2018 UNISDR Trainer Certificate Course in the Asia-Pacific Region Building Resilient Cities with Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan - Application of the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities

Background and Introduction

Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically. Yet now that half of the world’s population live in cities, making sustainable and resilient cities - amidst a changing climate, rapidly depleting resources, and unplanned urbanization - is one of our greatest challenges and opportunities.

The engagement of cities and local authorities has been at the forefront of discussion in many of the global forums including the Third UN World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in March 2015 when 187 UN member states adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 – the global blueprint for disaster risk reduction (DRR). Cities are key to tackling local risks and it is highly encouraged for cities to build resilience through sustainable and inclusive development – development that addresses the root causes of existing risks and prevents the creation of new ones.

Building on the current efforts in these local governments and collaboration with various stakeholders, this initiative will support in the development and implementation of risk-informed development plans, with a direct correlation to increased capacity in risk management and monitoring for improved public services to communities. Capacity of beneficiary cities and key stakeholders is instrumental to the success of this initiative.

This workshop aims to:

• Provide an overview on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and its linkage to Sustainable Development Goals: from the global framework to local implementation
• Share useful tools for cities in self-assessing their resilience including the New Ten Essentials, Quick Risk Estimation tool and Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities
• Introduce a step-by-step guide to the development of local loss database for resilience planning
• Practice the development of disaster risk reduction and resilience action plan
• Exchange experiences and build connections towards city-to-city collaboration in resilience building among participating cities, partners and stakeholders

Expected Outcomes:

• Beneficiary cities and partners have enhanced understanding and equipped with tools for developing local disaster loss database and DRR and resilience action plans
• Network among beneficiary cities, partners and stakeholder strengthened to complement the development and implementation of DRR and resilience action plans
• Work-plan and timeline agreed upon