and 2011.

The budget estimate for the two years was US$67.1 million. US54.3 million was actually raised along with substantial in-kind support for specific activities. This was a 20% increase over the 2009-10 biennium and also saw contributions from six new donors: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Hungary, Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea.

Other highlights from the report include laying the groundwork for the launch of consultations on a new agreement to succeed the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) by 2015 when the current international agreement on disaster risk reduction is due to expire.

During 2010-2011, 133 governments voluntarily reported against their implementation of the HFA as the number of national platforms for disaster risk reduction grew from 61 to 81. The 2011 GAR made the case that accounting for disaster losses is a necessary first step towards managing disaster risk and there are now 43 national disaster loss data bases.

Attendance at the 2011 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction doubled to 2,600 compared to the previous Global Platform. The Chair's Summary concluded: "There is a sense of urgency and clear political and economic imperatives to invest in disaster risk reduction."

The last year also saw the "Making Cities Resilient Campaign" take off in a major way with 968 urban centers joining up by year's end and UNISDR taking a decision to extend the campaign to 2015 with a target of reaching at least 2,500 cities and municipalities.

The report also hails as a major advocacy milestone, the finalization of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (SREX) "Managing the Risks of Extremes Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation" and the accompanying "Summary for Policymakers". The report was first proposed by UNISDR and the Norwegian Government in 2008.

UNISDR stepped up its high-profile advocacy campaigning. Margareta Wahlström, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, visited over 100 countries and met with heads of state, prime ministers, parliamentarians and representatives of civil society to press home the case for investment in resilient communities and infrastructure.

The period also saw a 60% increase in content submissions from partners to www.preventionweb.net and 40% increase in the number of users. The site now has over 87,000 unique users and 227,000 page views per month.