The Fourth Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction ended last month with the announcement by Japan that the country will hold the 2015 World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, one of the cities devastated by the Great East Japan...
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The Fourth Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction ended last month with the announcement by Japan that the country will hold the 2015 World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, one of the cities devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011.

There were two main outcomes that came out of this Fourth Session - the Chair’s Summary and a High-Level Communique which can be downloaded from here: http://www.preventionweb.net/globalplatform/2013/keydocs

The closing ceremony also included a heart-felt song from Ms. Tosca Puno-Ramos, City Councilor, Makati City, of the Philippines and a 3-minute recap of the Platform (watch below) that brought over 3400 people to Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the future of DRR.

Lack of trust puts at risk insurance and government collaboration

Knowing that the frequency of natural disasters will increase in the future, the market opportunities for insurance companies are enormous. Insurers can work at the local level as at the international level. Often banks ask for catastrophe insurance as a precondition for lending money to buy a house. Governments do not always have the capacity nor the knowledge to insure their citizens. Therefore, it is more efficient to work and collaborate with insurance companies.

However, the insurance sector lacks of trust. Stakeholders often see insurers as the bad guys who steal your money. Corruption, lack of understanding and unreliable risk estimates, all have contributed to weaken insurers’ reputation and expertise. A better insight of insurance instruments to the public is imperative to allow trust.

Commercial insurance or other finance instruments must be an integral part of DRR. They promote risk reductions by giving financial stability and provide funds to cope with disasters damages. Well insured countries may attract more investors and well insured household can look at the future more optimistically. 

Insurers serve individuals, governments, NGOs and enterprises by preventing risks and contributing to faster recovery.  By collaborating with them, decision-makers can design better solutions that will reduce losses and increase resilience to disasters.  Their participation is crucial in DDR management.

Insurance in DRR is about sharing risks between private and public sectors. In case of governments, they contract so-called reinsurance. Reinsurers are insurers that operate at the international level, usually transnational corporations. Their capacity to absorb risk is bigger than local insurers. 

In doing so, the insurance and reinsurance sectors contribute to reduce the dependence on the government funds in post-disaster period and promote investment in disaster risk reduction. Governments assisted by insurers and reinsurers should enhance private property disaster insurance, agriculture insurance and micro-insurance among population living in regions at risk.

To fight bad reputation, not only stakeholders should make an effort to understand insurers’ point of view. The insurance and reinsurance sector must show more transparency in their work and objectives. Transactions and policies look very complex, but not impossible to explain. In conclusion, transparency is probable the key word when it comes to build trust. 

reported by Vanessa Esteves 

Underground space and resilience

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Building resilience into urban planning and investements (part3)

There is a need for more levels of urbanization and more room for crowded towns. Using underground space is an option that should be better discussed and considered. Just like skyscrapers, it contributes to use more efficiently land available. However, unlike constructions build on the surface, the use of underground space reduces ugly buildings on the surface. Also, it logically reduces costs in external structures, painting on outside walls are useless. Above all, underground buildings or semi-underground buildings save significantly energy thank to geothermal energy use.

For the general public it might be unknown, but underground spaces offer a relatively good level of protection against disasters happening on the surface. For example, underground parking could be used as water storage in case of heavy rain or floods. When Sendai, Japan, was hit by the tsunami underground spaces were less damaged than the infrastructures on the surface. Actually, water supply and sewerage systems remain unaffected or were restored quickly. Kuala Lumpur has also constructed a tunnel called SMART storm management to prevent floods, especially during monsoon season.

World population is expected to grow at an explosive rate; by 2030 two-third of the population will be living in cities. Overpopulation and unplanned urbanization in metropolises expose its inhabitants to man-made or natural disaster. It makes cities less liveable too. To address this issue, actors involved in urban planning must be very creative. More ideas are needed and all ideas must explore. Underground space should not be forgotten even if it implies more regulations on underground land, building standards and more studies on underground natural bio- environment.

Reported by Vanessa Esteves

Follow-up on the underground topic:
- The World Tunnel Congress 2013 is going to be held in CICG. http://www.wtc2013.ch/home.html

Volunteers at GPDRR13

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ICVolunteers supported the Global Platform for disaster risk reduction 2013 by providing volunteers. Big events like the Gpdrr13 cannot be organized without the participation of third parties. As result the main organiser can concentrate in its prime work and can count on third parties to assist them whenever and wherever it is needed. Volunteering is not just about saving money!

Volunteers make sure that the operational work runs smoothly, making the event more pleasant. In fact, they play an important part in assuring the success of events like Gpdrr13. Also, managing volunteers is not a piece-of-cake job, which is why ICVolunteers mandate is necessary. Recruitment and coordination of volunteers must be handled by experienced professionals.

ICVolunteers recruited smart and motivated volunteers with various cultural backgrounds just like the Gpdrr13 participants. The selection was probably very strict and difficult; most volunteers had very a rich life experience and were dying for more. Good will and good spirit were noticeable in every volunteer who was trying his best to get work done and make participant feel at ease from registration office to interpretation booth.  

I would like to highlight a task that volunteers did with their heart, but that was not always easy according to the very dense topics discussed. Most sessions, consultations and events were covered by voluntary reporters under ICVolunteers. By doing so, organizers could keep record of what was going on in this international meeting.

All day long, a wide range of discussions with various topics (private sector, health, community, etc.) were taking place at the same time. Volunteers-reporters participated in putting new ideas and concrete examples of DRR management into words so to they can be spread better. Let’s not forget about the videos and interviews that were done in the crowd to catch the mood of gpdrr13 participants!

All information gathered during an event like Gpdrr13 is extremely useful. The Gpdrr13 was a dynamic event so to say a brainstorming at a global level.  Consultations, meetings, sessions and presentations are going on as ideas and information are flowing at a frantic rhythm. The information reported is useful, because it gives a feed-back on the quality of the discussions. It underlines objectively which topics were more - or less – debated and sets future agendas. For communication teams, it is imperative to know if the key messages were understood. Then, they can build better strategies for the future.

reported by Vanessa Esteves 

http://www.icvolunteers.org/index.php?language=fr 

“We have been building community resilience through our organizing and community development decades before it became a buzzword and long before disasters struck our communities.”

Community Practitioners AcademyThe Community Practitioners Academy leading up to the Global Platform brought together 45 community experts from 17 countries who have been coping with drought, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land grabbing, tropical storms, floods, tsunamis, nuclear explosions, environmental degradation, climate change, conflict and epidemics among people, livestock and crops.  
 
 
Read community priorities for local implementation of HFA abd forumlation of HFA2 in the Outcome Statement here:
http://huairou.org/sites/default/files/CommunityPractitionersAcademy_OutcomeStatement.pdf

The Academy was convened by UNISDR, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), ACT Alliance,ActionAid, Cordaid, Oxfam GB and JANIC, in partnership with GROOTS International and Huairou Commission.

Imagine a City…Cities Must be Liveable to be Loved

Imagine a city developing sustainably, using natural geothermal energy, rapidly transporting people through underground systems that double as cargo and relief infrastructure…the use of underground space are far more than you can imagine. 

Learn more NOW at the Featured Event on Building Resilience into Urban Planning and Investments, happening NOW until 12:45pm in Room 3!

People must be part of urban planning!

“We need to work from the ground up considering the problems that citizens far so that the planning process becomes a human process that involves the people. This is an important, cultural change. We need to be social leaders in resilience”.

–Mayor Emilio Graterón of Chacao, Venezuela, speaking now at the Featured Event on Building Resilience into Urban Planning and Investments, happening NOW until 12:45pm in Room 3!

Mayor of Hoboken Drawn Zimmer attended the Global Platform for DRR 2013

Building Resilience into urban planning and investments (part2)

http://www.hobokennj.org/

After calling for a minute of silence to honour the victims of Oklahoma disaster, Mayor Drawn Zimmer started a very rich description of Hoboken situation. Hoboken in located just across New York City and is constantly facing floods. The town is one square mile and 50’000 inhabitants live by Hudson River. The town follows a mix use of spaces and is quite active in terms of DRR. Last year, Storm Sandy hit Hoboken and flooded 80% of the town, causing million dollars of damages. Despite DRR plans, the social and economic impact was enormous proving that more action must be taken.

Heavy rains and high tide expose Hoboken population to floods putting their lives in danger. To reduce risk of disasters, Drawn Zimmer is using a comprehensive plan including better preparedness, response and recovery. There are various layers of protection that must be integrated into modern urban planning. There is a need to build strong and be more resilient. In the case of Hoboken, it means a stronger coastal building, flood protections, elevators, disable friendly designs and new standards in urban planning.

At the moment, there is a plan to build three more pumps for emergency situations. To avoid rain water and sewerage water on Hoboken streets, the pumps are crucial because they can alleviate flooding that happens regularly in the city. Rain water must be retained and capture at all costs. The mayor is also looking at turning underground spaces into flood water storage and installing protective barriers like floodwalls. By showing that she can protect her city, Drawn Zimmer hopes to get out of the National flood insurance program which costs are high for the Hoboken citizens.  

Private sector is also involved in protecting the city against disasters and reducing risks. Energy resiliency is extremely important; citizens should be able to pursue their daily life activities (business, study, hospitals, etc.) or to be the least disturbed. Hoboken will start a partnership with PSEG (local energy company) to upgrade the entire electricity system. This example highlights the recommendations heard during GPDRR 2013; private sectors must be involved in DRR prevention.

The Mayor of Hoboken is advocating this new approach for future developments, but she is facing some obstacles. “All policies are against urban America” stated Drawn Zimmer to underline the necessity to take into consideration adequate DRR actions. The United States of America consists of a federal government that shares power at the national level, at the state level and at the local level. 

As a result, urban policies and funding distribution are influenced by this system. In the areas most at risk, the government would give money to install floodgates on each building or put pilots to rise up every house, but would not support the Mayor towards a comprehensive plan. Lack of government support is an obstacle to DRR management.

reported by Vanessa Esteves

 

new codex

A New Codex
May 19-­‐23 United Nations Geneva

I was sitting next to a small man and at one of the last discussions. The same question arrised for about the 4th time about the Factory collapsing in Bagladesh. The answers were being given and again this has been avoided. The small man asked me … Where do we take our questions that have a moral value ?

I said, as you can see we are inthe process of a changing the world. It could be called the new renaissance ,a rebirth. The old is no longer working and the new is uncomfortable. Where do we Begin? By asking the same question ,over and over until the group is so loud it echoes through our planet into the all.

This conference was about risk management in disaster and if you bought what they were selling –you were then having your first disaster the one of believing an insurance salesman.
We went through the whole works from Government help/ we avoided the military help-­‐went to the private sector which is 80% of all the strength of the UNO or any disaster-­‐ we forgot mother Earth and all her ways pf showing us how we are going wrong. We just never listen to the signs of what is around us.

The money ,inflated ego, and hey look at me effect is what we listen to
Why Why Why.

Well after the show was over I asked the man if he was from Bangledesh, as he asked the question concerning this country. No he was from Ethiopia-­‐but why I said did he want to worry about that?

And he said because it is time we worry about each other.
Then I knew that all the big shots on the panel,Citibank,Nestle, Abb and World Bank were not half as big as the
Man sitting next to me. He was bigger than they all and he was asking and answering the right questions. This is the idea of uniting nations and when disaster hits they know from the heart what to do.

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