The Risk Reduction Hub, coordinated by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), was held on 17 May, prior to the High-Level Meeting for the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, held on 18 and 19 May 2023. The Hub served as a space for non-state actors and government representatives to discuss key themes for advancing risk reduction across sectors, regions, and contexts.
Within the UNDRR Risk Reduction Hub meetings, the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI), supported by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), and Resilience Rising, organized the event “Accelerating Implementation of DRR and Resilience in Infrastructure”.
The event convened stakeholders from the infrastructure sector to discuss how the calls to action and recommendations of the Sendai Framework Midterm Review report can be progressed in the context of infrastructure, focussing on concrete solutions and pathways to risk-informed infrastructure systems that support sustainable development for all.
The event aims were:
- Provide a space for non-state actors and government representatives to convene and share their perspectives on the outcomes of the midterm review of the Sendai Framework in relation to the infrastructure sector.
- Identify the transformations needed for improved multi-disciplinary cross-sector collaboration among experts to tackle complex challenges.
- Promote and highlight case studies of solutions and actions from participants and audience, as well as the resolution of barriers.
- Drive awareness of the global engineering perspective on disaster risk reduction and resilience, offering recommendations and solutions from trusted experts.
- Enhance and enable cross-sector and cross-regional collaboration, with a view to replicate innovative solutions.
- Introduce the Principles for Resilient Infrastructure Handbook and discuss how it can be operationalized.
Bill Kelly, Senior Advisor to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a WFEO affiliate member, presented a statement from the WFEO Committee on Disaster Risk Management (available here).
The WFEO committee on Young Engineers/Future Leaders contributed with a statement (available here) from youth on supporting governments to integrate resilience as a core value in infrastructure planning and implementation” .
This statement has been presented by Pulkit Kanotra, civil engineer at Arcadis, and member ot the WFEO-YEFL Working Group on SDG#13 “Climate Action”.
ICSI, with support from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), undertook a consultation in Summer 2022 with the global engineering community and submitted a report entitled The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030: Reflections and insights from the Global Engineering Community (available here) as a voluntary contribution to the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework. It is in the light of this contribution that this event was organized.
For more information:
Summary report of the High-Level Meeting on the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework
The “Accelerating Implementation of DRR and Resilience in Infrastructure” event program
Bill Kelly’s intervention at the ICSI Event
WFEO-YEFL’s statement at the ICSI Event
MAY
2023