New report demonstrates how Earth observation data can help to measure the Sendai Framework for DRR.
By Rhea Katsanakis
How ready are countries to monitor progress in achieving the global targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and disaster-related targets for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
The ‘Global Summary Report on Disaster-related Data for Sustainable Development’ - produced by UNISDR - shows what countries across all regions estimate to be the status of accessible disaster-related data that fulfills minimum quality standards, as of April 2017. The report examines factors that hinder data use for monitoring as well as decision-making, and further showcases programmes and initiatives that work towards filling data gaps, enhancing accessibility and improving quality and applicability. Earth observations and geospatial information are cited as crucial components to fill existing data gaps in disaster loss data and disaster-related statistics, and are identified as crucial in contributing to risk-informed decision making.
Chapter 1 of the report addresses disaster-related data availability, summarizing findings from the 87 countries that participated in the ‘Sendai Framework Data Readiness Review’ - a survey that assessed data availability for all indicators measuring the Sendai Framework global targets, and disaster-related targets of the SDGs.
The report concludes that most countries collect a critical mass of disaster loss data required to measure Sendai Targets A to D and SDGs 1 and 11, while greater gaps in data availability exist for Targets E, F and G. Gaps in data must be addressed by March 2019, for all countries to be able to report in the first official reporting cycle of the Sendai Framework and build the 2005-2015 baselines required for measurement. Exceptionally, the first reporting cycle will cover the two biennia 2015-2016 and 2017-2018.
Action is required to address issues of data availability, accessibility and quality of available data. Three Country experiences in disaster risk reduction and disaster management, as well as sustainable development and climate change adaptation, have shown that failure to address these three aspects severely hamper data and information management.
Chapter 2 of the report is dedicated to data quality aspects. It references the work of partners – including the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Earth observations for Disaster Risk Reduction - relating disaster loss accounting with geospatial data, big data and statistics. While data for measuring the Sendai Framework targets are coming from national disaster loss accounting systems, national statistical systems, household surveys and routine administrative data, it can be easily amplified by geospatial information to fill existing data gaps in disaster loss data and disaster-related statistics.
The report further affirms that Earth observations are fundamental to defining the environmental dimension of the SDGs and the Sendai Framework, and that it can be combined with demographic, statistical, and other data, to support data-driven decision-making and action across government institutions and programmes. With the integration of a number of the key indicators of the Sendai Framework within the global indicator framework of the SDGs, Earth observation-derived monitoring and methodologies could also be explored for Sendai Framework indicators.
The report concludes that a Global Partnership for Disaster-related Data for Sustainable Development would facilitate a collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort (bringing together governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia, civil society groups, and the statistics and data communities), to optimize and operationalize existing and future disaster-related data in support of national and sub-national disaster risk reduction efforts and the measurement of the global targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It is expected that upon drafting the terms of reference for the partnership, collaborating entities will use the information provided by the 87 Member States contributing to the Sendai Framework Data Readiness Review 2017, to formulate the strategy and priority actions to support enhanced monitoring, reporting and risk-informed decision-making.