Risk Knowledge and Innovation

Disasters affect men and women differently, and so we will continue to lobby for gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and capacity assessments. Studies show that women’s vulnerabilities during and after disasters is linked to their role and status in society, making women and children 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster.

Going on now in Africa, the Congress dubbed on Local Climate Solutions for Africa 2011 kicked off on Monday a gathering of high-level speakers to discuss urban sustainability. The congress is coordinated by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the city of Cape Town, and UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) among other partners. The five day congress will focus, among other things, on local action for climate adaptation and resilience in the context of Africa’s cities. The Congress will serve as preparation for Africa’s local and sub-national authorities and their partners for participation in the South African-hosted climate change summit, 2012.

Addressing journalists at the Palais des Nations on 28 February, General Assembly President Joseph Deiss said that reducing vulnerability to natural hazards must be a top priority of the international community. “Reducing disaster risks is essential if we are to consolidate progress made in development and poverty reduction,” he said, briefing correspondents on the outcome of the General Assembly Thematic Debate on disaster risk reduction, held on 9 February at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

This briefing note highlights that climate change adaptation relies on the reduction and management of climate-related disaster risks and why both need to become central to development planning and investment. It incorporates evidence that illustrates how climate risks are constructed and which risks can be reduced cost effectively.

Geneva – Some 373 natural disasters killed over 296,800 people in 2010, affecting nearly 208 million others and costing nearly US$110 billion, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). The top two most lethal disasters -- the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, which killed over 222,500 people, as well as the Russian heat wave in summer, which caused about 56,000 fatalities made 2010 the deadliest years in at least two decades.

In a message from Helena Molin Valdes, Deputy Director of UNISDR, all campaign cities and partners are encouraged to submit a nomination for the UN-Sasakawa award to highlight good practice and achievements against as many of the "ten essentials" for making cities resilient as possible.

UNISDR has named Cheikh Mamadou Abiboulaye Dieye, Mayor of Saint Louis, Senegal, champion of the "Making Cities Resilient" campaign, in recognition of his achievements in advancing disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Saint Louis City. To mark the occasion, UNISDR held an award ceremony at the "African Cities Commit" regional conference on climate change and local governance. Participants at the conference included mayors from various countries including, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Namibia.

In a part of the world struggling with climate-related hazards such as drought and flood, experts are meeting to discuss ways for Africa to cope with disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Addressing participants at the opening of the International Conference on Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, Abbas Gullet, Secretary-General of the Kenya Red Cross Society, said that climate-related hazards had far-reaching impacts on the Kenyan economy.