UNDRR News

Ecuador is using policies of poverty reduction to limit the vulnerability of populations to natural hazards and disasters, the 4th Session of the Americas Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction heard yesterday in a wide-ranging discussion on the links between poverty and disasters.

A new global framework for disaster risk reduction (DRR) must seek to strengthen the role of local government because the impact of all disasters is local, the 4th Session of the Americas Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction heard on Wednesday.

The biggest challenge facing next year’s UN World Conference to agree a new global DRR framework, is how to integrate disaster risk reduction (DRR) into national development plans, Margareta Wahlström, Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said on Wednesday.

Nearly 60 children and young people from across Latin America and the Caribbean made a strong and colourful claim on Tuesday for their voices to be heard in campaigns to reduce risks of natural disasters and other pressing environmental and social issues.

Ecuador has invested heavily in disaster risk reduction (DRR), both politically and financially, and with some good results, but there is much still do, the opening session of the 4th Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas heard on Tuesday.

Several hundred government and civil society representatives from over 30 countries will gather this week in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil to review progress in the Americas on reducing exposure to disaster risk.

The Head of UNISDR, Margareta Wahlström, arrived yesterday in Chile, where she was received by the President, Michelle Bachelet, prior to a regional consultation on disaster risk reduction with the eleven member countries of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

The Mayor of the Argentinian city, Sante Fe, José Corral, returns to his home city tomorrow from the 7th World Urban Forum (WUF7) as a Champion of UNISDR’s Making Cities Resilient Campaign .

Latin America has taken a step towards mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into national development policy instruments and poverty reduction strategies. The Latin American Parliament has adopted a protocol on disaster risk management that obliges its 23 member states to incorporate guiding principles of building resilience into existing or emerging legislation. The adoption of the protocol comes ahead of the 2014 Americas Regional Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, to be held in Ecuador, in May.

The Dominican Republic has adopted a new ‘National Plan for Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management’. The President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, approved the plan that will define policy guidelines and basic principles for public and private institutions and civil society organizations. The plan focuses on the implementation of programmes that reduce disaster risk, ensure the safety of citizens and protect the country’s economic, social, environmental and cultural heritage.