May 17, 2019
From May 13 to 17, 2019, the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR 2019) was held in Geneva, Switzerland. The GPDRR is a biennial international forum organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) for the implementation, promotion, and monitoring of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 2030.
Mr. Kimio Takeya, Distinguished Technical Adviser to the President of JICA, speaks at the session.
Approximately 4,000 people (UNDRR data) from a wide range of government officials, academia, civil society, and private sector from more than 170 countries participated in this forum. From Japan, government officials, including Mr. Kenji Yamada, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Mr. Akihiro Nakamura, Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination of the Cabinet Office; Mr. Toshizo Ido, Governor of Hyogo Prefecture; Mr. Shinichi Takahashi, Deputy Mayor of Sendai City; and many other people involved in disaster risk reduction, took the stage as panelists.
From May 13 to 14, 2019, the World Reconstruction Conference 4, sponsored by the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), and the Second Multi Hazard Early Warning Conference, sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), were held as preparatory deliberations.
From JICA, 14 people including staff and experts from its headquarters' two departments (Infrastructure and Peacebuilding Department and Global Environment Department), and four overseas offices (Bangladesh, Nepal, Guatemala and Turkey) participated and delivered the results of their projects through the sessions, and also strengthened their relationship through discussions with the counterparts and donors. The Disaster Risk Reduction Group of the Global Environment Department consistently insisted on the importance and urgency of the "Global Target (e) of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 2030."
JICA has been participating with the planning team of the working session for nearly one year before the forum, namely, the "National and Local DRR Strategies (Target E)," and has made positive inputs for the session scenario formulation and the selection of speakers. As the result, Mr. Kimio Takeya, Distinguished Technical Adviser to the President of JICA, took the stage as session moderator, evoked specific discussions on the formulation and development of local disaster risk reduction plans, and led the sharing of practical knowledge on DRR.
In addition, Mr. Junji Wakui, Deputy Director General of the Global Environment Department cum Group Director of the Disaster Management Group delivered, as an official statement, JICA's achievements in the cooperation for disaster risk reduction and examples of efforts to achieve the Global Target (e). Furthermore, JICA revised the leaflet, "Practical Guide for Developing Local Disaster Risk Reduction Plans [Note 1]," announced at the 2018 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Ulaanbaatar, and promoted and distributed copies, official statements, etc., through the above mentioned sessions.
Moreover, an international conference where people involved in disaster risk reduction gather from all over the world is also an efficient venue to discuss matters with high level officials from counterpart organizations with which JICA works together. In order to strengthen partnerships, JICA has held individual discussions and exchanged opinions about the directions for the future implementation of disaster risk reduction plans and the probable cooperation for them with donor organizations such as UNDP and GIZ, as well as executives from national organizations, including Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh and Peru.
Interview with Vice Minister for Disaster Management of Myanmar.
Meeting with the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure of Indonesia.
Before participating in this forum, JICA confirmed the participation of the counterparts through its overseas office in each country. As the result, many counterparts requested bilateral interviews so that JICA confirmed once again its contributions and presence in cooperation activities for disaster risk reduction.
In the sessions and official statements made by the Undersecretary of the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines and the Parliament Secretary of the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development of Fiji, the contents and acknowledgments regarding JICA's cooperation on disaster risk reduction and the reconstruction projects were delivered by the counterparts themselves.
A view of the main conference hall.
On the other hand, since the 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, it has been recognized that disaster risk reduction is an indispensable element in sustainable development, and diverse stakeholders, other than the government and academic societies, have come to participate. As a result, many of the participants do not understand the key points of the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction." (States have the primary responsibility for Disaster Risk Reduction, and proactive pre-disaster efforts by the government is important for Disaster Risk Reduction.) The importance of emergency response, early warning, community participation and diverse assumptions tend to be prominently emphasized and discussed. As the result, the fundamental issue of how to reduce disaster risk, that is, the specific discussion regarding the achievement of the Global Target (e) and the promotion of pre disaster investment are limited, and such impression, which has become more prominent in recent years, cannot be denied.
In 2020, the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction will be held in six (6) regions around the world. In the Asia Pacific Region, the "Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction" (APMCDRR) is to be held in Brisbane, Australia on June 23 26, 2020. The year 2020 is the target year of the Global Target (e), and it is an important year as the final year of the first phase of the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction."
In the APMCDRR, JICA will continue to participate in the official sessions, and will actively get involved from the session planning stage. JICA will also host side events and manage actively, bilateral interviews to fortify delivering messages in venues of international gatherings.
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