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Second Session of the Global Platform
for Disaster Risk Reduction
15-19 June
2009 |Geneva, Switzerland
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HIGH-LEVEL
PANEL ON REDUCING DISASTER RISK IN A CHANGING
CLIMATE
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L-R:
The dais of the
high-level panel on
reducing risk in
climate change with Kristie
Ebi, IPCC; Carlos
Costa Posada,
Minister of
Environment, Housing
and Territorial
Development,
Colombia; Michel
Jarraud, World
Meteorological
Organization; Håkon
Gulbrandsen,
State Secretary,
International
Development, Norway;
UN Under
Secretary-General John
Holmes; Johan
Schaar, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs,
Sweden, Silvia
Llosa, UNISDR; Gareth
Thomas, Member
of Parliament,
United
Kingdom. |
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Carlos Costa
Posada, Minister of the Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, Colombia, said that "we still do not know how to adapt to climate change" and called for flexibility in "learning by doing." |
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Håkon Gulbrandsen,
State Secretary
International
Development, Norway, said sustainable long-term solutions and resource allocation to
disaster risk
reduction are of key importance. |
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Gareth Thomas, Minister of International Development, UK, highlighted the need for an effective agreement on climate change in Copenhagen that incorporates
disaster risk
reduction. |
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Kristie Ebi,
Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), informed participants of a forthcoming special IPCC report on disaster risk responses, and issued a call for nominations
to people from the
disaster risk
reduction process to contribute to the report. |
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Michel
Jarraud, World
Meteorological
Organization (WMO),
noted an increase in the frequency and intensity of climate-related natural
disasters and stressed the need for immediate action and for targeted information that allows policymakers to develop effective adaptation policy frameworks. |
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HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON ENABLING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THROUGH PREVENTIVE
ACTION
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Mohammad
Saidur Rahman, Disaster Preparedness Centre, Bangladesh, moderated this high-level panel session on community-led resilience. |
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Bekele Geleta, Secretary-General, International Federation of Red Cross, addressed the linkages between early warning and community resilience, emphasizing that community-led resilience is a prerequisite for a safer future. |
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Ana Lucy Bengochea, Chair, Comité Garifuna, Honduras, stressed the importance of protecting livelihoods, linking disaster and development aid and empowering the community, especially women, in disaster recovery and reconstruction. |
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INFORMAL
PLENARY
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The informal plenary, co-chaired by Margarita
Wahlström,
UNISDR and Michel
Jaraud, WMO,
discussed concrete steps toward mainstreaming
disaster
risk
reduction and conducting the mid-term review of
the Hyogo
Framework
for Action (HFA). |
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ROUNDTABLE
ON LOCAL AUTHORITIES
AND URBAN RISK
REDUCTION |
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Bhichit
Rattakul, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangkok,
said the most effective way of combating climate change in an urban setting is to approach it as part of a holistic
urban risk
reduction plan. |
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L-R:
Narayan Gopal
Malego, Mayor of Katmandu, Nepal, and Violeta
Seva, Earthquakes and Megacities,
the Philippines,
co-chairs of
the session. |
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ROUNDTABLE
ON THE ROLE OF ECOSYSTEMS IN
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION |
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Richard Munang, UNEP, described the cycle that governs ecosystem degradation,
which has a direct impact on the most vulnerable communities. |
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Anders
Wijkman, Member of the European
Parliament, Sweden, lamented that many people continue to live by the myth of endless resources and an endless capacity for the environment to absorb man-made emissions. |
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Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP,
chaired the roundtable on the role of ecosystem management in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. |
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SNAPSHOTS
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WORLD
DISASTERS REPORT 2009
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On Wednesday 16 June, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched the World Disasters Report
(WDR) 2009. This year's report focuses on the need for developing an "Early Warning, Early Action" approach that would protect people from disasters. The report also highlights the high financial costs of disasters, with evidence indicating that it costs four times as much to deal with disasters after they happen than to put the measures in place to protect people and property
beforehand. |
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Michelle McNabb,
Lead Author, WDR 2009,
said early action saves lives, earlier actions can protect livelihoods. |
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Loren Legarda, Senator,
the Philippines, said the WDR is among the most important and relevant publications for the disaster relief community. |
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Maryam
Golnaraghi, WMO, noted that thanks to early warning systems
the number of lives
lost in disasters has
decreased. |
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Related Links for
Disaster Risk Reduction
Website of the
UN
International Strategy for Risk Reduction
Website of the
Second
Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction
Session
documents: Provisional
Annotated Agenda, Provisional
Timetable, and Calendar
of Events
IISD RS resources
IISD RS coverage of the
Second
African Regional Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction (DRR) Consultative Meeting, 5-7
May 2009, Nairobi, Kenya
IISD RS coverage of the
First
Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction,
4-7 June 2007, Geneva, Switzerland
IISD RS coverage of
the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction, 18-22 January 2005, Kobe-Hyogo, Japan
IISD RS coverage of
the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction - Prepcom-1, 6-7
May 2004, Geneva, Switzerland
IISD RS coverage of
the Second
Conference on Early Warning, 16-18
October 2003, Bonn, Germany
Climate-L -A news and announcement list on climate change news and policy developments
Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news
MEA Bulletin- Newsletter on key MEAs and their secretariats
Climate Change Policy & Practice - News and information on the actions of international organizations in responding to the problem of global climate change
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