JICA Co-Organizes Event and Showcases Japan’s Experience in Disaster Risk Reduction and Urban Resilience

On 21 July 2026, the COP31 preparatory meeting “Developing Climate-Resilient Cities: From Commitments to Action” was held in Malatya, Türkiye.

The event was organized through the cooperation of Malatya Metropolitan Municipality, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, İLBANK, and JICA, bringing together more than 600 participants from central and local governments, international organizations, development finance institutions, and the private sector.
The meeting was held in Malatya, where recovery efforts are still ongoing following the devastating earthquakes of 2023. It provided an opportunity to discuss how post-disaster reconstruction can be linked with climate action and how international cooperation can contribute to building climate-resilient cities.

In the opening session, a video message was shared from H.E. Masami Tamura, Ambassador of Japan to Türkiye. Ambassador Tamura emphasized that Malatya’s recovery experience offers valuable lessons for the international community and reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to sharing its knowledge and experience in disaster risk reduction, flood management, and climate-related initiatives.

Panel 1: Climate-Resilient Cities and International Partnerships
In Panel 1, titled “Climate-Resilient Cities: Partnerships from Local to Global,” Mr. Daisuke Watanabe, Chief Representative of the JICA Türkiye Office, joined representatives from UN-Habitat, the World Bank, and the Mayor of Malatya to discuss pathways toward more resilient cities.
Mr. Watanabe highlighted three key messages: Build Back Better (BBB) is fundamentally about building climate-resilient cities; investment in disaster preparedness (Bosai) before disasters occur also contributes to climate action; and Türkiye’s post-earthquake recovery experience—including both achievements and challenges—should be shared globally in the lead-up to COP31.
He also introduced JICA-supported initiatives, including post-earthquake urban recovery planning in Kahramanmaraş and the seismic retrofitting of a school building in İzmir.

Panel 2: JICA Session
JICA organized and led Panel 2, titled “Urban Resilience for Climate Change Adaptation: From Planning to Implementation in Türkiye, Japan and the Global Context,” which focused on practical experiences and technologies related to urban resilience.
Mr. Watanabe introduced JICA’s ongoing cooperation in Türkiye, including the recovery planning project in Kahramanmaraş and the school retrofitting project in İzmir.
The session also featured presentations on flood management and flood control cooperation in Metro Manila, the Philippines; Japanese technologies for leak detection and water loss reduction; and disaster risk reduction and urban resilience initiatives in Bursa, Türkiye.

Field Visit to Reconstruction Sites
Following the conference, participants visited reconstruction sites in central Malatya as well as a TOKİ residential housing areas on the outskirts of the city. The visit offered a valuable opportunity to observe both the progress achieved in recovery efforts and the scale of the challenges that remain.

Looking Ahead to COP31
This event was positioned as one of the series of preparatory meetings leading up to COP31 and reaffirmed the importance of integrating post-disaster recovery and climate action.
JICA will continue working with its partners in Türkiye to promote disaster risk reduction, climate action, and urban resilience.