ECHO: A winding road towards a strong Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
The road to Sendai turned out to be somewhat winding as negotiations on a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction came to an end late in the evening on the fifth and last day of the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The newly adopted Sendai Framework will now steer our world on a safer more resilient path over the next fifteen years.
"I am extremely pleased that the new post-2015 framework has been adopted reflecting the world's ambition and commitment to enhance disaster resilience. The EU has played a leading role throughout the process", said Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.
The Sendai framework includes two action targets that the EU has fought hard for: to substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020, and to substantially increase the availability and access to multi-hazard early warning systems.
"What matters now is putting the words into action. We will work closely with all our international partners to implement the Sendai framework and prepare the world better for disasters. Only this week, the cyclone in the Pacific reminded us all of the considerable dangers we are facing", the Commissioner added.
Ten years ago, as part of an international effort to shift disaster help from post- to pre-disasters and to allow communities to be better prepared when a disaster strikes, 168 countries signed a voluntary disaster risk reduction framework called the Hyogo Framework for Action. Set to expire this year, the world community met in Sendai, Japan from 14 to 18 March to adopt its successor framework.
Over the past eight months, the EU has taken on a leading role in the negotiations to build a robust and ambitious post-2015 framework, where disaster risk reduction is a key element of sustainable development efforts, further steps to reduce risks are defined and disaster resilience is fostered.