selected international development agendas and commitments ... · natural disasters were also...

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4AnnexSelected internationaldevelopment agendas

and commitments relevant to disaster risk reduction

Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives

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The international community has adopted several significant development declarations, agendas and conventionsover the past three decades. These have covered, among other things, the environment, freshwater management,climate change, desertification, social development, habitat and food security. All contain commitments related todisaster reduction and are often referred to in this review.

The following section provides a short overview of some of the most relevant instruments for disaster riskreduction. In many cases the visions contained in many of them are yet to be fully realized.

This section outlines major agreements in the following areas:

• Millennium Development Goals;• sustainable development agenda;• climate change;• desertification and drought; • wetlands;• freshwater agenda;• gender agenda;• habitat agenda;• health;• Small Island Developing States; and• Least Developed Countries.

Selected international development agendas and commitments

Millennium Development Goals

The UN Millennium Summit was held in NewYork in September 2000. A total of 189 worldleaders met and adopted the UN MillenniumDeclaration.

Targets, known as the Millennium DevelopmentGoals were established, setting a new milestoneand providing guiding principles for theinternational community, national governments andthe UN.

Many of these targets reflect areas which areclosely linked to vulnerability to natural hazards.These include eradicating extreme poverty andhunger, achieving universal primary education,promoting gender equality, ensuring environmentalstability and using partnerships for development.

For example, the goal of improving the lives ofthousands of slum dwellers around the world livingin high-risk areas by 2020, involves povertyeradication, proper land use planning and theimproved understanding of vulnerability todisasters in densely populated areas.

Regarding protection of the environment, thedeclaration resolves “to adopt in all our environmentalaction a new ethic of conservation and stewardshipand, as first steps, resolves...to intensify cooperation toreduce the number and effects of natural and man-made disasters”.

Within the context of the ISDR, strategies forachieving the millennium goals and described in theroad map leading to the implementation of the UnitedNations Millennium Declaration (A/56/326) include:

• Developing early warning systems, vulnerabilitymapping, technological transfer and training.

• Supporting interdisciplinary and intersectoralpartnerships, improved scientific research on thecauses of natural disasters and better internationalcooperation to reduce the impact of climatevariables, such as El Niño and La Niña.

• Encouraging governments to address the problemscreated by mega-cities, the location of settlements inhigh-risk areas and other human determinants ofdisasters.

• Encouraging governments to incorporate disasterrisk reduction into national planning processes,including building codes.

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Recognizing the need for regularassessment on the status of achievement ofthe Millennium Development Goals, theUN Secretary-General will issue acomprehensive progress report every fiveyears, complemented by inputs fromcountries. The review of the YokohamaStrategy and Plan of Action will addressprogress in disaster risk reductioncontributing towards the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, and will also beincorporated in the Secretary-General’sreports.

Sustainable development agenda

The World Summit on SustainableDevelopment (WSSD) was held inJohannesburg, South Africa, in August-September 2002, 10 years after the UNConference on Environment andDevelopment, also known as the RioEarth Summit.

The WSSD provided a timely reminder tothe international community that faultydevelopment and inappropriate use ofresources contribute to natural disasters.The political statement adopted by Headsof States clearly states that naturaldisasters are a global challenge as they are“more frequent and more devastating anddeveloping countries are more vulnerable”.Natural disasters were also recognized asposing a severe threat to sustainabledevelopment and therefore needed priorityattention.

The resulting Johannesburg Plan ofImplementation (see annex 5) includescommitments related to disaster andvulnerability reduction, and improvedearly warning. Reference is made in thesections of protecting and managing thenatural resource base of economic andsocial development, Africa, Small IslandDeveloping States and under thesubsequent means of implementation.

The follow-up to WSSD decisions wasdiscussed at the 11th session of theCommission for Sustainable Development

in April 2003. It was decided that work insupport of the Programme for the FurtherImplementation of Agenda 21 and theJohannesburg Plan of Implementationwould be organized in two-yearimplementation cycles. These wouldinclude a review session and a policysession, with the subject of disastermanagement and vulnerability to bereviewed in the course of the fifth cycle(2014-2015). In light of the cross-cuttingnature of the issues, risk management andvulnerability will also be examined in thecontext of other thematic Commission onSustainable Development (CSD) clusters.Water, sanitation and human settlementswill be reviewed in 2004-2005, anddrought and desertification in 2006-2007.

A decision on reporting was takenemphasizing the importance for reviewing,evaluating and monitoring progress inimplementation. It was envisioned that thisshould include sharing lessons learned andgood practices, identifying actions taken aswell as opportunities and obstacles inrelation to implementation. Further workwas supported to identify indicators at thenational level.

To further support this work, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reductionidentified development planning and theallocation of adequate resources to reducevulnerability as main areas of concern incoming years. The ISDR Secretariat willcontinue to collaborate closely with theUN Department of Social and EconomicAffairs to support the CSD’s work in thisfield. Particular attention will be focusedon reviewing accomplishments to reducethe negative impacts of natural hazards oncommunities and development processesfaced by countries around the world.

Road for a sustainable developmentagenda

The journey toward achieving sustainabledevelopment is ongoing. In the last 30years a series of summits, meetings andagreements have led to the wide ranging

“Can sustainabledevelopment, along withthe internationalstrategies and instrumentsaiming at povertyreduction andenvironmental protection,be successful withouttaking into account therisk of natural hazardsand their impacts? Canthe planet afford theincreasing costs and lossesdue to so-called naturaldisasters? The shortanswer is, no.

Disaster reduction policiesand measures need to beimplemented to builddisaster resilient societiesand communities, with atwo-fold aim: to reducethe level of risk insocieties, while ensuring,on the other hand, thatdevelopment efforts do notincrease the vulnerabilityto hazards but insteadconsciously reduce suchvulnerability. Disasterand risk reduction istherefore emerging as animportant requisite forsustainable development.”

UN/ISDR, 2002.


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interpretation of sustainable development thatexists today. Today, the essential need forenvironmental strategies to achieve sustainabledevelopment is widely understood and accepted,even if implementation is not yet realized fully.

Disaster reduction was not dealt with explicitly inthe Rio conference agenda even though it wasincluded in the discussion on human settlements,mountain development, freshwater managementand land degradation. Nonetheless, the main

Table A.1Milestones for the sustainable development agenda

UN sustainable development process

1972 UN Conference on Human Environment (Stockholm), UNEP established1983 World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) established1989 Brundtland report, Our Common Future1989 Launch of IDNDR (1990-1999)1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, Earth Summit (Rio de Janeiro)

UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) established

1997 Rio+5 Summit review (critical because of slow implementation)1999 End of IDNDR2000 Launch of ISDR

WSSD (Rio+10) process2001 Defining modalities of process National, sub regional and regional preparatory meetings2002 Global Prep Com. 2 (New York): Substantive review of implementation of Agenda 21

Global Prep Com. 3 (New York): Review and finalize elements for programme of action Global Prep Com. 4 (Bali): Identification of priority issues, programme of action and elements for politicalstatementWorld Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg): Adoption of Johannesburg Plan ofImplementation - defining national, regional and global commitments

Other Key events

1982 UNEP’s first high level meeting1991 Children’s Summit (New York)1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change and Convention on Biological Diversity agreed and signed at

Earth Summit1993 Human Rights Summit (Vienna)1994 First World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction For a Safer World (Yokohama)

Small Island Development States (Barbados)Global Conference on Sustainable Development

1995 Social Summit in CopenhagenWomen’s Summit (Beijing) World Trade Organization (WTO) established

1996 Human Settlements (Istanbul)Food Summit (Rome)

1997 Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change adopted1998 Convention on Prior Informed Consent adopted1999 IDNDR Programme Forum (Geneva)2000 Millennium Summit (New York)

World Youth Forum (Dakar)Biosafety Protocol adopted (Cartagena)

2001 UN Third Conference on Least Developed countries (Brussels)International Conference on Freshwater in Bonn WTO negotiations, including GATS and agriculture

2002 Financing for Development (Mexico)World Food Summit (Rome)


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outputs of the Earth Summit provided animportant foundation on which to build a growingrecognition of risks related to sustainabledevelopment.

These included the Rio Declaration onEnvironment and Development (Rio declaration)and Agenda 21, a 40-chapter programme ofaction. UNCED also led to agreement on twolegally binding conventions; the United NationsConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD) andthe United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC). It produced aStatement of Forest Principles, and began theprocess of developing the United NationsConvention to Combat Desertification(UNCCD), eventually adopted in 1994.

During the IDNDR, the connection betweendisaster reduction and sustainable developmentwas emphasized and promoted. UN multilateralconventions further emphasized the connectionwith the agreements on climate change,desertification and biodiversity signed between1992 and 1994. These joined the long-standing1971 Ramsar Convention on WetlandsPreservation to emphasize the importance ofnatural resource management and risk exposure.

When progress in sustainable development wasassessed at the Rio+5 conference held in NewYork in 1997, many gaps in implementation wereidentified, particularly with regard to social equityand poverty. Falling levels of official developmentassistance and growing international debtcontributed to this. It also identified failures toimprove technology transfer, limited capacity-

building for participation and development,institutional coordination, and expressed a need toreduce excessive levels of production andconsumption.

The review meeting called for the ratification andimplementation of the growing number ofinternational agreements and conventions whichrefer to environment and development. The sameconcerns regarding implementation were raised inthe preparation to the WSSD. During thisprocess, natural disaster was identified as a seriousconstraint to sustainable development.

During the preparatory phase of WSSD and atthe Johannesburg meeting itself, a number ofactivities were organized to promote integration ofdisaster reduction within the sustainabledevelopment agenda. In addition to parallel andside events, a background paper on the linksbetween development, environment and naturaldisasters was developed through a wideconsultative process, Disaster Reduction andSustainable Development: Understanding the linksbetween vulnerability and risk to disasters related todevelopment. <http://www.unisdr.org>

Climate change

The United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) was presented forsignature at the Earth Summit in 1992. Itsultimate goal is the “stabilization of greenhousegas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level thatwould prevent dangerous anthropogenicinterference with the climatic system”.

Box A.1The four broad areas of action in Agenda 21

Elements IssuesSocial and economic dimensions to development Poverty, production and consumption, health, human settlement,

integrated decision-making

Conservation and management of natural resources Atmosphere, oceans and seas, land, forests, mountains,biological diversity, ecosystems, biotechnology, freshwaterresources, toxic chemicals, hazardous radioactive and solidwaste

Strengthening role of major groups Youth, women, indigenous people, NGOs, local authorities, tradeunions, businesses, scientific and technical communities,farmers

Means of implementation Finance, technology transfer, information, public awareness,capacity building, education, legal instruments, institutionalframeworks


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A protocol, known as the Kyoto Protocolwas adopted in 1997 and added to theConvention. Negotiations relating to itsoperational details were completed inNovember 2001 and are compiled in theMarrakech Accords. The protocolcontains legally binding commitments fordeveloped countries Party to theconvention. With the notable exception ofthe United States, most OECD countriesagreed to decrease their anthropogenicgreenhouse gas emissions by at least 5 percent below 1990 levels in the firstcommitment period from 2008-2012.Some countries with high emission rateshave not yet ratified the Kyoto Protocol.The protocol is therefore not yet in force.By the end of 2003, the Conventioncounts 188 Parties, while 120 countrieshave ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

Since the convention’s entry into force,Parties have met annually at sessions of theConference of the Parties (COP), theConvention’s supreme decision-makingbody, to review and monitor itsimplementation and continue talks on howbest to address climate change. TheConvention’s two subsidiary bodies – theSubsidiary Body for Scientific andTechnological Advice (SBSTA) and theSubsidiary Body for Implementation(SBI) – carry out preparatory work for theCOP. As their names suggest, the SBSTAis responsible for providing advice to theCOP on scientific, technological andmethodological issues, as well ascooperation with the IPCC and otherrelevant international organizations. TheSBI helps with the assessment and reviewof the convention’s implementation, liaisonwith the Global Environment Facility, andfinancial and administrative issues. Apermanent secretariat is based in Bonn,Germany.

The decisions taken by the COP nowmake up a detailed rule book for theeffective implementation of theConvention. The landmark MarrakeshAccords adopted at the seventh session ofthe COP in 2001 were especially

important in elaborating the convention’srules on issues of particular concern todeveloping countries.

Industrialized countries, believed to havecontributed more to climate change, arerequested by the Convention to submitregular reports, known as nationalcommunications, detailing their climatechange policies and measures. Thesecountries are termed Annex 1 Parties ofwhich there are currently 40 plus those ofthe European Union.

All remaining countries, mostlydeveloping countries, make up the groupof non-Annex I Parties, currentlynumbering 147. These countries areinvited to provide nationalcommunications in more general terms ontheir actions to address climate change andmeasures taken to adapt to its effects.They also are encouraged to report ontheir needs to implement the Convention.

Even though the guidelines for nationalcommunications do not include any specificreference to disaster reduction orpreparedness, much of the informationrequested from countries will be ofrelevance for disaster reduction strategies.Information on policy frameworks forimplementing adaptation measures andresponse strategies in the context of disasterpreparedness will be beneficial to anynational disaster risk management policies,especially in the context of integratingclimate change impact information intonational planning processes.

Specific needs with regard to financialassistance and technology transfer, alongwith support for capacity building ofparticularly vulnerable developingcountries, are taken into account under theclimate regime.

Some developing countries such as low-lying island states or those with areas proneto natural hazards face high risks from theadverse effects of climate change itself.Others, such as oil exporting states, feel

“The impacts of extremeweather events across the

globe areenormous…..Climatechange remains highly

relevant to disasters andtheir reduction for severalimportant reasons. Firstly,the existing trends evident

in weather parameters,though quite small, may

already be exacerbating theimpacts of some hazardevents, especially where

social and environmentalstresses are already high.

Secondly, the IPCC[Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change] hasconsistently projected the

likelihood of increasedfrequency and intensity ofhazards in future. Whenand where these changeswill become manifest is

very uncertain, soprecautionary preparations

are essential.

Steps that enhance ourability to cope with theexisting climate will beespecially desirable and

cost effective. Thirdly, theexperience of countries in

managing current climatefluctuations and extremes,

for example, multi-yeardroughts, can provide

valuable lessons for dealingwith projected longer-termchanges. Fourthly, disasterreduction provides a solid,meaningful, no-regrets setof activities in support of

climate change adaptationplans.”

UN Secretary-General’sreport on the

Implementation of ISDR(A/58/277)


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more threatened by the potential economicrepercussions of climate change response measures.The Protocol requests Parties to minimize theadverse effects of their climate change policies andmeasures, including social, environmental andeconomic impacts on other Parties.

Climate change legislation and financingmechanisms will have positive benefits for copingwith climate- and water-related hazards, whichconstitute more than two-thirds of all disasters.The time is ripe for forging links between climatechange and disaster risks as adaptation is nowgaining momentum after years of focusing ongreenhouse gas abatement. The MarrakeshAccords took important steps in this direction, andset out a programme of continuing analysis on theimpacts of climate change, including considerationof the potential roles for insurance measures tocounter them.

The Accords also established a separate workprogramme to assist Least Developed Countries(LDC) in the preparation of national adaptationprogrammes of action. It is intended that theseprogrammes will enable LDCs to identify urgentactions to expand their current coping capabilitiesand enhance resilience to future climate variabilityand extremes. This process can help LDCsidentify and address some of the underlyingcauses of vulnerability, including such actions asthose to reduce the impact of the next hazardousseason or the use of land-use zoning that couldfacilitate future disaster response.

The Marrakech Accords established two newConvention funds, to be managed by the GlobalEnvironmental Facility (GEF). Operating as thefinancial mechanism of the Convention, GEFwill administer the special climate fund and theLeast Developed Countries fund. The scope ofactivities eligible for funding under theConvention was extended, notably in the area ofadaptation to climate change and capacitybuilding. These include the integration of climatechange considerations in sustainable developmentplanning; the development of systematicobservation and monitoring networks; use ofearly warning for extreme weather events anddisease outbreaks; the assessment of vulnerabilityand adaptation options, as well as theimplementation of adaptation activities whereappropriate.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)established under the additional Protocol alsorepresents a potential for financing projectsproviding disaster reduction services. Thismechanism is meant to ease emission targetcompliance for developed countries through thefinancing of energy projects in developingcountries. In the first commitment periodreforestation projects will also be eligible. A laterpossibility exists to add land-use projects for thesecond commitment period. CDM projects willfinance an adaptation fund to help vulnerabledeveloping countries adapt to the adverse effectsof climate change.

Box A.2The Global Environment Facility

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is entrusted with the operation of the financial mechanism of the climate changeconvention on an interim basis. It is an international partnership of UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank. It fundamentallyprovides additional grant and concessional funding to meet the incremental costs of measures to achieve agreed globalenvironmental benefits in climate change. In doing so, it also addresses matters of biological diversity; international waters,ozone layer depletion and persistent organic pollutants. The agreed incremental cost of activities concerning landdegradation, primarily desertification and deforestation also are eligible for funding, as they relate to the four focus areas.

Activities financed by the GEF are consistent with the policies and programme priorities established by the Conference ofthe Parties to the Convention. Between July 2001 and May 2002, total climate change financing was about US$ 900 million,of which US$ 136.64 million was GEF financing.

GEF activities related to adaptation include the preparation of vulnerability and adaptation assessments within the context ofnational communications, national adaptation strategies and the assessment of adaptation options. In this context, theoperational guidelines for expedited funding for the preparation of national adaptation programmes of action by LDCs arenow available. The Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change and the Pacific Islands Climate ChangeAssistance Programme are both funded by GEF. Adaptation activities also include multidisciplinary projects that focus onbiodiversity, land degradation and international waters.


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Finally, the Convention has a provision toencourage the coordination of activities carried outunder relevant international agreements, inparticular the UN Convention to CombatDesertification and the Convention on BiologicalDiversity. Such activities include early warningsystems and disaster preparedness andmanagement. <http://www.unfccc.int>

Desertification and drought

The international community has long recognizedthat desertification poses a major economic, social,and environmental problem of concern to manycountries. In 1977, the UN Conference onDesertification adopted a Plan of Action toCombat Desertification.

Unfortunately, despite this and other efforts,UNEP concluded in 1991 that the problem ofland degradation had intensified, although therewere some examples of success.

As a result, the question of how to addressdesertification more effectively was still a major

concern at the Earth Summit. The summitsupported a new, integrated approach to theproblem emphasizing action to promotesustainable development at the community level.UNCCD was adopted in 1994 and entered intoforce in 1996. Over 179 countries are now partiesto the Convention.

UNCCD’s Conference of the Parties (COP), thesupreme decision-making body, held its sixthsession in October, 2003. A permanent Secretariatis based in Bonn, Germany. The Convention’sCommittee on Science and Technology ismultidisciplinary and open to the participation ofall parties. Composed of governmentrepresentatives, it advises the UNCCD’s COP onscientific and technological matters relevant todesertification and drought.

Countries affected by desertification areimplementing the Convention by developing andcarrying out national, sub-regional, and regionalaction programmes. Drawing on past lessons, theConvention states that these programmes should:

• adopt a participatory, bottom-up approach;

Box A.3The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The IPCC, established by UNEP and WMO in 1988, provides important scientific input to the climate change process. Thecurrent structure of the IPCC consists of three working groups: working group I addresses the science of climate change;working group II deals with impacts, vulnerability and adaptation; and working group III with mitigation of greenhouse gases.In addition to the three working groups, the IPCC also includes a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas inventories.

The IPCC is best known for its comprehensive assessment reports, incorporating findings from all three working groups, whichare recognised as the most credible source of information on climate change. The latest, Third Assessment Report releasedin 2001, stated that "there is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years isattributable to human activities and human interference will continue to change atmospheric composition throughout the 21stcentury".

The IPCC has projected the following alarming chain reaction of events by 2010:

• Largest greenhouse gas emissions would increase from today's level of about 365 ppmv (parts per million by volume) tobetween 550 and 1000 ppmv.

• Global mean surface temperatures will increase by about 1.5 to six degrees Celsius.• Incidence of some extreme events will increase including the frequency and magnitude of the El Niño Southern Oscillation

(ENSO) phenomenon.

These projections directly affect the very existence of some low-lying states and are likely to have a profound impact on theplanet in terms of the likelihood of large-scale disasters.

The IPCC states that there is little evidence that efficient and effective adaptations to climate change risks will be undertakenautonomously. It says that in most developing countries local governments are weak and ineffective at environmentalmanagement and have little capacity to integrate disaster preparedness into current tasks and responsibilities.

More information can be found on www.ipcc.ch, see also Chapter 2


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• emphasize popular participation designed toallow local people to help themselves to reverseland degradation;

• make politically-sensitive changes, such asdecentralizing authority, improving land-tenuresystems, and empowering women, farmers, andpastoralists;

• allow NGOs to play a strong role;• be fully integrated into other national policies

for sustainable development; and• be flexible and modified as circumstances change.

Wetlands

The Ramsar Convention on WetlandsPreservation was adopted in 1971 in the Iraniancity of Ramsar. It came into force in 1975 and 131countries are party to the Convention. TheRamsar Convention is the only globalenvironmental treaty dealing with a specificecosystem. Its mission concerns the conservationand wise use of wetlands by national action andinternational cooperation as a means to achievingsustainable development throughout the world.

Some of the main activities of the Convention arethe development of national wetlands policies andmaintaining inventories of wetlands. It deals withall wetlands issues from surface water togroundwater.

Although the relevance of wetlands for floodcontrol was mentioned in the Convention, it has

not been a priority until very recently. However,the subject is included in the strategic work planfor 2003-2004. The eighth session of theConference of the Parties (Valencia, November2002) recognized the potential role of wetlandrestoration in mitigating the effects of floods anddrought, adopting guidelines to this effect.Another resolution requested parties to monitorand assess impacts of drought and other naturalhazards on the livelihoods of local communitiesand indigenous peoples dependent on Ramsarsites.

The Ramsar convention bodies are theConference of the Contracting Parties, theStanding Committee (representatives fromRamsar’s six regions), the Scientific andTechnical Review Panel and the Ramsar Bureau.The main partners for the implementation ofpolicies are the World Conservation Union(IUCN), Wetlands International, the WorldWide Fund for Nature (WWF) and BirdlifeInternational. The Ramsar Convention has ajoint work plan with the Convention onBiological Diversity and a memorandum ofunderstanding with, among others, the UNCCDand the World Heritage Programme ofUNESCO.<http://www.ramsar.org>

Wetlands International manages and develops theRamsar Sites Database under contract to theRamsar Convention Secretariat, an informationtool that provides useful data to the public for

Box A.4The Ramsar Convention on Wetland Preservation and disaster reduction

Among the many values and functions of wetlands some of the most important involve flood reduction, coastal protection,mitigation of climate change and desertification effects. These considerations are at the heart of the Convention's guidanceon management planning for wetlands. In addition to the revised management planning guidelines currently underdevelopment for adoption by the Conference of the Parties, additional guidance is also being developed on integratedcoastal zone management which stresses these values very strongly.

Ramsar, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Niger Basin Authority are presently working on a project financedby the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to designate wetlands throughout the Niger River Basin as Ramsar sites anddevelop management plans for them which will help to mitigate the effects of seasonal climate variations. A similar initiativealso financed by GEF is currently underway with Ramsar, WWF, and the Lake Chad Basin Commission to bring the entirebasin under a cooperative management plan following Ramsar guidelines.

Similarly, Ramsar staff is working with local officials and NGOs on a number of projects in Europe to develop soundmanagement regimes for transboundary wetlands such as the Neretva River delta, the trilateral Prespa Park, the DanubeDelta and the Dyje Morava floodplain. Although the main purpose of these activities is sustainable use of resources, all havea component that is relevant to disaster prevention.

Source: Ramsar Secretariat, and G. Bergkamp, B.Orlando, IUCN RAMSAR secretariat and G. Bergkamp, B.t Orlando, IUCN, 1999


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designated wetlands around the globe in order topromote their conservation.<http://www.wetlands.org/RSDB/default.htm>

IUCN has explored the scientific and institutionallinkages between climate change and theconservation and wise use of wetlands. It providedan overview of the relevant programmes of workundertaken by the United Nations Framework onClimate Change (UNFCCC) and the RamsarConvention, related work of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, theConvention on Biological Diversity and the GEF.It proposed a set of actions that could be carriedout between the UNFCCC and the RamsarConvention. These involved the promotion oflinkages between the two Conventions, predictingand monitoring the impacts of climate change onwetlands, the role of wetlands in adapting to, andmitigating the impact of, climate change and therole of wetlands in reducing greenhouse gasemissions.

Freshwater agenda

Some 1.3 billion people worldwide lack access tosafe drinking water and approximately 2.5 billionhave inadequate sanitation. Water resourcemanagement is a challenge of worldwidesignificance, as water scarcity grows, qualitydeclines, environmental and social concern mount.The threat posed by floods and drought isexacerbated by increasing population vulnerabilityand climate change.

There are intrinsic links between the wateragenda, disasters and risk reduction. Reducingvulnerability to hazards in the water sectorinvolves far more than just the water sector.Increasing social vulnerability to water stress inmany parts of the world reflects a wide range ofpressures. Many are beyond the responsibility ofwater managers.

Reducing the risks of water related hazards willrequire capacities to monitor the magnitude,duration, timing and location of hazards. Whilethese obviously include floods and droughts,landslides, storms, earthquakes and volcaniceruption also have impacts on freshwater resourcesand infrastructure.

The assessment and reduction of vulnerability tosuch extremes additionally require decisions aboutdevelopment issues and planning controls. Variousmatters such as legislation and land use,environmental management and financialinstruments (e.g. insurance) are all relevant todetermining water-related risk factors.

There are many political documents that mentionrisk and water-related hazards forming the so-called freshwater agenda. Prior to the EarthSummit, the UN International Conference onWater and the Environment was held in 1992.The resulting Dublin Statement on Water andSustainable Development established four guidingprinciples and an agenda for action which haveguided academic and political discussions eversince.

One of the recommendations contained in theDublin statement relates to the protection offreshwater against natural disasters. In particular,it identifies climate change and rising sea levels asfactors that would exacerbate disaster risk,“threatening the apparent security of existingwater resources”.

Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 covers the “protection ofthe quality and supply of freshwater resources:application of integrated approaches to thedevelopment, management and use of waterresources” with ample reference to extremehydrometeorological events and disasters.

In March 2000, the Second World Water Forumlaunched the World Water Vision and aMinisterial Declaration on Water Security in the21st Century was announced. The declarationidentifies seven challenges for the globalcommunity, including the “management of risk –to provide security from floods, droughts,pollution and other water-related hazards”.

A vast body of knowledge exists about watermanagement and flood and drought managementin particular. One of the best ways to implementthese commonly agreed principles is by focusingmore attention on local, national and internationalprogrammes that embody them. For example,WMO promotes flood management activities inthe context of integrated water resourcesmanagement.


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The reduction of vulnerability to floods anddroughts will have to be included in many facetsof the freshwater agenda. These include theinvolvement of all stakeholders in river basinmanagement, an institutional framework tomanage water demand more effectively andinternational trade arrangements which respectnational water regulations. Such watermanagement processes need to be accompaniedby an increased delegation of responsibility anddeveloped capacities to local authorities.

In October 2002 the UN-WATER committeewas launched, with its secretariat supported byDESA. It is composed of representatives of UNagencies and programmes with activities in thefield of freshwater, as defined broadly by chapter18 of Agenda 21. The principal objective ofUN-WATER is to coordinate policies, strategicapproaches and actions among the agencies andprogrammes of the United Nations systemwithin the area of freshwater. This seeks toensure the most effective support to countries intheir effort to assess, develop and manage theirfreshwater resources in a sustainable manner, toreduce the impact of water-related hazards andto protect the integrity of the naturalenvironment. The flagship initiativeimplemented by UN-WATER is the WorldWater Assessment Programme/World WaterDevelopment Report.<http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap>

The year 2003 was designated the UNInternational Year of Freshwater and a thirdWorld Water Forum took place in Kyoto inMarch of the same year. The MinisterialDeclaration addresses disaster mitigation andrisk management as a priority task.<http://www.world.water-forum3.com>

Every year, World Water Day is celebrated on22 March, focusing on a different aspect ofwater each year. In 2004, the theme of the WorldWater Day is Water and Disasters, with thecelebrations jointly coordinated by WMO andthe ISDR Secretariat. The Day also representedthe conclusion of the 2003 World DisasterReduction Campaign Turning the tide on disasterson sustainable development, organized by theISDR Secretariat.<http://www.waterday2004.org><http://www.unisdr.org>

Gender agenda

The Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at theFourth World Conference on Women in 1995recognized that many women are particularlyaffected by environmental disasters, disease andviolence.

It requested governments to “promote knowledge ofand sponsor research on the role of women,particularly rural and indigenous women, in foodgathering and production, soil conservation,irrigation, watershed management, sanitation,coastal zone and marine resource management,integrated pest management, land-use planning,forest conservation and community forestry,fisheries, natural disaster prevention, and new andrenewable sources of energy, focusing particularlyon indigenous women’s knowledge and experience.”

In 2000, a review of the implementation of theBeijing platform identified natural disasters andepidemics as emerging issues which deservedgreater attention. The social and economic impactsof natural disasters and epidemics were noted asremaining relatively invisible as policy issues, inparticular their impact on the status of women andthe achievement of gender equality.

In responding to a questionnaire, several states inAfrica and Asia cited poverty as an obstacle toimproving gender equality, often exacerbated bynatural disasters and their resulting negative effectssuch as crop failure.

The twenty-third special session of the GeneralAssembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality,development and peace for the twenty-firstcentury”, acknowledged an increase in casualtiesand damage caused by natural disasters. It raisedawareness of the inadequacies of existingapproaches and means for responding toemergency situations from a gender perspective.

It suggested that gender perspectives beincorporated into disaster prevention, mitigationand recovery strategies. The special session alsorecommended that the UN system andinternational organizations should assistgovernments in developing gender-sensitivestrategies for the delivery of assistance and torespond to humanitarian crises resulting fromnatural disasters.


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Several articles of the Convention on theElimination of All Forms of DiscriminationAgainst Women of 1979 explore the violations ofwomen’s human rights in the case of naturaldisasters. A number of general recommendations,adopted by the Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination Against Women, interpret articlesof the Convention as they relate to disasters and theenvironment.

The Committee has urged states to pay greaterattention to environment and natural disasters. Forexample, in the case of Nicaragua it suggested thataspects of natural disasters impeded women’s fullenjoyment of their rights. When it considered thereports of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, theCommittee expressed concern about the degree ofenvironmental degradation in both countries and itsextremely negative impact on the health of the wholepopulation, in particular on women and children.

In its programme of work for 2002-2006, the UNCommission on the Status of Women will considerthe “environmental management and mitigation ofnatural disasters: a gender perspective”. Inpreparation for this topic, an expert group wasorganized by the UN Division for theAdvancement of Women, in collaboration with theISDR Secretariat.

The expert group discussed the link betweengender and environmental management, naturaldisaster reduction and risk management. It adopteda number of recommendations some of which werelater adopted by the Commission.

In particular, the experts recommended thesystematic inclusion of potential hazards andgender-based vulnerabilities in environmentalimpact assessments. They also reiterated theimportance of women’s participation in decision-making in public administration and ingovernmental arrangements at all levels.

The necessity to introduce a gender perspectiveinto ongoing research on the relationships betweenclimate, natural hazards, disaster and relatedenvironmental vulnerability also was highlighted.The group stressed the need to use gender-sensitiveindices and indicators, further emphasising theneed to develop instruments that foster genderanalysis in local disaster risk management.

The Commission called for the integration ofgender perspectives in the implementation of allpolicy documents and treaties related tosustainable development and in the review of theimplementation of the Yokohama Strategy andPlan of Action for a Safer World.<http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw>

Habitat agenda

The habitat agenda was defined during theSecond UN Conference on Human Settlements(Istanbul, 1996). It states that an increasingnumber of disasters are caused by vulnerabilitiescreated by human action, such as uncontrolled orinadequately planned human settlements, lack ofbasic infrastructure and human settlements indisaster prone areas.

UN-HABITAT takes actions to improvedisaster risk management by working withpartners that include local governments,insurance companies, NGOs and the academic,health and scientific communities. The goal is toadopt appropriate norms for land use, buildingand planning standards.

Health

Disasters challenge public health. For anunacceptable number of people, surviving theelements is the primary objective of dailyexistence. During the past 20 years, naturaldisasters killed almost 2 million people and thehealth sector had the greatest responsibility inresponding to them. WHO looks at disasters asmajor public health issues and views disasterreduction as a core function of the health sector.WHO works to ensure that health developmentdoes not stop in situations of crisis, but continuesthrough health relief and recovery.

The health sector does not exist in isolation andmust cooperate with other groups involved in theoverall framework for emergency preparednessand establish priorities in accordance with theoverall disaster response plan. The responsibilityof health agencies in disaster reduction includesassisting in developing national disaster responseplans, implementing mass casualty management


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exercises, conducting health services assessmentsincluding hospital vulnerability assessments, aswell as ensuring continuation of epidemiologicalsurveillance and disease control.

Emergencies and disasters can occur anywhere inthe world, affecting human health, people’s livesand the infrastructure built to support them.Environmental health problems arising fromemergencies and disasters are connected to theireffects on the physical, biological and socialenvironment that pose a threat to human health,well-being and survival: shelter, water, sanitation,disease vectors, pollution, etc. Management ofenvironmental health responsibilities before,during and after emergencies and disasters musttake into consideration the following:

• Reducing the vulnerability of communities tohazards and increasing their ability to withstanddisruption and to recover rapidly.

• Strengthening routine services so that thepotential health effects of emergencies anddisasters are minimized.

• Responding to emergencies and disasters withappropriate environmental health activities (watersupply and sanitation, vector control, etc.).

• Protection of hospitals and health care centres,with the ultimate goal of protecting the lives ofpatients, staff and other occupants and ensuringthat these facilities can continue to functionduring and after a disaster strikes.

Among risk reduction measures, vulnerabilitystudies in hospitals serve as a base to adjust

Box A.5Kobe - a city adapting and recovering

The Habitat-agenda aims to build capacities for sustainable human settlements issues. A window of opportunity for changeis after a disaster. In the case of Kobe, Japan, disaster and risk reduction acquired a new meaning after 1995.

The Kobe earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2 in the Richter scale, hit the city and its surrounding areas on 17 January1995 at 5:46. There were over 6,400 casualties and more than 200,000 people (Hyogo Prefecture Government) were forcedto find temporary shelter due to the destruction of buildings and infrastructure.

Public facilities such as offices, schools and hospitals were damaged extensively, paralysing services for several days.Utilities were also interrupted - electricity was unavailable in 25 per cent of the city and telephone, gas and water wasdisrupted in the entire city. Many severe fires broke out, resulting in more than 800,000 square metres of burnt land. Theeconomic damage to the city was estimated at 7 trillion Japanese yen (approx. US$60 billion).

The earthquake showed the need for a multidisciplinary approach of disaster management with appropriate incorporation ofthe socio-economic context. A massive reconstruction plan was undertaken following the earthquake both at the city andprovincial levels. The basic ideas of the reconstruction plan were:

• balance between the urban conveniences and safety precautions• raising awareness of both benefits and hazards of nature• more emphasis on human interaction

Key issues for creating community safety were incorporated in the reconstruction planning and emphasised the following:

• Security. Creation of a community where people can live and work with a sense of safety.• Vitality. Creation of a community and built environment full of creativity.• Appeal. Creation of a community consistent with its unique nature and appeal.• Cooperation. Creation of a community that will work together in mutual trust.

The goal of the reconstruction plan was to create a safer city while respecting the necessity to live a normal, everyday life.Many evaluations were conducted during Kobe's reconstruction period. Following are some of the findings found useful inimproving earthquake countermeasures:

• Promoting integrated risk management • Enhancing community involvement in the formulation of earthquake countermeasures and developing cooperation

between administrative organizations and residents• Continued efforts toward the creation of safe and disaster resistant towns• Passing results to future generations and establishing a framework for international cooperation concerning earthquake

countermeasures.

Source: Kenji Okazaki, 2001


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methodologies for rules and regulations forimproving construction security of existing andnew hospitals. Risk mapping in communitieshelps communities identify risk areas andmitigate against the health consequences of thedisaster. Simulation exercises for mass casualtymanagement, involving both the community aswell as all disaster response organizations,increases the response capacities of the localpopulation.

Small Island Developing States

In total, there are 43 small island developingstates (SIDS) in the Caribbean, Pacific andIndian Ocean regions. Their specialcircumstances have gained global attention overthe years. The Rio Declaration and Agenda 21recognized the special needs of SIDS, as well asthe international conventions signed on thatoccasion.

The Barbados Programme of Action for theSustainable Development of Small IslandDeveloping States was adopted in 1994. Itexpresses the need to develop a vulnerabilityindex, as well as encouraging a focus on disasterprevention and preparedness. A comprehensivereview of the Barbados programme of action willtake place in Mauritius in 2004. Efforts to buildregional strategies that are aimed at fostering theinvolvement of national constituencies in theimplementation of the International Strategy onDisaster Reduction need to take the specialcircumstances of SIDS into account. In thisregard, it is important for risk and vulnerabilityreduction concerns to be integrated into otherrelevant programme areas.

At the 2000 UN Millennium Summit, worldleaders resolved to “address the vulnerabilitiesfaced by SIDS rapidly and in full by 2015.” TheJohannesburg Plan of Implementation of theWSSD urges extended “assistance to smallisland developing states in support of localcommunities and appropriate national andregional organizations of small island developingstates for comprehensive hazard and riskmanagement, disaster prevention, mitigation andpreparedness, and help relieve the consequencesof disasters, extreme weather events and otheremergencies”.

Mechanisms were adopted to promote theintegration of comprehensive hazard and riskmanagement approaches into sustainabledevelopment planning. They include developmentand implementation of measures of vulnerability,hazard identification and assessment, disasterprevention, mitigation and preparedness, as well asthe strengthening of disaster response and recoveryprogrammes.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) ispursuing the collective interests of SIDS eventhough not all SIDS are members of the alliance. Asa follow-up to the Barbados programme, an internetnetwork was established to facilitate informationexchange, supported by DESA. In a similar vein,UNESCO is also supporting an initiative calledSmall Islands Voice. <http://www.sidsnet.org><http://www.smallislandsvoice.org>

Owing to their small size, remoteness and fragilityof island ecosystems, SIDS are especially vulnerableto hazards and the impacts of climate change. Theymust also be attentive to the potential for rising sealevels, careful management of coastal and marineresources and scarce freshwater resources.Environmental disasters such as oil spills could alsoseverely damage SIDS.

Least Developed Countries

The General Assembly has designated the poorestcountries in the world as least developed countries(LDCs). More than 600 million people live in the49 LDCs, half of which are very disaster-prone and32 are located in Africa. In 1981, when the conceptof LDCs was first expressed there were only 30such countries.

LDCs all share the following characteristics:

• low gross domestic product;• limited human resources, measured in terms of

life expectancy, calorie intake, primary andsecondary school enrolment and adult literacy;and

• low level of economic diversification.

Three UN conferences have been dedicated toLDCs. All of them have recognized thedisproportionately high social and economic costs of


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disasters on LDCs. The programmes of actionstemming from the first two conferences focussedon the need to improve disaster responsecapacities, with some references to the need foreffective early warning capabilities. However,during the third conference, held in 2001, thefocus shifted to the importance of reducingvulnerability and for developing disastermitigation programmes.

The programme of action for LDCs for thedecade 2001-2010 aims to forge strongpartnerships between LDCs and industrializednations to significantly improve the human andeconomic conditions in the poorest countries ofthe world. The programme of action also includesa commitment for reducing vulnerability andprotecting the environment. It suggests actions

which can strengthen institutions and increaseownership for local stakeholders in formulatingsustainable development policies.

It encourages LDCs and their developmentpartners to involve the private sector in the areas ofdisaster mitigation and disaster preparedness. It alsoencourages more participation by local communitiesand NGOs in disaster mitigation, early warningsystems and relief efforts. The international donorcommunity has been encouraged regularly to givepriority attention to LDCs.

The United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment (UNCTAD) plays a leading rolesupporting efforts to implement the LDCprogramme of action.<http://www.unctad.org>


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selected international development agendas and commitments ... · natural disasters were also...

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