Arab States advance shared roadmaps for risk-informed development at the Seventh Arab DRR Coordination Mechanism Meeting
The Seventh Meeting of the Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) convened in Manama under the leadership of the League of Arab States and with the host support of the Kingdom of Bahrain, bringing together Arab Member States and a wide range of partners to strengthen regional cooperation on disaster and climate resilience.
Over two days, the meeting served as a strategic regional platform to align priorities, review progress on the Arab Strategy for DRR, and advance practical coordination across sectors, linking civil protection and environmental authorities, strengthening data and reporting systems, and mobilizing whole-of-society partnerships that include UN agencies, civil society, academia, and development partners.
Strengthening regional coordination to accelerate implementation
As disasters and climate impacts grow in frequency and severity, regional coordination has become essential to move from commitments to action. The Manama meeting reinforced the Mechanism's role as a convening space for:
- risk governance and policy alignment across Arab States;
- shared tools and data systems to guide decision-making; and
- collective preparation for regional and global milestones, including the next Global Platform for DRR.
Key agenda priorities and roadmaps advanced in Manama
Discussions focused on a set of concrete workstreams and roadmaps that strengthen joint implementation across countries and institutions, including:
- Institutional strengthening of the Mechanism: review of the Mechanism's foundational framework and coordination modalities, alongside progress tracking on the Arab DRR Strategy and its work programme.
- Integrated regional coordination across sectors: a dedicated joint discussion between civil protection (civil defence) entities and environmental authorities, reinforcing cross-sector collaboration for multi-hazard risk management.
- Regional and global alignment: consolidation of Arab coordination on follow-up to the Arab Regional Platform for DRR and coordinated preparation for the Global Platform for DRR, ensuring regional priorities are reflected in global processes.
- Risk knowledge and shared tools: discussion of the UNESCO Natural Hazards Atlas for the Arab region, and steps toward establishing a regional Arab DRR database to support evidence-based planning.
- Complex and emerging risk areas: agenda focus on reducing risks related to ship accidents, strengthening cooperation on nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness and response, and follow-up on the Arab programme for maritime disaster risk reduction.
- Resilience through sectoral programmes: advancing Arab roadmaps and programmes on education for resilience, agriculture sector DRR, multi-hazard urban resilience, and water emergency management and DRR.
Next steps
The meeting concluded with agreement to continue coordinated technical follow-up across the Mechanism's workstreams, including strengthening shared risk information, advancing sectoral resilience programmes, and maintaining joint preparedness for upcoming regional and global milestones.