Towards a post-2015 framework for Disaster Risk Reduction BUILDING THE RESILIENCE OF NATIONS AND COMMUNITIES TO DISASTERS

WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE THE MOMENTUM FOR DRR AND ACCELERATE HFA IMPLEMENTATION IN THESE REMAINING THREE YEARS AND THREE MONTHS STARTING 1ST OCTOBER 2012?
In my opinion this remaining short time should be a priority focus of all the governments and non government agencies to achieve maximum targets of HFA. In this regard the all governments of the world share their real achievement on the five thematic areas of HFA. What I think except priority one the other four areas are still far beyond the target. Priority one is just touched by governments not fully owned as a top priority.

Corruption, injustice, political unstability, poverty and poor structure of governments institution are main hurdles to achieve the target of HFA.

Regards
Jalilur Rehman
DRR Practitioner Pakistan

Many natural disasters have occurred recently, major hazards include the Queensland floods in Australia and Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster in Japan. Contributions towards best practice are significant factors that indicate lessons learned from disasters. Best practices are usually adopted or more appropriate for specific countries that display similar characteristics such as climate, human development index and population. Lessons learned from recent disasters, recovery process is investigated and implemented for building resilience. Changes in energy policies were adopted just over one year after the disaster to introduce renewable energy source in Japan and also carbon tax in Australia. The impacts for disasters and climate change are related issues. In general, developing countries are less responsible and less likely to cope with increased level of global warming. The recent trends are most concerning in the past few years for developed countries with high economies.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE THE MOMENTUM FOR DRR AND ACCELERATE HFA IMPLEMENTATION IN THESE REMAINING THREE YEARS AND THREE MONTHS STARTING 1ST OCTOBER 2012?

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First of all I like the term "momentum" used to describe the current progress of HFA implementation. Indeed it is moving forward and I truly believe that significant achievements have been realized to date. But like any "momentum", a stronger opposite force can easily stop this forward progress. Taking on from this thinking, I believe to ensure that the HFA continues to move forward, we need to identify what are the different forces that will stop its progress. Broadly thinking, I think these are forces that can significantly undermine the progress of HFA implementation and we need to address this.

The talking and walking of DRR practice can simply be stopped when people stopped talking about it. Governments and agencies and people can easily shift their focus in terms of directions for development. Years ago we saw the threats to collapsing financial systems and the world shifted its focus and attention to dealing such threats. Right now there has been a lot of talk about climate change, negotiations, conferences, dialogues etc are happenening everywhere. To ensure that DRR continues to take on a significant share in public opinion, we need to think of ways to provide a venue for advocacies both national and international levels. DRR and HFA should continue to be an important element of public opinion.

Coming from the non-government sector, "best practices" are a big thing for us. NGOs are fond of capturing and sharing best practices. I think a way forward is to facilitate learning conferences within countries and across countries to talk about these themes; (1) DRR approaches from the most basic element of DRR---the community at the forefront of DRR and (2) engaging multiple stakeholders such as the private sector, academe, government and non-government agencies to contribute in DRR.

The organization I am working with, in the next 3 years, we will continue to strengthen our work on community-managed DRR. Right now we are working on coming up with an updated trainers manual on CMDRR that will integrate the current developments in ecosystems and climate change links to DRR. In the Philippines, although we have a national legislation that advances the DRR according to the HFA, the greatest challenge we have found is "localizing" such legislation--how local governments and local communities translate the law into actual work on risk reduction. With this in mind, we are implementing CMDRR in various communities and working with local governments to serve two purpose (1) to assist at risk communities reduce their risks and (2) capture and document the factors that contribute and hinders localization of implementation of the DRR law and policies.

These are all for now in mind and I am happy to learn from the posts in this online dialogue.


Cheers,

Wilson
IIRR-Regional Center for Asia

Dear Loy and All,
Greetings from Save the Earth.
How to accelerate the HFA for the rest 3 years (2013-15), i think, there few opportunities that can accelerate the HFA progress and also contribute much more for post-15 efforts.

The highest crisis in progressing of the HFA at local government and community perspectives are "limited or NO RESOURCES". [Resources refer to mainly human, technical and financial resources].

We asked the community (2009 VFL) "Does your community have access to financial or material resources provided by local government to reduce the impact of disasters or to help recover from disasters?" the answer was almost "NO".

Again, we asked, "Does the local government have an adequate budget for disaster prevention?" again the answer was almost "NO".
For more details, please visit: http://www.globalnetwork-dr.org/.

The fact is, a developing country that does not have enough financial strength, how they can allocate sufficient amount of money for DRR what they do not understand clearly. If the people who prepare the budget or prepare the policy strategy do not know clearly the DRR issues how they can think to put money for that in the budget! So, significant capacity should be developed for the people who work for DRR in state and non-state agencies.

CSOs have been working with governments to reduce the risks at all levels from mitigation to rehabilitation stages, so attention with means and facilities should be made for the CSOs so that they enhance the efforts to carry out the works. Surely the "resources" must be provided for the governments particularity for the local governments to empower them. Without local empowerment, the risks from the local levels cannot be reduced. So, i think, local government and CSOs should be increasing supports in all possible ways.

On the other, the CSO networks that support the process like GNDR, GDN, and other collaborative efforts should be strengthened so that they can make more visible contributions in these fields.

ISDR should work more robustly with DRR agencies in countries (government, UN agencies and CSOs) to institute the activities to be done for the three years and also can articulate the approach for the post HFA. ISDR is the agency that work for disaster reduction. It should be more open and robust to all DRR agencies equally (must not be keep CSO sector as the second grade partner).

The ISDR should analyze the recommendations made from different research/study (GAR, National HFA, VFL, and others) and institute the updated approaches to address the pending works for rest three years and post-HFA strategy.

i do not think, to abolish ISDR will be contributing to reduce the disaster risks but i think, it should be strengthened with resources (manpower, technically, financially ...) so that it can reach to ends of the situation and can function well.

All the best
Akhteruzzaman Sano
Save the earth Cambodia

I echo the sentiments of Akhteruzzaman Sano; DRR must become a priority for those who hold the purse strings. We cannot hope to mainstream risk reduction, whether these are risks posed by a rapidly changing climate or those posed by hazards, across development sectors without greater political and private sector buy in. We live in a world where, sadly, cash is king. Countries want economic development (politicians want this too because it allows them to maintain power and increases the likelihood of re-election!) Stand alone conservation projects that do not take into account people's livelihoods are met with limited success - it's the same principle for governments! Advocacy on DRR and CCA is helpful; showing the economic benefits of risk reduction, or better yet, embedding DRR into any and all development projects is crucial. Legislation with teeth to bite is necessary - let developers know that 'no DRR, no deal' is the way of the future....The same rationale applies to cutting carbon emissions. You want to do business? You want to make money? Protect your investments AND the future....'sustainable development' - it's not a new concept, but is one that's time has come. The pursuit of profit is clearly a driver of risk - can we find a way to make it a basis for resilience too?

As such, average global economic disaster losses have risen by 200 percent over the last 25 years. 2011 was the costliest year on record for disasters with estimated global losses of US$380 billion. The most expensive events included the Japan earthquake and tsunami and floods in Thailand which affected industrial areas as well as the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 and the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake of a magnitude 6.3 as well as the recent floods in southern Asia during 2011 and 2012 fly time, leaving millions people have been affected, killing a hundreds with direct economic losses. I believe that the remaining three years till 2015 should take in consideration these huge measures to enhance all possible efforts to bring together all appropriate planning is engaged in various aspects of natural disasters prevention, protection and mitigation as well as providing a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences. Thus, to accelerate HFA implementation and enhance the momentum for DRR in the remaining three years till 2015 and make a good start for the post 2015 era.
All best

Here is a newspaper article in the mainstream press that Ben referred to on the Islamic Relief report . Food for thought.
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UN urged to create global fund for disaster prevention
Islamic Relief calls for fund to give poor nations 'fighting chance' against climate change with investment before disaster strikes

guardian.co.uk, Monday 1 October 2012 07.18 EDT

The flooded west bank of the Niger River in Niger's capital, Niamey, after flash floods that displaced thousands of people earlier this year.

The NGO Islamic Relief has urged the UN to establish a global contingency fund for disaster prevention as it is cheaper to help prepare for floods and drought than spend billions on emergencies.

In a report on Monday, Feeling the Heat, the charity also called on governments and aid agencies to completely rethink their priorities and put disaster risk reduction at the heart of all aid programmes.

"We need to give poor countries a fighting chance against climate change by investing in things like drought-resistant crops, rebuilding flood-prone houses on higher ground and preserving food and seeds for when disaster strikes," says Shahnawaz Ali, head of climate change and disaster resilience for Islamic Relief Bangladesh. "If we do that, we will not only save lives but save a lot of money on emergency aid."

The group said it cost £400 for Islamic Relief to protect a family in the Gaibanda district of Bangladesh from floods for five years by raising their land to a higher level, less than the £440 in emergency aid the same family would need in one month if they lost everything in a major flood.

Islamic Relief is the latest aid group to argue that prevention is better than cure. The EU commissioner on humanitarian aid, Kristalina Georgieva, strongly supports aid efforts that build up the capacity of communities to withstand shocks like drought or floods. Research from the US government says $1 of risk reduction spending can result in as much as a $15 decrease in disaster damage.

Despite common knowledge that investment in preventive measures is cost-effective in the long run, Islamic Relief said only a tiny proportion of aid goes on disaster risk reduction (DRR). In 2010, the world spent 23 times as much on emergency relief for the 10 countries hit hardest by disasters as it spent on disaster prevention.

There have been international efforts to shift aid priorities towards risk reduction. After the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed almost 230,000 people in 2004, the UN general assembly agreed the Hyogo Framework for Action, in which 168 countries put their names to a 10-year-commitment to disaster risk reduction.

This little-known agreement was mentioned at the Rio+20 summit in June, when governments were urged to "accelerate implementation" of the framework. Hyogo, a non-binding framework, called for a 1% allocation of national development budgets to DRR, along with 10% of humanitarian aid financing and 10% of reconstruction and recovery funds.

Islamic Relief said progress is being made. Australia, the European commission and the UK have put resilience at the centre of their aid efforts, while Colombia, Indonesia and other at-risk countries are developing strong disaster programmes. Nevertheless, risk reduction and prevention remain the "Cinderellas of the aid world".

Its report cited research by Development Initiatives showing that only 1% of all development aid goes towards DRR. Islamic Relief said the most disturbing results were in west Africa, which is now dealing with floods after drought. The situation is particularly stark in west Africa, where millions of people in the five countries worst affected by drought, received only 12p for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in every £100 of aid spending over the five years to 2010.

"[In the Sahel] From 2005 to 2010, disaster risk reduction amounted to only 0.12% of all aid – less than for any of the other countries we examined, and far less than the 1% overall percentage identified by Development Initiatives," said the report.

Islamic Relief criticised donors for "fiddling" aid figures, citing the case of money for climate mitigation and adaptation. Donors had promised to provide new funding of about $30bn for 2010-12. In 2010, $22.9bn was provided for climate mitigation, about 15% of total official development aid (ODA).

"If the funding was truly additional, we would expect ODA spending to have been substantially higher than in 2009. ODA did indeed rise over 2009 levels, to $128.5bn. But if climate funding is deducted, ODA actually dropped – by 11.85%. What we are witnessing is a donors' shell game in which funding is being reallocated under different budget heads and cut at the same time," said the report.

Islamic Relief urged the UN and governments to come up with a "bold and binding international agreement to protect poor communities better when the voluntary and rather toothless Hyogo framework for action expires in 2015".

Dear Colleagues

It would seem that my suggestions related to the major challenges to action on DRR and building resilience also provides some of my answers to this question "How do we accelerate HFA implementation and enhance the momentum for DRR in the remaining three years till 2015? Hence I am re-emphasizing them.

1. Greater financial resources need to be given to the UNISDR along with greater power and responsibility for them to implement globally interconnected strategic actions to avert and mitigate disasters.

2. Resources need to be allocated specifically from development budgets for the realization of risk reduction objectives at the international, national and regional levels or through international cooperation and financial mechanisms. This could potentially be done through exploiting existing resources and established practices for more effective disaster risk reduction measures. One of these resources is the defense budgets of U.N countries. As little as 1% of the defense budget of each U.N country could make it possible to implement DRR prevention strategies that could save the lives of millions along with the massive expenditure needed to deal with post disaster crisis.

3. The defense budgets are supposed to protect each countries civilian population from invading forces. These days 'Climate Change' and environmental catastrophes are threatening the well being of civilians worldwide in a more dramatic way than invading forces and can only get much worst if not tackled effectively. 1% of defense budgets used in this way could even create vast savings in defense budgets, when weighed against the costs arising from conflicts linked with migration due to environmental crisis.

In the U.K we have an old proverb which is worth considering here:
"A stitch in time saves nine".

All the Best
Stella