Council conclusions on the post 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action: Managing risks to achieve resilience

The Council conclusions confirm the commitment of the European Union and its Member States to play an active and constructive role in the ongoing negotiations with a view to contributing to an ambitious outcome of the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The Council conclusions promote improved accountability, transparency and governance; the important role of indicators to measure progress and encourage implementation; strengthening the contribution to sustainable and smart growth; addressing vulnerabilities and needs in a comprehensive framework; and ensuring coherence with the international agenda.

‘Useful and used’ data key to building resilience

The future resilience of the planet rests upon shortening the distance between emerging scientific evidence and actionable policy.

A High-Level Panel, titled ‘Perspectives on the Value of Earth Observations’, agreed on the importance of the “usability of information” in the International Strategy of Disaster Reduction and other global efforts to strengthen resilience. Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), said collaboration and coordination was crucial: “We need to join up the dots about what we know about how resources can be used and not be used in future. “The world really is heading terribly in the wrong direction. We need to bring science to decision making. And in such a complex world, we can no longer afford the luxury of taking very narrow, specific responses. “It is also important that we are not paralysed by waiting to have perfect information before we act. Such an approach has never been the basis for human decision making.”

‘Useful and used’ data key to building resilience

The future resilience of the planet rests upon shortening the distance between emerging scientific evidence and actionable policy. A High-Level Panel, titled ‘Perspectives on the Value of Earth Observations’, agreed on the importance of the “usability of information” in the International Strategy of Disaster Reduction and other global efforts to strengthen resilience. Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), said collaboration and coordination was crucial: “We need to join up the dots about what we know about how resources can be used and not be used in future.

Resilient cities are the next big thing

URA chairman Peter Ho considers Boston the epitome of a resilient city. It re-invented itself three times between the 16th and 21st centuries. THE true test of how ready a city is to tackle all threats is how well it operates in storms as well as in sunny conditions. Urban resilience has long been the desired goal for urban planners and city dwellers alike.

Disaster resilience: the private sector has a vital role to play

Governments alone cannot ensure the resilience cities need to cope with superstorms like Sandy, business must scale up technology to prevent and respond to disasters, writes Albert Cho, vice president for strategy and business development at Xylem, the global water technology company, for the Guardian.

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sri Lanka welcomes local and international delegates for a major international conference on building resilience to disasters

Heritance Ahungalla, on Sri Lanka’s South West coast, will be the setting for a major international conference on the development of societal resilience to natural and human induced disasters. The International Conference on Building Resilience will welcome International and Sri Lankan academics, practitioners, professionals and policy makers concerned with interdisciplinary approaches to disaster risk reduction, and the development of sustainable communities and cities.  Communities around the world are faced with the threat of disasters on a daily basis. National governments, local government associations, international, regional and civil society organisations, donors, the private sector, academia and professional associations as well as every citizen needs to be engaged in reducing their risk to disasters. All these stakeholders must play their part in contributing to building disaster resilient communities.

Building resilience in a changing climate

"We need to integrate the full range of risk management approaches from better preparedness and response to long-term disaster risk reduction. Such a holistic approach recognizes that climate change adaptation and mitigation responses are closely linked and involve multiple sectors, stakeholders and environmental and socioeconomic issues. Strengthening community safety also requires the use of scientifically robust information; however this information is rarely tailored to the needs of the humanitarian community.

Building resilience in a changing climate

"We need to integrate the full range of risk management approaches from better preparedness and response to long-term disaster risk reduction. Such a holistic approach recognizes that climate change adaptation and mitigation responses are closely linked and involve multiple sectors, stakeholders and environmental and socioeconomic issues. Strengthening community safety also requires the use of scientifically robust information; however this information is rarely tailored to the needs of the humanitarian community. We must also ensure that vulnerable people are provided with free, timely access to the information they need so as to enhance their own adaptive capacity," writes senior officer for climate change mitigation at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Meinrad Bürer on the pages of Devex.

Risk financing is key to building resilience against disasters

Disaster losses have risen faster than Asia-Pacific’s economy has expanded, says a new report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which recommends regional governments find ways to offer disaster risk financing instruments such as calamity funds, tax credits, and catastrophe bonds to strengthen disaster resilience. “Asia’s economic gain is being eroded by disasters, often hitting the poorest hardest,” said Bindu Lohani, ADB’s Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development. “As the global region most vulnerable to climate change, we no longer have a choice but to focus on disaster risk management.”

Principles and practice for resilience, food security and nutrition

Numerous complex risks, such as climate change, environmental degradation, population growth, conflict, and food price volatility, are making the lives of vulnerable communities more difficult. The poor should be enabled to adapt to change and build robust, adaptable and richer livelihoods, so that they can avoid hunger and poverty, according to a Huffington Post blog post on one of the World Economic Forum topics.