The UNISDR is the focal point in the UN System to
promote links and synergies between, and the coordination of, disaster
reduction activities in the socio-economic, humanitarian and development
fields, as well as to support policy integration. It serves as an international
information clearinghouse on disaster reduction, developing awareness campaigns
and producing articles, journals, and other publications and promotional
materials related to disaster reduction.
Its core areas of work includes ensuring disaster risk reduction (DRR)
is applied to climate change adaptation, increasing investments for DRR,
building disaster-resilient cities, schools and hospitals, and strengthening
the international system for DRR.
UNISDR’s vision is anchored on the four priorities for
action set out in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by the Third UN World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan. The four
priorities are composed of 1) understanding disaster risk, 2) strengthening
disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk, 3) investing in disaster risk
reduction for resilience, and 4) enhancing disaster preparedness for effective
response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and
reconstruction.
Disasters from
natural hazards continue to cause significant loss of life and property in the
region. However, in spite of increasing disaster losses, investments to
strengthen disaster resilience remain a low priority. This is partly due to the
limited understanding of the socio-economic ramifications of disasters as the
damage and losses caused by historical disasters are often not widely known;
and the limited understanding of the opportunities available to reduce disaster
risk through development investments.
Traditionally,
disaster risks have been addressed by governments through improvements in disaster preparedness
and emergency response. However, as losses soar to record amounts, governments
are now exploring
new strategies and approaches to ensure the sustainability of public investment
and the protection and stability of budgets.
One of the main reasons why countries find it hard to justify increasing
investment in disaster risk management is the fact that they have difficulties
in assessing not just current risks and actual losses, but also in specifying
the types and amounts of resources required to strengthen risk governance
capacities.
In addition to
challenges in using risk information to inform disaster resilient investments,
there are further challenges in securing financing for tracking disaster risk
management (DRM)-related investments. DRM-related investment needs are often
scattered across a number of sector budgets and, in some cases, may form just
one component (e.g., seismically-strengthened design) or even an indirect
benefit of a wider development project (e.g., irrigation of land reduces the
effects of drought) rather than standalone projects. The extent of public
investment on DRM may not be explicitly reflected in records on the allocation
and use of public funds, and the issue of DRM possibly even fully considered in
national budgetary processes.
In
order to contribute to an increased level of social, economic and environmental
development, UNISDR with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) implementing
an initiative for strengthening
capacity for integration of disaster risk information in public investment
planning processes in three countries namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar.
This initiative is part of a
broader programme that involves multiple agencies and primarily focuses on risk
sensitive investment planning in the identified countries. This specific output
will take stock of existing disaster risk information in the country, and
provide guidance on how such information can be used for the public investment
planning process. In Cambodia, the output will require working with the
National Committee for Disaster Management, Ministry of Planning, and the
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology. In the Lao PDR, the output will
require working with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Department
of Disaster Management and Climate Change. In Myanmar, the output will require
working with the Relief and Resettlement Department and the Department of
Planning. The output will also include sharing experiences among other
Southeast Asian Disaster Management Centers (DMCs).