Literature review: The Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

The aim of this literature engagement is to assess the trajectory of the thinking embodied in the Sendai Framework in the six years following its publication (2015 - 2021). It will first consider the literatures catalysed by each of the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework before moving on to engage four cross-cutting themes: the coherence agenda, the expanded scope of DRR, gender and inclusion, and DRR in urban areas.

This engagement makes no claims to being comprehensive. The quantity and diversity of both academic and grey literature is such that an encompassing review has become impossible, with over 80 academic journals dedicated to DRR and related fields in English alone (Alexander et al 2019) and a further ‘profusion of practitioner-driven literature’ (Sarmiento et al 2019). Instead, the aim of this engagement is to gesture towards the key discussions which have occurred in the field of DRR as researchers and practitioners work to implement the provisions of the Sendai Framework by 2030. By doing so, it seeks to provide a clear and concise basis for discussion of the effects of the Sendai Framework with a view to maximising its effectiveness in the period 2022 - 2030.

2023 marks the midpoint in the implementation of a number of sustainable development frameworks agreed in 2015, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for Financing for Development, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Sendai Framework. Within this context, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) decided2  to hold a “midterm review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework 2015-2030” (MTR SF).