Sfdrr makati

Joint Collaboration to Implement Global Agenda at City Level

Mainstreaming Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 Workshop, 29 July 2017, Makati.

UCLG ASPAC in cooperation with UNISDR has been promoting Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and the Making Cities Resilient Campaign (MCR) for several years. Through trainings offered at the UNITAR Jeju International Training Centre (CIFAL Jeju) and organized sessions in key conferences, the capacity of cities and local governments in DRR and the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030 is being strengthened. UCLG ASPAC’s Statement of Action by Local Authorities Stakeholder Group was produced and adopted at the 2016 AMCDRR held in New Delhi, India. It highlighted this stakeholder group’s determination to play a much bigger role in the Sendai Framework through actions, such as to improve cooperation with community for risk assessment and local DRR planning and implementation as well as to strengthen local government’s capacity to mainstream DRR into spatial planning and local development programmes.

UCLG ASPAC and UNISDR are supporting 50 local governments in five (5) disaster-prone countries in Asia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Nepal and the Philippines, to report on the Sendai Framework’s Implementation. Once cities are able to assess their respective risks, it is expected that investment and local development planning be better risk-informed. It is also worth noting the

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global impact of the Sendai Local Monitor as it directly contributes to measuring the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030 at local level, thus providing an unprecedented overview, given the number of cities that have adhered to the Making Cities Resilient Campaign.

Cities are identified based on specific criteria including level of risks, demand and interest shown, involvement of other partners and the level of institutional capacity to assess and address disaster risks, prior experience, participation in the Making Cities Resilient Campaign (MCR) and other factors. The assessment is based on addressing the gaps and challenges identified by UNISDR and other MCR Campaign partners. Among the challenges identified, this action targets issues related to the development and implementation of risk-informed local development plans, with a direct relation on increased capacity to deal with the topic and monitoring for improved public services to communities. Effective engagement of a variety of incountry or city level stakeholders ensures that the action plans are backed up by investments that ideally help in filling the missing technical capacity, contributing to the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

The Philippines is located in the Pacific Rim, an area exposed to a’ wide range of natural disasters. It lies within the direct path of seasonal typhoon and monsoon rains. It frequently experiences storms, storm surges, and floods. It is also situated in an area where two tectonic plates (Philippine Sea and Eurasian) meet making it highly-prone to earthquakes. In fact, the county ranked third amongst countries with the highest risk index with an index value of 26.70% (United Nations World Risk Report, 2016).

Hence, the achievement of resilience is everyone’s business.

Resilience is the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions. Disasters often cause a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction underscored the importance of strengthening risk governance to effectively and efficiently manage disaster risks. It stressed that governance plays a key role in the identification, assessment, management, and communication of risks.

Governance encompasses the actions, processes, traditions and institutions by which authority is exercised and decision are taken and implemented.

The SFDRR clearly advocates for a proactive approach toward disaster risk reduction and management. In this context, local government units (LGUs) are in a prime position to address the challenges of the SFDRR–prevent the creation of risk, reduce existing risk and strengthen economic, social, health and environmental resilience.

During the last Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Cancun, Mexico, two (2) new tools for assessing and understanding the level of resilience of cities were launched. First, the Quick Risk Estimation (QRE) tool designed for a multi-stakeholder engagement process in order to identify and understand current and future risks/stress/shocks and exposure threats to both human and physical assets. Second, the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities provides a set of assessments structured around the UNISDR’s Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient. These tools will provide cities simple, organized and structured means for evaluating the progress of their resilience over time.

The workshop on Mainstreaming SFDRR 2015-2030 for the Philippines was held by UCLG ASPAC and UNISDR and hosted by Makati City Government on 29 July in Makati City Hall complex. Participants were introduced to the Sendai Framework for Actions, QRE tool and Disaster Resilience Scorecards.

They were able to exercise the interrelation between the Ten Essentials and the SFDRR and gained an understanding on how to implement o the SFDRR at the local level through the Ten Essentials of the MCR campaign.

This one-day workshop was facilitated by UNISDR Asia Pacific regional officer Mr. Tejas Patnaik and Makati City Disaster and Emergency Management Officers and UCLG ASPAC Secretariat. It was attended by 11

cities in Philippines, Iriga, Catbalogan, Ligao, San Juan, Quezon City, Paranaque City, Pateros, Sorsogon City, Tayabas City, Tabaco City, Makati.

The League of Cities of the Philippines was also represented. Those cities were trained with a goal to disseminate information on the concepts and process of Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities and the QRE Tool anchored on the Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient. In her opening remarks, the Secretary General of UCLG ASPAC stressed the importance of SFDRR’s implementation and city’s contribution to its actions which would be presented at the global level.

Report on Disaster Resilience Scorecard assesment from 10 Cities in the Philippines and the QRE Tool anchored on the Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient is expected to be completed in mid-November 2017.