World Bosai ForumSendai, Japan, 9-12 November 2019
Summary
The World Bosai Forum brings together a broad range of people working to reduce

disaster risk, including practitioners, experts, officials, business people, and citizens, withthe aim to share experience and knowledge and to stimulate more effective approaches toreducing disaster risk worldwide.

First held in Sendai, November 2017, the Forum was initiated partly in appreciation of thesupport received by the region during the response and recovery phases of the Great East

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and partly to promote the implementation of the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the international blueprint for action that wasagreed at the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, also held here
in Sendai, in 2015.

This 2019 Forum has attracted nearly 900 participants from about 40 countries. There
were 50 individual sessions of 90 minutes, three keynote addresses, 47 poster

presentations, 33 short “flash” talks, and 14 exhibition booths contributed by the privateand NGO sectors. It was preceded by the Pre-WBF Festival, which celebrated the human,cultural experience of disaster, through memories, archives, heritage, music, and dance,

ranging from the moment of devastation and loss to the process of recovery many years

later. Two other related events were the 10th Earthquake Technology Expo Tohoku, 10-11
November, and the Sendai Symposium for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Future, 10
November.

This summary does not attempt to describe the numerous contributions and advances

reported; instead it aims to identify a selection of main themes and trends that the Forum’s
International Steering Committee feels have emerged during the event.

National and local disaster risk reduction plans. The development of these plans, as called

for in Target E of the Sendai Framework, was a key topic for the 2019 World Bosai Forum.

Good progress was reported, with 91 countries having reported their plans to the UNDRR

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secretariat by May 2019. However, some plans remain to be more fully developed beyond
the basic descriptions of the Sendai Framework language, and some still reflect a view ofdisasters as exogenous events rather than recognising them as the result of sociallyconstructed risk.

Disaster risk reduction “coming of age.” Though still a relatively new field, disaster risk

reduction has reached a solid level of maturity, with a growing pool of graduates and field-experienced practitioners and professionals, many networks and communities of practice,

and an accepted place in public policy in many countries. Language, methods, tools anddata resources are increasingly standardised, while the importance of social context,

particularly gender, inclusive participatory process and institutional strengthening are
now widely normalised. At the same time, there remains a strong demand for concrete

examples and specific tools that can be readily transferred and implemented, especially indeveloping countries, and for international cooperation and comparative information fromdifferent countries and disaster settings. Inadequate coordination across different sectors
and disciplines is an ongoing major problem.

Change and uncertainty. Weather and climate hazards are changing, bringing increases

and uncertainty in the nature of the risks that we face. Intensification of development, ormaldevelopment, as sometimes occurs, may exacerbate risk or bring new types of risk.

There is potential for slow change to accumulate or reach tipping points that lead to bigger

or new types of problems. A hazard event may precipitate a cascade of other events such as
fires, toxic emissions, industrial accidents, and environmental destruction. Will our risk

reduction approaches need to be modified to accommodate such change and complexity?
Role of the private sector. The private sector plays a variety of relevant roles, including as aservice provider, but most importantly is a primary actor in development and investment
and therefore in decisions that can increase or reduce risk. Industry and business also

have processes and skills to manage their own risks that are relevant to public disaster risk

reduction. For these reasons their participation in the Forum and in disaster risk reduction
should be more actively sought. Better standards and evaluation frameworks wouldencourage private sector adoption of disaster risk reduction.

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Technology and technique. Many presentations demonstrated or used new technologies

and technique, such as mobile apps, the use of drones, artificial intelligence methods andatmospheric observations for earthquake prediction. Once again this shows the power ofscience and engineering to constantly produce better ways to achieve disaster risk
reduction. At the same time we know that there are often significant challenges in

integrating such advances into socially feasible practices. Innovation can also result fromapplying existing technology to basic problems, for example, in the development of disasterloss databases, an ISO standard for disaster risk reduction, and general economic

modelling of the value of disaster risk reduction.

Youth and young professionals. The Forum saw many younger people bringing new

perspectives and enthusiasm to the Forum. The “flash talk” sessions provided a good

opportunity for them to propose and discuss novel new ideas, such as new technologies

and a proposal for entrepreneurship in disaster risk reduction. In some countries young
professionals are being systematically inducted into formal decision-making processes
concerning disaster risk reduction. Several young people with direct experience ofdisasters and loss of family or friends presented as highly effective communicators andadvocates for disaster risk reduction. The involvement of younger people in disaster risk
reduction should be encouraged.

Memories and generational change. Disaster risk reduction is most strongly driven bydirect experience of disaster and loss, but memories fade and generations change. Spiritualcare and emotional awareness assist people to make sense of their experience and ongoingdifficulties. To keep awareness alive, we need to elaborate and record the experiences andperspectives of different generations, including testimony of people affected as children

and youths, and to develop means to pass these on, through memorials, museums, film,

story telling and celebrations and the active involvement of the media. Formal educationand leadership by teachers can promote these activities and link them to knowledge andpractice on disaster risk reduction, thus expanding the reach of direct experience wellbeyond the time and place of any one disaster. It can be added that teachers’ themselves
desirably should undertake fieldwork-based training in disaster risk reduction.

Dreams can come true; recovery happens. It takes some years, but it is clear that organised
recovery which seeks to integrate action across sectors such as planning, housing,3

transportation and livelihood development, and to “build back better”, can return a post-event wasteland to a well functioning community with high levels of citizen satisfaction.

The transformation of east Japan’s coastal areas in the eight years since March 3, 2011 isremarkable. The great resilience and positive spirit of the people of region has permeatedthe 2019 World Bosai Forum.

Thoughts for the next Forum. A number of suggestions have been made on improvementsor changes for the next Forum, the two main ones being to more actively engage the private
sector and younger people. Others included the adoption of a few selected themes withmore coordinated sessions on each theme, particularly sessions that demonstrateintegrated and transdisciplinary approaches, and that encourage more participation andinteraction.

Reid Basher

Chair, International Steering Committee
World Bosai Forum, 20194