Ahead of the Wave: Leading the Way to Resilience (By Invitation Only)
Description
By Invitation Only: The participation of Heads of State, Senior Ministers and CEO’s at the Fourth Session of the Global Platform presents a rare opportunity to catalyze bold
new action to build resilient communities and nations. Leadership is at the heart of risk governance and now is the time for leaders to take action. Economic losses from disasters continue to trend upwards – with tangible impacts on business enterprises and economies from the global to the family level. At the same time we are learning much more about the drivers of risk. Public and private investments that aim for growth and development are being taken without consideration of disaster risk. As a result infrastructure is vulnerable, jobs are lost and health and education facilities are laid to waste - each with long lasting impacts on social and economic development.
This high level dialogue comes at an opportune time as leaders from national and local government, citizens and private sector are working with partners to design a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (HFA2) that dramatically accelerates the ability to
mitigate, prevent and reduce disaster risk and losses and builds our resilience to new and complex risk. Senior leaders at this high level dialogue are invited to propose bold steps to ensure that national and international efforts are designed to promote integrated
holistic responses to these challenges. They are also invited to propose major new disaster reduction initiatives in practical areas that deliver measurable results, promote collaboration in risk governance and attract socio-economic benefits for nations and
communities.
Format
This high-level dialogue is by invitation only and will be held from 10:40 to 12:30 hrs on Tuesday 21 May 2013 at the Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction which runs 19-23 May 2013 at the International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.
The dialogue will be hosted by UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson and moderated by President Tarja Halonen (ex-President of Finland). Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC will introduce the context and background for discussion. The remaining time will be an open conversation supported by a moderator and will determine elements and actions to be included in a communiqué. Following the high-level dialogue, there will be opportunities to speak to the media.
Provisional Agenda
10:40 Opening Remarks UN Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson
10:50 Introduction by the Moderator President Tarja Halonen (ex President of Finland)
11:00 Perspectives on Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC
11:10 Tour-de-table Invited Leaders
12:10 Summary of elements of a Communiqué
President Tarja Halonen (ex-President of Finland)
12: 15 Consideration of Draft Communiqué
Invited Leaders
12: 25 Closing TBC
Key themes for discussion
Economic losses from disasters continue to trend upwards – with tangible impacts on business enterprises and economies from the global to the family level. A detailed review of economic losses caused by major disaster events since 1980 shows that, beginning in the mid-90s, there has been a dramatic rise in economic losses with over $100 billion annual disaster-related losses in the past three consecutive years alone.
The current pattern of disaster losses reflects the ongoing accumulation of risk in our cities and rural communities. The proportion of the world population living in flood-prone river basins has increased by 114% in the past 30 years, and the proportion living on cyclone-exposed coastlines has grown by 192%. Decades of locating production and distribution facilities to hazard-prone coastlines and river basins have increased the exposure of businesses and their supply chains to hazards. Rapid urbanization continues to magnify exposure to disaster risk as well. Over half of
the world’s large cities, with populations ranging from 2 to 15 million, are located in areas that are highly vulnerable to seismic activity.
At the same time we are learning much more about the drivers of risk. Public and private investments that aim for growth and development are being taken without consideration of disaster risk. As a result infrastructure is vulnerable, jobs are lost and health and education facilities are laid to waste - each with long lasting impacts on social and economic development. While national and local governments recognize the need to improve access to risk information,
they also recognize that risk governance needs to be strengthened and challenges remain to link even currently available information to decision making processes. This gap has contributed to increased exposure and has undermined achievement of development goals.
The case of schools is an unfortunate example. Disasters often result in the damage or destruction of learning facilities and materials, the closure of schools, the prolonged disruption of
education, increased barriers to education, and decreased education quality. Education officials in Haiti, for instance, estimated that the earthquake destroyed thousands of schools (including 75 percent of those in the capital) where an estimated 38,000 students and 1,300 teachers and education personnel perished. Countries such as Japan and Uzbekistan have invested in programmes to retrofit schools to make them more resilient to disasters – with results that have
not only supported education and children’s safety but have also motivated support to wider risk reduction action.
Leadership is at the heart of risk governance and now is the time for leaders to take action. This high level dialogue comes at an opportune time as leaders from national and local government,
citizens and private sector are working with partners to design a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (HFA2) that dramatically accelerates the ability to mitigate, prevent and reduce disaster risk and losses and builds our resilience to new and complex risk.
Senior leaders at this high level dialogue are invited to propose bold steps to ensure that national and international efforts meet these challenges. They are also invited to propose major new
disaster reduction initiatives in practical areas that deliver results, promote collaboration in risk governance and attract socio-economic benefits for nations and communities.
Chair/Moderator/Faciliator
President Tarja Halonen (ex-President of Finland)
