Mr. Sandeep Sengupta, Global Coordinator of the Climate Change Portfolio of the International Union for Conservation of Nature drew attention to natural solutions to climate change. He cited Japan’s coastal forests which saved lives by acting as buffers during tsunamis and mangroves in Malaysia, and sand dunes in Sri Lanka that saved money and mitigated against water driven hazards.

Ms. Sylvie Wabbes, Emergency and Resilience Officer, FAO, said that although Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 called for urgent action to combat climate change, climate change and disaster risk reduction were not cross cutting issues of all the SDG goals. Both issues needed to be across the board, while disaster risk reduction plans needed to match climate risks.

Ambassador Dr. Hala Hameed, Permanent Mission of the Maldives to the UN said her low lying country was susceptible to flooding and dependent on economic activities that were sensitive to climate change such as fishing and tourism, as well as on imported fossil fuels for energy. The Maldives was pursuing a low emission climate resilient development agenda, via a US$9.2 million UN Joint Programme, "Low Emission and Climate Resilient Development" (LECReD).

The International Day for Disaster Reduction was observed on Friday, October 13. The 2017 edition ‘Home Safe Home’, is part of the "Sendai Seven" campaign, centred on the seven targets of the Sendai Framework. This year the focus is on Target B which aims to reduce the number of disaster-affected people by 2030. By David Singh

Date:

16 Oct 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

Hazards:

Drought

Regions:

Africa, Americas, Asia