11 – 14 December 2018 | BANGKOK, Thailand – United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) represented local authorities stakeholder group in the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Asia Partnership (IAP) forum on 11-12 December 2018 and Consultative Workshop on 13-14 December 2018, both events hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in Bangkok, Thailand.
UCLG ASPAC Secretary General, Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, delivered a key note presentation on mainstreaming the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) at local level. Dr. Bernadia highligthed efforts conducted by UCLG ASPAC which include advocacy (involving mayors or top city leaders to participate in regional cooperation), capacity building (training); awareness raising (engaging city to join Making Cities Resilient campaign); and establishing collaboration with international agencies to support disaster reduction efforts.
The Regional Consultative Workshop on National and Local DRR Strategies was held on 13-14 December 2018 in pursuit of target E SFDRR. The workshop was attended by over 125 participants from governments, Intergovernmental Organisations, United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) and various international organisations with concerns in resilience.
The consultative workshop was open by Executive Secretary of UN-ESCAP Ms. Armida Alisjahbana, highlighting the important role of partnership between stakeholders. She underscored that disasters contributed to widening inequality; thus, strengthening our response in line with SFDRR was essential in the world’s most disaster-prone region, where risk was outpacing. In this occasion, Secretary General Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi also highlighted UCLG ASPAC’s role in DRR including leveraging the number of local governments in Asia Pacific formulating local DRR strategy by 2020 (target E) and engaging more cities to take part in MCR campaign platform.
IAP was established as agreed in Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR). IAP Forum was designated as an instrumental mechanism to ensure the implementation of Asia Regional Action Plan and monitor its progress. Specifically, the Action Plan 2018-2020 identifies some key functions of the IAP Forum which includes conducting periodic progress assessment of the implementation of the Asia Regional Action Plan and the Sendai Framework, as a platform to share lessons and identify key gaps in implementation of disaster risk reduction in the region, providing or mobilising technical expertise and guidance on disaster risk reduction at the regional-level, and advocating for accelerated implementation of the Sendai Framework.
