As of October 7th, 2021

HELP Expert Meeting –Investment and Financing for Sustainable Developmentof Disaster Risk Reduction in the Post-Corona eraon the occasion ofthe International Conference on Sustainable, Resilient Cities and Transport, Aichi 2021

Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Time: 14:30-16:30 (JST, GMT+9:00)
Meeting Venue: Hybrid (Online / in person in Aichi Sky Expo, Japan)
Organizers: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan / High-Level
Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP)
Session Summary
Water is essential for sustaining human life, human security, the environment and the economy,and is at the core of sustainable development. Water is also closely associated with many important
global challenges such as climate change, food, resource and energy supply, and conservation ofecosystems and biodiversity. In recent years, the economic and human destruction caused bydisasters has been increasing worldwide, and water disasters account for more than 80% of thedisasters that cause enormous damage. As a result, reducing the risk of water disasters is an
essential element for the development of a more resilient, sustainable and fair society. Significant
reduction of fatalities and economic losses from water-related disasters is positioned as the targetof Goal 11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable) of theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, meeting the challenges associated withwater-related disasters is considered one of the global issues in order to realize a sustainable andresilient city.
High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) is composed of leadersfrom national governments and international organizations, and makes various proposals with anaim to strengthen global efforts to deal with and raise awareness toward water-related disasters
around the world. In 2019, HELP announced the "Principles on Investment and Financing for Waterrelated Disaster Risk Reduction" that encourages advance investment in disaster prevention andefforts to intensify preventive measures to disaster prevention. In 2021, in response to the pandemicof COVID-19, HELP has been actively engaged in activities such as publishing " Guiding Principles
to Build Resilient Post-Corona World".
In Japan, the Isewan Typhoon, which caused enormous damage in 1959 from the Kii Peninsula
to the Tokai region, with more than 5,000 people dead and missing, led to intensive and systematic
hydraulic control measures which achieved a significant reduction in the number of deaths due tofloods and storm surges. Although severe water disasters due to the effects of climate change haveoccurred frequently in recent years, professionals and policy makers in Japan are in the process ofswitching to " River Basin Disaster Resilience and Sustainability by All," a new flood management
policy to calls for all stakeholders in river basins to take actions for disaster resilience andsustainability. The measures under the new policy include land use regulation based on disasterrisk maps and the development of transportation network for smooth evacuation. The Japanese
government will proceed with integrated disaster prevention measures together with transportationand city planning.
In developing countries, the chain of poverty has become an issue, such as the poor have toreside in flood prone areas and lose their assets each time a disaster strikes. In order to break thischain, it is urgent to take fundamental disaster prevention measures with adequate budget. It is also
important to avoid catastrophic damages caused by large scale disasters with low frequecy bypromoting ‘mainstreaming disaster risk reduction’ in all sectors such as land use regulation in cityplanning.
In this session, we will introduce disaster prevention investment efforts made by a variety ofcountries and institutions within the range of HELP's activities, as well as share knowledge about
disaster prevention investment in promoting sustainable development and measures to develop
resilient cities and transport in the post-corona world.

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As of October 7th, 2021Tentative Program
Moderator: Mr. Akihiro Shimasaki, Director for International Coordination of River Engineering, Waterand Disaster Management Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, JapanOpening Remarks
Mr. Mikio Yoshioka, Vice-Minister for Engineering Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism, Japan
Keynote Speech / Video Message (5 min for each) Dr. Han Seung-Soo, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea and Chair of the High-level
Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) H.E. Dr. Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister for Public Works and Housing, Indonesia
 Mr. Bambang Susantono, Vice President for Knowledge Management and SustainableDevelopment, Asian Development Bank Mr. Ricardo Mena Director, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
 Mr. Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner, Crisis Management, European Union (tbc) Dr. Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)
 Prof. Kenzo Hiroki, Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS);
Coordinator, HELP
Panel Discussion
Introductory Presentation by Moderator
 Mr. Akihiro Shimasaki, Director for International Coordination of River Engineering, Water andDisaster Management Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan
Presentations by panelist (5-10 min for each) Mr. Kozo Nagami, Deputy Director General, Global Environment Department, JapanInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA)
 Mr. Nestor Alfonzo Santamaria, Policy Advice & Research, OECD - High Level Risk Forum,
Directorate of Public Governance (GOV), The Organisation for Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) Ms. Neeta Pokhrel, Chief of Water Sector Group, Sustainable Development and Climate
Change (SDCC) Department, Asian Development Bank Representative of Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian AidOperations (tbc)
Discussion (15 min) and/or Comments from HELP members/advisors
Q & A Session

Closing Remarks: Prof. Kenzo Hiroki
Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Coordinator, HELP

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