The World Ministerial Conference on Disaster Reductionin Tohoku
Tuesday 3 July 2012,Sendai City, Japan
2.45pm local time
Opening Statement
Helen Clark
Administrator of the United Nations Development ProgrammeYour Excellency Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, Prime Minister of Japan,Your Excellency Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Japan,

It is an honour to address this important conference today. At
the outset I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to ourhosts for their hospitality, and to acknowledge Japan’stremendous leadership in disaster risk reduction and recovery.

1

At Rio+20, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba demonstrated
Japan’s commitment to this agenda, by pledging $3 billion fordisaster reduction to developing countries over the next threeyears. This generosity in difficult times is highly commendable.

While no country is immune to disasters associated with naturalhazards, we are all well aware that there is much which can bedone to reduce their impact by better preparing citizens andcommunities to withstand the related shocks and disruption.

This Conference is about how to build resilient societies and tomainstream disaster risk reduction at the local, national, andregional levels. It is also an opportunity to be part of theconsultation process, initiated in March by the United Nations
Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), to shape theagenda for disaster risk reduction beyond the Hyogo
Framework for Action, which expires in 2015.

2

Only fifteen months ago Japan itself suffered grievously fromthe Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami which
followed. So many lives were lost and communities shattered.
The world stood in solidarity with Japan at that terrible time.

We also learned a lot from Japan as it responded to this verytesting crisis. Japan had long made disaster risk reduction a top
policy priority, and built institutional and legal frameworks
which reflected that. Its approaches to disaster risk reduction
and recovery have been participatory, engaging a wide range ofstakeholders and citizens. It has also built capacity to cope in
the face of disaster at all levels of government in the country.
This extensive preparation helped prevent long term impacts on
the country’s development after March 2011.

By convening this conference, Japan is able to share its
knowledge with other countries and contribute a great deal to
the global discussion on disaster risk reduction and recovery.

3

The countries of many gathered here today have experienced
severe natural disasters and their devastating impact on humanlife, families, communities, infrastructure, and economies. We
have seen our countries work to recover from these crises, andimprove resilience and preparedness for future disaster.

It is important to acknowledge what has been done well in thepast, and what could be done better in the future, to strengthen
the resilience of communities and ensure that the poorest andmost vulnerable people do not disproportionately bear thebrunt of disasters.

We must also focus on the cross-border dimensions of disasters,
which with the effects of climate change are only likely to grow.
Large-scale disasters like those brought by Hurricane Mitch inCentral America and the Caribbean in 1998, the Indian Ocean
Tsunami in 2004, and recurrent drought in the Horn of Africa
and the Sahel are cases in point.

4

Thus reducing risk and building resilience requires jointreflection and analysis, pooling of resources and capacities, andsharing best practice not only within nations, but also acrossregions. It is my hope that this conference will make important
contributions to this agenda.

In more that eighty countries, UNDP has worked withgovernments and communities to strengthen capacities fordisaster risk reduction and recovery. For us, building such
resilience is integral to locking in development gains. Last year
alone we reported results of our work in this area in close tosixty countries.

As part of that work, UNDP supports endeavors to accelerate
implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action, and willcontinue to do so in support of its successor arrangements.
Some of the key issues which require continued or increased
attention in a post-Hyogo framework beyond 2015 include:

5

(1)

Bringing disaster risk reduction to the center ofdevelopment practice;
Thereiscompelling

evidencethatsustainable

development and disaster risk reduction go hand inhand. The impact of disasters can be anticipated,managed, and mitigated if appropriate policies andactions are in place.

Recognizing that, UNDP advocates for the integrationof disaster risk reduction concepts into sustainable
development discussions and frameworks – mostrecentlyattheRio+20

Conference.

These

considerations should also help shape the post-2015
development agenda, and the setting of new goals andtargets. The timing of this fits well with the discussionof priorities for what follows the Hyogo Framework for
Action of 2005 – 2015.

6

Forging

resilientsocieties

requireslong-term

approaches to building institutions and networks andexpanding knowledge and resources. There are many
promising examples from which to learn, not least herein Japan, as the post-Hyogo framework is shaped.

(2)

Building increased resilience for the future into

recovery processes;
When planned well, recovery efforts can help restore
andsupport

development

efforts,transforming

communities while also repairing and addressing
immediate recovery needs. When managed poorly,
however, recovery efforts can increase inequality andvulnerability to future disasters. For this reason, atUNDP, we are committed to supporting developing
countries struck by disasters to build back better – anapproach which was so successfully applied in Aceh
after the December 2004 tsunami.

7

(3)

Reforming governance arrangements for effective

disaster risk reduction at national and local levels;
The quality of governance is an important determining
factor in the success or failure of disaster risk reduction
strategies, policies, and responses. Many countries have
madeprogress

onmainstreaming

disasterrisk

reduction into their national policy frameworks andhave improved institutions and laws, creating a
conducive environment for building resilience.

Much of this effort has been focused on the importantworkofstrengthening

disaster

responseandpreparedness functions. Less attention to date has been
given to reducing disaster exposure and vulnerabilities
through preventive measures such as better land use
planning,building

codes,andenvironmentalmanagement.

8The post-Hyogo Framework should go further inemphasizing the importance of effective governance inmanaging and ultimately reducing risk. More attention
will need to be given to local level and urban risk
management; the allocation of sufficient capacity andresources;

andagreater

convergenceofthedevelopment, environment, and climate change agendas
aroundpolicy,institutionalarrangements,andimplementation.

(4)

Focusing on cross-cutting issues;

The Hyogo Framework highlights a number of crosscutting areas to be addressed in achieving sustainablerisk reduction. They include participation, capacity
building, and gender considerations.

9As well, many high risk countries are exposed to several
hazards, and their risk reduction strategies need to takethe full range of them into account. A country exposed
to both hurricanes and earthquakes obviously needs
resilience to both. Here in Japan in March last year, thedisaster

had

threedimensions,interacting

todevastating effect.

The post-Hyogo discussions are an opportunity toexplore more effective ways of addressing cross cuttingissues and challenges in disaster risk reduction, as manycountries report slow progress on them. UNDP is readyto work at national, regional, and global levels to build
more effective capacities and facilitate the transfer ofexperiences, including through triangular and SouthSouth co-operation, between communities, countries,and cities.

10In closing, let me again thank the Government of Japan for
hosting this meeting, and for committing to host the third
World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2015.

The discussions over these next two days will help our world
move from the achievements of the “Hyogo Decade” to a new
vision and action for disaster risk reduction, which will save
lives and sustain development even in the most challenging
circumstances.

11