The Sendai Framework adopted in Japan in 2015 recognized the role of nine major groups and other stakeholders as critical to enabling an all-of-society engagement to achieve the Sendai Framework targets and priorities for action in order to make progress on reducing mortality, the numbers of disaster affected, reduce economic losses and damage to critical infrastructure.

“We want to leverage your expertise and your networks to reach out to local people and their communities,” concluded Shoko Arakaki, Chief, UNISDR Partnerships Branch, at the end of the session.

Many participants reacted very positively and welcomed the initiative. Rachel Dignam from the Business and Trade Group, said: “This is the first time that we are invited to the table, said and we are very pleased to be here. We have a lot to offer and to gain and for sure we are interested.”

Hans Peter Teufers, from UPS Foundation and Director of ARISE, the UNISDR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, also praised the initiative as a way to increase cooperation and commitments between partners who share the same agenda.

Participants will now go back home and consult their constituents before the proposal to establish a UNISDR Stakeholder Advisory Group is expected to be finally adopted. This engagement mechanism will be also used as a consultation and feedback mechanism to plan and organize the next Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction which will be held in Geneva, in May 2019.

It is anticipated that the partnership will provide a boost to implementation of Target (e) of the Sendai Framework which seeks a substantial increase in the number of national and local strategies for disaster risk reduction by 2020. The partnership will help ensure that these strategies provide for full engagement of all potential partners.

The consultation was attended by the Major Groups and other Stakeholders (MGoS)  that are part of the MGoS High Level Political Forum  Coordination Mechanism/Steering Group, namely: The Women’s Major Group (WMG), UN Major Group on Children and Youth (MGCY), Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG), Farmers Major Group, NGO Major Group, Scientific and Technological (STC) Major Group,  Workers and Trade Unions Major Group, Stakeholder Group of Persons with Disabilities, Volunteer Groups Alliance, Stakeholder Group on Ageing (SGA), Education and Academia Stakeholder Group (EASG), Together 2030 and CSOs for Financing for Development.

In addition to this there was representation from: 

The Huairou Commission, Platform for Disaster Displacement, Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR),  Platform on Disaster Displacement, UNISDR Science and Technology Advisory Group, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), European Broadcasting Union, UPS Foundation, UNISDR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE), Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Swiss NGO DRR Platform.

Date:

23 Feb 2018

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

Themes:

Capacity Development, Community-based DRR, Advocacy & Media, Private Sector