6. The International Recovery Platform (IRP): History and Current Activities

As described in the Terms of Reference, the IRP at Kobe functions as the IRP secretariat andis responsible for convening IRP Steering Committee meetings and disseminating informationon 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), UnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP),United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), United
Nations Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR),
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA), theWorld Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), Asian Development Bank (ADB),
United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), United Nations Officefor Project Services (UNOPS).

6-3. IRP Activities in FY 2013
6-3-1. “IRP’s International Recovery Forum 2014”“The IRP’s International Recovery Forum2014 ～ The Role of Private Sector in
Disaster Recovery ～ ”, jointly organizedwith ADRC, was held in Kobe, Hyogo,
Japan on 21 January 2014. Highlighting theimportant role of private sector in disasterrecovery and reconstruction, the Forumshowcased

thelessons

sharedbypolicymakers, experts, and practitioners.

Fig. 6-3-1 “IRP’s International Recovery Forum 2014”

With over 155 participants from the national
governments, international organizations, and universities around the world, the keynote
speakers from IBM Japan/KEIDANREN, Federal Management Agency (FEMA), andDepartment of National Defense (DND) of the Philippines imparted the important message ofengaging private sector in disaster risk reduction and recovery to further avoid greater economiclosses. In addition, the speakers from International Organization of Employees (IOE),
Development Bank of Japan, South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation Disaster
Management Center (SDMC), El Colegio de Mexico, World Bank, Tohoku University,
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and JICA presented specific initiatives
that promote collaboration between private sector and public sector. The lessons from these
initiatives are crucial in further accelerating the learning by conscious application to areas withsimilar situations.
The panel discussion, which dwelt on the role of private sector in the implementation of the65recovery component of HFA2 (post-2015 framework for DRR), proactively facilitated theexchange of new ideas and strategies to ensure that recovery is adequately reflected in theglobal framework. The panelists, comprising experts from FEMA, DND, IOE, Tohoku
University, and JICA, recommended some actions to effectively engage private sector in DRR
and recovery, including strengthening the platforms for sharing of information, legal
frameworks for coordination, and business continuity planning. The outcomes of thediscussions will inform the recovery component of post-HFA framework which will bepresented at the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, 14-18 March 2015 in
Sendai City, Japan.
The key dignitaries who also delivered relevant message on recovery and reconstruction
included Mr. Katsuju Sasaki (Deputy Director-General of the Cabinet Office of Japan) and Mr.
Toshizo Ido (Govern Hyogo Prefecture).

6-3-2. Participation in the 4th Session of the Global Platformfor Disaster Risk Reduction
The 4th Session of the Global Platform for
DRR organized by UNISDR was held from19 to 23 May 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The IRP secretariat, the Cabinet Office ofJapan and ADRC organized the Forum“Lessons on Recovery from Mega-Disasters”
with the participation of 124 people fromIRP partners, international and regional
institutions, governments and NGOs, etc.
The forum was also organized as the lastsession of the Expert Group Meetings on theFig. 6-3-2-1 Forum “Lessons on Recovery fromMega-Disasters”

Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) andthe completion of the “Recovery Status Report on the GEJE” was announced in the forum.
Following the special remarks by Mr. Yoshitami Kameoka, Parliamentary Secretary of theCabinet Office of Japan, and the message from Mr. Toshizo Ido, Governor of Hyogo Prefecture,delivered by Mr. Akinori Sugimoto, Superintendent for Disaster Management of Hyogo
Prefecture, Prof. Yasuo Tanaka of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman moderated a panel
discussion with experts serving as panelists, namely: Mr. Roger Sutton, Chief Executive,
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), New Zealand; Prof. Yoshimitsu Shiozaki,Ritsumeikan University, Japan; Mr. David Trissell, Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA), USA, and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Nadeem Ahmed, Former Chairman, National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA) Pakistan. Each panelist made a presentation on recovery
experiences and good practices of each country.
They further explored measures for integrating recovery in development planning as well as66

6. The International Recovery Platform (IRP): History and Current Activities

efforts towards effective recovery strategy andframeworks, and also highlighted the key
strategic recommendations on recovery forHFA2.
IRP also took advantage of disseminating its
brochures and publications to the participantsin the Global Platform at the Market Place. In
particular, Recovery Status Report on theGreat East Japan Earthquake, along with otherrecovery reports and guidance notes onFig. 6-3-2-2 Dissemination of the publications

recovery, was showcased at the marketplace.

6-3-3. “IRP Workshop on Disaster Recovery Planning”(Philippines and other countries)
TheInternational

Recovery

Platform(IRP) and Asian Disaster Reduction Center(ADRC) had facilitated “IRP Workshop onDisaster

RecoveryPlanning”,

19-21

February 2014 in Cebu City, Philippines.
The main objective of the workshop was toprovide technical assistance in formulating
the recovery plans of local governments
impacted by super typhoon Haiyan. With its
experts in Cebu City, IRP/ADRC shared acollection of global experiences and lessonsFig. 6-3-3 IRP Workshop on Disaster Recovery
Planning (Cebu, Philippines)on disaster recovery, which served as
reference in establishing a temporal link between preparedness, recovery, and sustainable
development. The workshop was also aimed at strengthening the local capacities for integrating
disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in disaster recovery planning andlong-term development programming.
Over 50 local government officials from the Provincial Government of Cebu, Provincial
Government of Leyte, Provincial Government of Samar, City Government of Tacloban,
Municipal Government of Palo (Leyte), and Municipal Government of Basey (Samar)
participated in the workshop to explore strategies and actions on recovery and reconstruction
from the super typhoon. Additionally, partners from UNISDR-GETI and Office of Civil
Defense (OCD, Philippines) also participated to further contribute in the discussions and makesure that partners' knowledge and experiences are shared with the impacted local governments.

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The acting administrator of OCD General Romeo F. Fajardo along with the administrator of theProvince of Cebu Atty. Mark Tolentino and OCD-Region 7 director Ms. Dina Morante werepresent at the opening to grace occasion and inspire the participants to work collaboratively andeffectively. During this event, the participants were exposed to various options to "build backbetter" after a disaster. A wide array of strategies and actions from the “IRP Guidance Notes onRecovery”, developed by IRP, served as options in which the local governments can adopt, if
suited to their respective contexts. The lessons on recovery, as compiled by IRP/ADRC fromvarious experiences around the globe, provided an additional input to build on the existinginitiatives of local governments. At the end of the workshop, each local government came up
with an outline of Recovery Plan, including a list of strategies, actions, and responsible
offices/organizations to implement the proposed actions.
In addition to the above-mentioned workshop in Cebu, IRP organized workshops in India,
Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Philippines (Makati City) and Lebanon in FY2013, withmore than 200 participants in total.

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