5 Establishment of the International Recovery Platform (IRP) and its activities

5. The International Recovery Platform (IRP):
History and Current Activities
5-1. The Establishment of the IRP
While the capacity of the UN system for disaster response and humanitarian assistance arewidely recognized, there is currently a vacuum in terms of the UN's capacity and system-widemechanisms for post-disaster recovery efforts, particularly those with a risk reduction focus.
Experience increasingly affirms that the post-disaster recovery phase provides a critical
opportunity to shift the focus from saving lives to restoring livelihoods, and is an important time for
introducing measures to reduce future disaster risk. Recovery can help close the gap between relief
and development, and can transform disasters into opportunities for sustainable development. Thisoccurs when efforts are made to support local and national recovery processes at an early stage,
when risk reduction considerations are factored into all recovery activities, and when the synergies
between development, humanitarian, and other actors involved in the response phases are properlychanneled. A successful recovery effort, then, is predicated on having advance agreements andmechanisms in place so that the recovery process is effectively conceived and managed, and isinitiated in a timely manner. This includes such measures as appropriate assessment methodologies,
pre-established resource mobilization mechanisms, surge capacity to support UN Country Teams,and standing coordination mechanisms.
Shared concerns related to the UN approach and processes for post-disaster recovery haveresulted in the formulation of a joint initiative, the International Recovery Platform, by the UNsystem, ADRC, and other partners, with the encouragement and support of Japan as well as other
donors and key program countries. This initiative was discussed at the World Conference on
Disaster Reduction (WCDR) during session 4.9 on Post Disaster Recovery. Representatives fromthe UNDP, UN-HABITAT, ADRC, ADPC, ILO, and other concerned UN agencies expressed theirrespective agency commitments and support for the proposed international platform for recovery.
The meeting resulted in a recommendation for the establishment of the International Recovery
Platform (IRP)
Only four months after the WCDR, the International Seminar on Post Disaster Recovery, insupport of the IRP, was held at the JICA Centre in Kobe and at Hyogo House on 11-13 May 2005.
The IRP was officially launched in Kobe.

5-2. The Governance Structure of the IRP
The IRP currently consists of 12 governments,* UN agencies, and international organizations
including ADRC (as of March 2008). The IRP focuses on the following three priority activities forrecovery, respectively based in Kobe, Turin, and Geneva: (a) Knowledge Management andAdvocacy, Kobe, (b) Training and Capacity Building, Turin, and (c) Enhancing Recovery
Operations, Geneva.
As described in the Terms of Reference, the IRP Kobe functions as the IRP secretariat and is
responsible for convening IRP steering committee meetings and disseminating information on IRP
activities and outcomes.
* IRP members: Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), Hyogo Prefectural Government,International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),
International Labour Organization (ILO), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy,
Cabinet Office of Japan, Swiss Agency for Development and Coordination(SDC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations
Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), United Nations Secretariatof the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA), and theWorld Bank.
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