Learning Module
Presentation Disaster risk and resilience are complex, systemic, and dynamic; just like the urban areas and communities that are exposed to it. This complexity requires local and regional governments to understand what constitutes and shapes disaster risk, and to provide solutions that will not only reduce it, but also build resilience to ensure equitable and sustainable development in their communities. Despite their crucial role in achieving the resilience of their cities and territories, local and regional governments’ actions in this realm have been limited due to a multitude of challenges they face. Local and regional governments (LRGs) need, among others, enhanced capacity as well as enabling institutional, technical, and financial environments to fulfill the localization of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai Framework or SFDRR). This learning module on the localization of the Sendai Framework, developed by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), aims to support local authorities in the creation of an enabling environment for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience building. The module aims to foster learning and raising awareness about the links between local action and the achievement of the global agendas, particularly that of the Sendai Framework for DRR. This first volume of the learning module on the localization of the Sendai Framework discusses the fundamentals of resilience building and their potential integration into LRGs’ policy cycle, providing a base framework for LRGs to understand risk and resilience, enhance risk governance, identify available finance mechanisms and opportunities, and formulate their DRR and resilience building strategies and action plans while building capacities for implementation. The second volume of the learning module will discuss implementation of the action plans at the local and regional levels through the use of actions such as risk-based planning, enhancing social resilience, or using nature-based solutions and innovative design strategies for resilience building. The module builds on the experiences of LRGs confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, presenting a systemic approach to disaster risk management, and recognizing the important role local and regional government associations must play to push for an enabling environment at the national and international levels for LRGs to be able to implement locally-sensible and responsive resilience strategies.
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