UN Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience Michele Cocchiglia, UNISDR 2nd ISDR Asia Partnership (IAP) Meeting of 2014

Background In 2011, the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) committed to mainstreaming DRR in the programmes and operations of the UN system. Following entities contributed to the PoA: FAO, IAEA, IFAD, ILO, IMO, ITU, UNAIDS, UNCCD, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHABITAT, UNHCHR, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNOCHA, UNOPS, UNRWA, UNWOMEN, UNWTO, UPU, WFP, WHO, World Bank, and CEB secretariat (2012-13). The UN PoA on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience was endorsed by the CEB in April 2013.

Rationale and Objectives The UN must evolve and adjust its role and responsibilities to meet changing risk scenarios among competing priorities. In the “Future We Want”, adopted at the Rio+20 Conference in 2012, member states requested for DRR to be more central to sustainable development policies and plans. The post-2015 development agenda is also consulting on and considering the impact of disasters and the need to build resilience. The Plan of Action embraces the international momentum to use “resilience” as a common outcome.

Commitment 1: Ensure timely, co-ordinated and high quality assistance to all countries where disaster losses pose a threat to people’s health and development. 1.1 Promote the integration of disaster risk reduction in Common Country Assessments (CCA), UN development assistance frameworks and partnerships (such as UNDAFs, UNPAFs, etc.) 1.2 Resource and support UN Resident Coordinators, their offices and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) to assist and support local institutions. 1.3 Assist countries to develop and enhance national and local risk assessments and risk information based on common, open, accessible and regularly updated data. 1.4 In support of Action 1.3, provide a set of standards and methods for comprehensive disaster risk assessment and information-sharing in the context of a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

Commitment 2: Make disaster risk reduction a priority for the UN system and organizations within. 2.1 Adopt policies and strategies and allocate resources to increase the level of commitment of each organization to DRR for resilience. 2.2 UN organizations to align their strategies, policies and country level programmes on reducing risk and building resilience to the commitments of the Plan of Action. 2.3 Adopt a risk-based approach to development programming, building on joint analysis of risk and the causal factors of disasters. 2.4 Extend a risk-based approach to disaster relief and recovery programmes of UN organizations. 2.5 Enhance preparedness of the UN for effective support to nations and communities’ emergency response and recovery efforts.

Commitment 3: Ensure disaster risk reduction for resilience is central to post-2015 development agreements and targets 3.1 Undertake consultations to consolidate goals, targets and indicators on losses to disasters and building resilience as part of the post-2015 development agenda. 3.2 Support national, regional and global consultations and efforts towards the development of a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (HFA2).

Monitoring and Evaluation A common monitoring checklist will be developed to monitor the implementation of the PoA. A Working Group composed of UNESCO, UNDP, WHO and UNISDR, developed a draft set of indicators to measure progress against the UN PoA. Progress against the UN Plan of Action will be reviewed by the HLCP with the support of the Senior Management Group on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience of the HLCP.

Next Steps and Way Forward (2015 and beyond) UNISDR Asia Pacific Office is producing a first regional report on the implementation of the UN PoA (March 2015). Aim is to capture the outcome of UN collective engagement. The PoA will be reviewed by the HLCP after 2015. HLCP will also make necessary adjustments from the outcomes of the post-2015 agenda and framework for DRR.

Questions What are the expectations of governments, and how can the implementation of the UN PoA complement or strengthen governments’ efforts? How are UN agencies planning to implement the PoA in the Asia Pacific region? Can the UN PoA help them to strengthen ongoing assistance to countries?

Thank You