Organizing Teams

National and local disaster risk reduction strategies integrated with climate change and sustainable development plans.

The first plenary session on 24 May can focus on how to achieve the ambitious target set in the Sendai Framework and Sustainable Development Goals, namely to substantially increase by 2020 the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies that are integrated with climate change and sustainable development plans.

In particular, this session can address important elements of capacity building, supporting mechanisms to improve contents of disaster risk reduction plans and strategies, the use of risk information, target setting and indicators, how to support and promote the review of existing plans and strategies, how to improve the disaster risk reduction planning process, and how to engage stakeholders in the design of these plans.

Reducing Vulnerability of Countries in Special Situations

The second plenary session on 25 May can focus on reducing the vulnerability of countries in special situations, such as Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, Landlocked Developing Countries and African countries, as well as middle-income countries facing specific challenges, covering in particular the issues of extensive risks and slow onset disasters such as drought.

The session can also focus on developing countries’ special vulnerability, and on how to make tourism resilient, to improve ecosystem protection and revitalization and to promote resilient agriculture and rural livelihoods.

Sendai Framework Monitoring

The third plenary session will consider countries’ readiness to measure progress against the Sendai Framework’s global targets, including their ability to comprehensively gather data on the costs of previous disasters, assess future disaster risk, and establish effective monitoring systems.

The session will cover the global status and baseline report on country readiness to measure progress against the Sendai Framework’s global targets, how to enhance systems to record disaster losses, define risk baselines, undertake hazard mapping and disaster risk assessments, hear from a number of countries on their experiences, and conclude with the adoption and roll-out of the Sendai Framework Monitor.

Coherence between the Sendai Framework and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The fourth plenary session on 26 May can focus on building coherence between the Sendai Framework and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a contribution to the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2017. The session can also integrate the outcome of other key post-2015 development processes, in particular the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda, and take forward some key disaster risk reduction commitments made during the World Humanitarian Summit.

Availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information

The special session will look at Sendai Framework target “g” and present experiences, lessons learned and good practices in the availability and access to early warning systems and risk information.

Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction

The special session will discuss the importance of institutionalizing national recovery frameworks to enhance risk governance, ensure recovery readiness and increase efficient and effective recovery and reconstruction operations. Discussions may include preparedness aspects and follow-up to the Global Partnership on Preparedness adopted at the World Humanitarian Summit, the role of the private sector in building back better, especially in the area of critical infrastructure and key economic assets and how to strengthen capacity for recovery planning and monitoring at the national, local, and community levels.

Disaster Risk Reduction Governance

This session will examine progress made and challenges faced by Governments and other stakeholders in providing the enabling governance architecture to effectively manage disaster risks and build resilience. Particular guidance and success stories will be shared to help Governments meet the imminent 2020 target of the Sendai Framework (target “e”) on increasing the number of governments with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies.

The session will explore how to best support Governments in this endeavour, including through a better coordination at national level with appropriate multi-stakeholder mechanisms for disaster risk reduction and cooperation within the UN system on the ground, as well as the role of Parliamentarians.

Critical Infrastructure

The session will discuss Sendai target “e” and will share good practices and lessons learned in protecting critical infrastructures from disasters.

International Cooperation

The session will discuss Sendai target “f” and will share good practice and lessons learned in promoting international cooperation on disaster risk reduction.

Risk Insurance to Build Resilience

The session will discuss how risk transfer and insurance mechanisms can help build resilience to disasters, reduce the financial risk of governments, businesses, and households, promote economic stability and societal safety and support the global objectives of poverty reduction. The session will examine available insurance options at different scales including for countries facing extensive risks (recurrent small-scale disaster events) and will explore how risk transfer and insurance mechanisms can be an incentive for disaster risk-sensitive public and private planning and investment.

Sendai Indicators & Terminology

The session will discuss the inter-governmentally adopted Sendai Framework indicators and terminologies for disaster risk reduction.

Risk Information and Disaster Loss Databases

The session will discuss the development and improvement of the quality of national disaggregated disaster loss databases needed to report on the Sendai Framework targets and the associated targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Community Resilience

The session will address the fact that preventing the creation of new risk, addressing existing risks and building resilience requires a more people-centred approach to disaster risk reduction with strong emphasis on community resilience.

Inclusive and People Centred Disaster Risk Reduction

The session will highlight the active engagement and achievements of children and youth, women and girls, persons with disability, community group and leaders.

Private Sector’s Engagement to contribute to the achievement of the priority 2020 Sendai target

The session will explore the role that private sector entities and the business community as a whole play in facilitating disaster resilience. The session will build on the ARISE initiative and will contemplate the wide range of capabilities and engagement the private sector has to offer, in particular in relation to reducing economic losses of disasters through risk insurance, risk financing and building disaster-resilient infrastructure. The discussion will also help identify what gaps and barriers are preventing a greater level of private sector engagement in supporting disaster risk reduction implementation at the national and local levels.

Science and Technology’s engagement to contribute to the achievement of the priority 2020 Sendai target

The session will build on the Science and Technology Roadmap that was presented at the UNISDR Conference on Science and Technology in January 2015 in Geneva. It will address aspects of the engagement of policy-makers and stakeholders in science and technology to ensure needs are identified and met and how scientists can better influence policy processes to provide scientific evidence and advice.
The session will also discuss how countries can access and use effectively scientific information and the modalities for the revitalization of the Science and Technology Partnership for disaster risk reduction to help strengthen the science-policy interface.

Local Authorities’ Engagement to contribute to the achievement of the priority 2020 Sendai target

This session will discuss the commitments and the sharing of good practices in building resilience at the local level.

Health and Disaster Risk Reduction

This session will discuss the linkages between health issues and disaster risk reduction.

Cultural heritage and Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk Reduction

This session will discuss the linkages between cultural heritage issues and disaster risk reduction, including elements of traditional knowledge and local know-how.

Ecosystem Protection and Management and Resilient Agriculture

The session will consider how partnerships between local and national governments and environmental managers can create shared value measured in both reducing loss of lives and loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The discussion will include aspects of policy coherence with environment and development agendas internationally and nationally and the mobilization of new partnerships to support implementation.

Urban, Land-use and Spatial Planning

The session will present good practices and challenges surrounding the incorporation of risk reduction in existing land-use planning and management practices at the local level. Practical recommendations will be made on how to ensure that local governments have access to the information, tools and capacities necessary to develop and implement risk-sensitive land-use planning. This discussion can include elements of disaster-resilient agriculture and link up to early-warning systems for health/pandemics and food security.