Peru harnesses private sector for resilience

Source(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean
Ricardo Mena, Head of the UNISDR Regional Office for the Americas (left) and Andreas von Wedemeyer Knigge, President of the National Society of Industries of Peru, seal the ARISE-Peru agreement in Lima (Photo: SNI)

Ricardo Mena, Head of the UNISDR Regional Office for the Americas (left) and Andreas von Wedemeyer Knigge, President of the National Society of Industries of Peru, seal the ARISE-Peru agreement in Lima (Photo: SNI)

LIMA, 8 December 2016 – Peru is harnessing the power of business to reduce the impacts of natural and human-induced hazards, thanks to the creation of a national chapter of the UNISDR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies.

The alliance, known for short as ARISE, was set up last year by UNISDR and its partners to help companies play their part in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year blueprint adopted by the international community in March 2015.

ARISE works at the global, regional and national levels, and the creation of the Peruvian chapter comes after counterparts were set up in Chile and Colombia.

Together, they will reinforce the key role of the private sector in strengthening resilience as a pillar to achieve sustainable development in the Americas.

The formalization of ARISE-Peru was carried out through the signing of an agreement between UNISDR, via its Regional Office for the Americas, and the National Society of Industries of Peru (SNI), which will serve as the focal point of the alliance at the national level.

National chapters of ARISE aim to strengthen the joint capacities of the initiative, to promote commitments and opportunities directly related to their country and to promote the widening of the membership among other key actors for disaster risk reduction at the national level.

ARISE is a voluntary group of more than 140 companies and organizations, headquartered in 38 nations and active in 150 countries around the world. They work with UNISDR to promote the integration of disaster risk reduction into private investment planning, as well as more resilient short- and long-term investments in a swathe of industry sectors.

The private sector accounts for more than two-thirds of investment worldwide, meaning that its resilience-building efforts have a critical impact on disaster risk reduction in communities, nations and at the global level.

Peru is one of the 20 most vulnerable countries to climate change due to its location in a zone of ​​tropical mountains and great ecosystem diversity. High temperatures, drought, frost and abundant rainfall have affected the country's economy and led to serious human and material losses, as well as the displacement of communities. Given these complications, the Peruvian state has developed a series of national policies and plans that include an environmental and climate perspective.

On this year’s edition of the annual 13 October International Day for Disaster Reduction, Peru was recognised by UNISDR as a risk-curbing champion for its efforts to deal with the impacts of the El Niño weather phenomenon from February 2015 to May 2016.

ARISE encourages proactive private sector efforts to prevent damage to assets and the opening of business opportunities related to the integral management of disaster risk.

The ARISE-Peru agreement was signed by Mr. Ricardo Mena, Head of the UNISDR Regional Office for the Americas and Mr. Andreas von Wedemeyer Knigge, President of SNI.

Others taking part in the event included Mr. Frank Rojo, Secretary-General of the Lima Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Wilson Farfán Rosas, President of the SNI Committee for Small Industry; Ms. Ana María Rebaza, National Disaster Response Adviser at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; and Mr. Massimiliano Tozzi, Disaster Risk Management Adviser, UN Development Programme.

The creation of ARISE-Peru has also received from the US Agency for International Development Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance Abroad (USAID/OFDA).

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