Global Efforts for Disaster Management

Global efforts for disaster management emerged as the world recognized the need for sustainable development.

The 1972 Stockholm Conference was one of the first international discussions on environmental issues, linking development with disaster resilience. The Brundtland Report (1987) emphasized sustainable development, highlighting the need for risk reduction in disasters.

However, the first focused effort towards Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) started in 1994 in the form of the Yokohama Strategy. It was the first global framework emphasizing preparedness and mitigation over post-disaster relief. This was followed by the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015), which introduced a structured approach to reducing disaster risks through capacity-building and governance. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) further strengthened global commitments by focusing on risk reduction, resilience, and international cooperation, aligning DRR with sustainable development.

We will cover these topics in this chapter.

Other Global Frameworks related to the Disaster Risk Reduction

The 1992 Earth Summit (Rio Conference) integrated disaster management into global development policies, recognizing environmental degradation as a factor exacerbating disasters. These efforts laid the foundation for international cooperation in disaster risk reduction (DRR). This was the origin point of several other frameworks such as: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stress disaster resilience, particularly in Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities) and Goal 13 (Climate Action). The UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and its agreements, including the Paris Agreement, address climate-induced disasters, recognizing the need for adaptation and risk mitigation. Such efforts emphasize that disaster management is crucial for achieving global sustainability. We have covered these frameworks in the Our Environment book.

Yokohama Strategy

The Yokohama Strategy and International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) was launched in 1989. It was the first global platform that reached to the vital conclusion that the damages caused by natural disasters have global repercussions.

The issue was raised in the UN General Assembly in 1989 and finally formalised at the World Conference on Disaster Management in May 1994.

1^st World Conference on Disaster Management

All member states of the UN and other states met at the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction. It acknowledged:

• The impact of natural disasters in terms of human and economic losses has risen in recent years, and society, in general, has become vulnerable to natural disasters.
• These disasters affected the poor and disadvantaged groups the worst, particularly in the developing countries, which are ill-equipped to cope with them.

Yokohama Strategy:

It is a guide to the rest of the decade and beyond, to mitigate the losses due to these disasters. The resolutions were:

1. Each country has the sovereign responsibility to protect its citizens from natural disasters;
2. Priority attention to the developing countries, particularly LDCs, land-locked countries and small-island developing states;
3. To develop and strengthen national capacities and capabilities:
   • National legislation for natural & other disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness,
   • Including the mobilisation of NGOs and participation of local communities;
4. To promote and strengthen sub-regional, regional and international cooperation in activities to prevent, reduce and mitigate natural and other disasters, with particular emphasis on:
   • human and institutional capacity-building and strengthening;
   • technology sharing: the collection, the dissemination and utilisation of information; and
   • mobilisation of resources.

International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)

The Yokohama Strategy declared 1990-2000 as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). However, at the end of the decade, there was no permanent organisation working at the global level for disaster management-related coordination.

Thus, UNDRR was formed.

Hyogo Framework for Action

The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) (2005-2015) was adopted at the 2nd UN World Conference on DRR. It aimed to enhance global disaster resilience through risk reduction, capacity building, and governance.

In India, it led to the strengthening of the Disaster Management Act (2005), the establishment of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and the integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) into national policies, improving preparedness and response.

Sendai Framework Agreement

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is a 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement that recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.

Adopted by UN Member States at the 3^rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction(WCDRR) in Sendai City, Japan in 2015. It was endorsed by the UN General Assembly following the 2015 Third UN WCDRR.

It is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015, building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. The first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda.

It has seven targets and four priorities for action.

The Seven Global Targets Of SFDRR :

1. Substantially reduce global disaster mortality by 2030, aiming to lower the average per 100,000 global mortality rate in the decade 2020-2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.
2. Substantially reduce the number of affected people globally by 2030, aiming to lower the average global figure per 100,000 in the decade 2020 -2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.
3. Reduce direct disaster economic loss in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
4. Substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and educational facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030.
5. Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020.
6. Substantially enhance international cooperation with developing countries through adequate and sustainable support to complement their national actions for implementation of this Framework by 2030.
7. Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030.

The Four Priorities for Action under the Framework:

1. Understanding disaster risk.
2. Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk.
3. Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience.
4. Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, and rehabilitation.

Other Platforms working for Disaster Risk Reduction

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR): It is a global forum for strategic advice, coordination and review of progress in the implementation of the Sendai Framework. It marked the first opportunity since 2015 to review global progress in the implementation of SFDRR. INDIA participated in it. Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) which is published biennially by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)According to a recent report: the Asia Pacific region accounts for 40% of the global economic losses due to extreme climate changes, with the greatest impact in the largest economies of Japan, China, Korea and India. Economic losses to the extent of 4% of GDP annually are projected if countries don’t invest in DRR.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

It was formed in December 1999 as the successor to the secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction;

Objective: to ensure the implementation of the(UN) International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN ISDR) (General Assembly (GA) resolution 54/219 ).

• Its functions span the social, economic, environmental as well as humanitarian fields.
• UNISDR supports the implementation, follow-up and review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan.

Thus, UNISDR’s vision is anchored on the four priorities for action set out in the Sendai Framework.

UNDRR is 99.2% funded through voluntary contributions from a diverse set of donors.

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR)

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) is a biennial multi-stakeholder forum established by the UN General Assembly to review progress, share knowledge and discuss the latest developments and trends in reducing disaster risk. It is organized by UNDRR.

UN Sasakawa Award:

It is the most prestigious international award in the area of Disaster Risk Management. In 2019, UNDRR during the 6^th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) in Geneva, conferred the Sasakawa Award to Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra.

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR):

It is published biennially by UNDRR. It is a product of contributions of nations, public and private disaster risk-related science and research, amongst others.

Important facts from the recent reports :

• Asia Pacific region accounts for 40% of the global economic losses due to extreme climate changes, with the greatest impact in the largest economies of Japan, China, Korea and India.
• Economic losses to an extent of 4% of GDP annually are projected if countries don’t invest in DRR.
• The Human Cost of Disasters (2000-2019) Report: The cost of disasters is increasing every decade. 7,348 major disaster events occurred between 2000 and 2019, claiming 1.23 lives, affecting 4.2 billion people and costing the global economy some $2.97 trillion. The figure far outstrips the 4,212 major natural disasters recorded between 1980 and 1999, the UN office said in a new report entitled”. The sharp increase was largely attributable to a rise in climate-related disasters.

You can quote these facts in your main answers.

Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR):

It’s a biennial conference, established in 2005, jointly organized by different Asian countries and the UNISDR. So far, six AMCDRR conferences have been organised.

India hosted the first AMCDRR after the Sendai Agreement in 2016 in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in 2007. The hosting of the Conference re-affirms India’s commitment to the cause of Disaster Risk Reduction. At this Conference Asian countries adopted the following:

1. Asian Regional Plan for Implementation of the Sendai Framework: It has arrived at a longer-term road map of cooperation and collaboration, spanning the 15-year horizon of the Sendai Framework, as well as a two-year action plan to further disaster risk reduction with specific, actionable activities.
2. New Delhi Declaration: a political statement, spelling out the commitment of participating governments towards preventing and reducing disaster risk, and strengthening the resilience of communities, nations and the Asian region.
3. It also commemorated the 1st World Tsunami Awareness Day to spread awareness of tsunamis.

In 2024, the latest AMCDRR was hosted.

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