2021 European forum for disaster risk reduction

European forum for disaster risk reduction

The European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) forms the regional platform structure of Europe. The triennial EFDRR has established itself as an important vehicle to address the regional disaster risk challenges. It serves as a forum for other stakeholders to take a shared responsibility and make actionable commitments to reduce disaster risk. The conference, true to the multi-stakeholder spirit of the Sendai Framework, enables governments and stakeholders to exchange experiences on successful practices and innovative approaches to prevent, reduce and manage disaster risk. This results in forward looking action plans based on a mutual sharing status of DRR implementation.

The EFDRR has been instrumental in tackling new areas such as sustainable finance as well as creating innovative ways to address challenges, including for example peer review processes and stress testing systems. The EFDRR secretariat, chaired by UNDRR, the European Commission and the Council of Europe facilitates stronger collaboration and coherence across the partners.

The outcomes of EFDRR forum are included in the United Nations Secretary General’s report to the General Assembly, in the deliberations at the High Level Political Forum in New York and at the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Expected outcomes

• Good practices and knowledge on disaster risk-informed policies, programmes and investments are shared, with a particular focus on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the following recovery;
• Partnerships are forged for increased disaster resilience;
• Progress is assessed in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR in the region.
• The integration of disaster risk management in relevant sectors, particularly the health sector, is promoted for longer term resilience;
• Contributions to the follow-up processes of United Nations conferences and summits are made.
• Establish a common understanding of the common challenges and immediate threats in Europe
• Agree on a joint future vision of a disaster resilient European and Central Asian region in 2030
• Adoption of the 2021-2030 EFDRR RoadMap

Thematic focus

The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge we have faced in our lifetime. The countries in the Europe and Central Asian region are particularly exposed to the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. This exposure, along with regional vulnerability to natural and technological hazards, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, mudslides, debris flows, avalanches, droughts and extreme temperatures, and the effect of climate change means that a holistic approach to disaster risk is of critical importance to mitigate the worst impacts of biological hazards, including COVID-19.

The next EFDRR will be an important moment to highlight the need to address the systemic, cascading and compound nature of risks, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate emergency. It will be an opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned, and chart the way forward for a resilient future.

2021 EFDRR is built on the outcomes of the 2018 EFDRR held in Italy and the 2019 Global Platform for DRR held in Switzerland. The Forum aims to address key issues that can move forward through in the implementation of the Sendai Framework in coherence with the SDGs, New Urban Agenda and Paris Agreement.

Additionally, the EFDRR 2021 comes after the year after the ‘Target E’ deadline of the Sendai Framework, which aims to “Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020.”  Demonstrating sufficient progress in meeting the core targets will be politically important to keep the agreement on track and open up space for increasing ambition.

The 2021 EFDRR will be structured along a threefold approach. It will, 1.) take stock of lessons from COVID-19 crisis, showcasing good practices in Europe, and Europe’s role in the world; 2) review progress to date in implementing the Sendai Framework and articulate what changes are needed for a transformative agenda on disaster risk reduction; across the pillars of economic recovery, good governance and for social equity; and 3) commit to ensuring that a disaster impact is never again so severe as the COVID-19 pandemic, articulating new commitments to achieve deliver greater resilience in Europe.

The key outcome documents would include:

• 2021-2030 EFDRR Roadmap - The EFDRR Roadmap forms the basis for coordinated implementation of Sendai Framework for DRR and related SDGs targets until 2030.
• Stakeholder Declaration - Heads of the national delegations and practitioners responsible for disaster risk reduction within the region will agree on a Stakeholder Declaration that highlights main issues considered during the EFDRR and proposes way forward.
• High-level Communiqué - At the High-Level Roundtable, participants endorse focus areas and actions for the EFDRR Road Map implementation.