13 May 2011
Chair’s Summary
Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and
World Reconstruction Conference
Geneva, 8-13 May 2011
Global Network of Civil Society for Disaster Reduction Changes 23RD May 2011
REVISED DRAFT for CLOSING SESSION
1. The Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World
Reconstruction Conference met in Geneva, 8-13 May 2011. Opened by Secretary-General
BAN Ki-moon and chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General, this Platform brought together
the broadest ever cross-section of people committed to building resilience. Several Heads of
State, Ministers, the Managing Director of the World Bank, more than 2,600 delegates (women, men and youth) representing 168 Governments, 25 inter-governmental organizations, 65 non-governmental organizations, Parliamentarians, private sector, local government, academic institutions and civil society and international organizations came together from all over the world around the theme – “Invest today for a Safer Tomorrow – Increase Investment in Local Action.”
2. Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action since 2005 indicates that significant
national progress is taking place and its principles have been firmly established and endorsed. The discussions at the Third Session demonstrated clearly that we now possess the knowledge,
the means and the commitment to bring this progress further and make disaster risk reduction
a national and local priority. The targets proposed in 2009 at the Second Global Platform are within
reach if we take the necessary action i.e.
- National assessments of the safety of existing education and health facilities by 2011
- Development and implementation of action plans for safer schools and hospitals in all disaster prone countries by 2015
- Inclusion of disaster risk reduction in all school curricula by 2015
- Inclusion and enforcement of DRR measures in the building and land use codes of all major cities in disaster-prone areas by 2015.
In 2011, there are strong social, political and economic imperatives to invest in disaster risk reduction and there is a sense of urgency to do so.
3. The Secretary-General has called for a coalition of action and a high-level meeting during
the next General Assembly to address the link between natural hazards and nuclear safety.
Japan has offered to host the Third World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2015.
Mayors have renewed their commitment to the Ten Essentials of the “My City is Getting
Ready” Campaign. Private sector participants agreed on Five Essential for Business and
issued a Statement of Commitment for Disaster Prevention, Resilience and Risk Reduction.
And for the first time ever, young people came together and put forward a Five Point Charter
on Children and Disaster Reduction. Regional organizations reaffirmed their commitment to
implementing regional strategies agreed to in ministerial meetings worldwide. Academics , civil society and grassroots organisations documented the huge untapped potential of local initiatives by women, men and youth.
4. The choice before us as Governments, social movements, communities and individuals is to put disaster risk reduction at the forefront of our efforts to protect communities and preserve our way of life for generations to come. The Third Global Platform identified the following critical steps:
4.1 Account for disaster losses in a consistent and standardized manner. Economic losses and impacts from disasters are now outpacing wealth creation in many regions. Yet, too few
countries conduct multi-hazard risk assessments at the national and/or local levels as the basis for informed development decisions. Disaster risk reduction can only improve when countries have complete data on how risk impacts economic and social losses of disasters and on the risks they face in the future. In particular, impacts on women and children are very poorly documented.
4.2 Multi-stakeholder tracking of investments in disaster risk reduction at all levels (from national level inputs to local level outputs), including in risk reducing development, to provide clear evidence of the costs and benefits of investments in risk reduction through verifiable and accountable data to Governments and the public.
4.3 Encourage and increase dedicated budget allocations at local levels ( municipal and district) for disaster risk reduction, use planning and project evaluation mechanisms to reduce risks in all development investments and create incentives for investing in prevention. Protect public finances with contingency mechanisms, including insurance, informed by risk assessment.
4.4 Provide clear guidance and criteria to improve the effectiveness of National and sub-national Platforms in informing and supporting the executive level of decision making. Ensure that policy
responsibility for disaster risk reduction is backed up by the necessary decentralisation of political authority to sub-national institutions including civil society and community representatives to increase implementation across sectors.
4.5 Develop standards and indicators, together with appropriate targets and milestones for measuring the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction at local, national and regional levels to improve accountability and transparency, quality and consistency in implementation.
4.6 Increase investment in disaster risk reduction at the sub-national and local levels to strengthen and provide resources to local state and non-state institutions recognising the centrality of communities and local grassroots organisations for effective implementation of disaster risk reduction . Complement the responsibility and accountability of local authorities with commensurate budget allotments, human resource, institutional capacities and technical support for disaster risk reduction and encourage multi-stakeholder partnerships with communities and voluntary actions.
4.7 Greater public awareness of disaster risks should be strengthened through ensuring
universal access to risk information, building social demand for disaster risk reduction and
promoting individual safety and responsibility. Leverage the rapid development of
information and communication technologies to improve exchange of knowledge and experiential learning make risk understandable to key stakeholders, particularly disaster prone citizens and communities.
4.8 Encourage the adaptation of innovative and gender sensitive social protection mechanisms to reduce disaster impacts on the most vulnerable households, communities and social groups.
4.9 Anticipate difficult to identify and emerging risks, including those associated with
technological hazards and new vulnerabilities, through scenario development and
contingency planning, encouraging cooperation across sectors and making the best use of
available information and technology.
4.10 Promote common approaches, joint mechanisms and state / non-state partnerships (including developing common local resilience frameworks) that integrate climate change adaptation and risk reduction into development planning, avoiding the inefficient use of existing resources. Ensure the availability of climate-related information and promote wider accessibility and exchange of indigenous, gender specific and external specialist knowledge and technologies for risk reduction as a means for adaptation.
4.11 Use regional summits and ministerial meetings, such as COP-18, Rio+20 and the 56th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Woman, as vehicles to capitalize on the momentum achieved at the Third Session of the Global Platform. Support implementation of the Millennium Development Goals by promoting risk reduction strategies that address the underlying drivers of risk to protect development investments and foster harmonisation across thematic sectors
4.12 Re-establish the Advisory Group to guide the follow up to the Mid-Term Review of the HFA. Set up a consultative process through UNISDR on the guiding principles, norms, standards and values to be reflected in a post-2015 instrument. A first outline will be reviewed in 2013 and finalized the following year.
4.13 Recommend to the Secretary-General that he constitute a group of eminent, disaster
risk reduction experts and practitioners, including women activists and scholars to report at the Fourth Session of the Global Platform, which together with the 2013 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, would identify the major trends and challenges to be addressed in the post-2015 HFA framework.
4.14 Request that UNISDR be strengthened and resourced in order to effectively support
the implementation of all relevant recommendations emerging from this Platform
acknowledging its leadership role within the United Nations on disaster risk reduction.
World Reconstruction Conference
5. The support offered to countries overwhelmed by the scale or cost of reconstruction after
disasters is often poorly coordinated. Uneven and unpredictable financing doesn’t always
reach those who need to rebuild and begin to recover, especially women. Moreover few countries incorporate disaster prevention systematically into their reconstruction planning, threatening the
development prospects of millions. This is why rethinking reconstruction is so important.
6. Previous experience provides important lessons. When recovery is done right it
provides faster, higher quality results at lower costs, and capitalizes on a window of
opportunity to rebuild in a sustainable and disaster-resilient way. To achieve this after
every disaster demands greater leadership, partnership and coordinated support from the
international community, particularly in the most vulnerable contexts. This challenge
formed the backdrop to the World Reconstruction Conference.
7. Participants in the World Reconstruction Conference committed to the developing an
effective recovery and reconstruction framework. This recovery framework would aim to:
- Better define roles and responsibilities, operating principles, good practices and standard within clear institutional arrangements across all institutional scales (national - local) ;
- Effectively capitalize on the strengths of each stakeholder, recognising the centrality of affected communities and grassroots organisations in the reconstruction processes
- Clearly place state authorities (in partnership with civil society and community representatives) in the driver’s seat on decision-making and resource allocation;
- Improve the exchange and accessibility to in-time relevant knowledge, good practises and lessons learned, about to link indigenous knowledge with external expertise;
- Assist in establishing robust and transparent quality and result monitoring systems able to connect measurable inputs at the national level with measurable outputs at the sub-national, local level.
8. Participants committed to developing improved systems and instruments for recovery
and reconstruction finance, welcoming World Bank leadership in this effort. These
mechanisms would provide access to reliable reconstruction financing; build capacity to
manage the surge of resources; effectively integrate the resources and capacities of non-traditional
donors (including local actors and communities) ; and where appropriate tap into the financial capacity of the global capital market.
9. Participants endeavoured to establish a global reconstruction and recovery knowledge
practice, linking practitioners and networks working on reconstruction and recovery and
providing open access to data and information.
10. The Third Session of the Global Platform closed with a call for strengthened global
leadership to address the underlying drivers of risk that increasingly pose a threat to the stability
and sustainability of development gains.
