Contribution to the Asia Pacific Water Summit
Beppu, Oita, Japan 2 December 2007

Climate Change, Water, and Disasters

Yuichi ONO
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR)

www.unisdr.org

United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR)
Launched in 2000 by UN General Assembly Resolution
A/54/219 as successor of the International Decade on
Natural Disaster Reduction – IDNDR, 1990-1999:
The ISDR aims at building disaster resilient communities
by promoting increased awareness of the importance ofdisaster reduction as an integral component of sustainable
development, with the goal of reducing human, social,economic and environmental losses due to natural hazards
and related technological and environmental disasters.

ISDR Main functions
Policy and Coordination
Guide & monitor theimplementation of HFA, Global
Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction, Report to the UN
General Assembly
Advocacy
Annual awareness campaign,
publications
Information Management & Networks
website, Living with Risk,
Prevention Web
Partnerships, outreachsupport to regional partners &countries (national platforms andaction plans- policy, advocacy,
information
ISDR system and resource mobilizationISDR secretariat and the ISDR System•

Headquarters in Geneva•Regional offices Panama - Americas; Nairobi - Africa;
Bangkok and Kobe – Asia; Dushanbe - Cent. Asia; Cairo WANA

•Thematic Platforms (Platform for the Promotion of Early
Warning in Bonn, Germany; International Recovery Platform
in Kobe, Japan; CIIFEN – El Nino in Guayaquil, Ecuador;
Global Wildland Fire Network in Freiburg, Germany)•

Partner Networks and Regional Centres: (ADPC, ADRC,ASEAN, SAARC, ECO, SOPAC, CEPREDENAC, CDERA,ACS, CAPRADE, AU/NEPAD, SADR, ECOWAS, IGAD, CoE,CIS, etc.)•UN agencies and GovernmentsUN landscape: scope for mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction

Humanitarian

Development MDGs

IASC
OCHA
WFP
UNICEFTo assist
national& local
needs &capacities

UNDG
UNDP
WB/IFIsISDR

Sustainable
Development
JPoI

Sectoral - technical
UNEP
UNESCOFAO
UN-Habitat

……

WHO
WMO
ILO
ITU

Climate change
Desertification
Biodiversity
SIDS
LDCs
Water
AfricaInter-Agency Task Force on DR to
Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

Global Risk Trends - Disasters are NOT “Natural”
Natural and human-induced hazards
Climate change and variables(global warming …)

HAZARDS +EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Socio-economic: poverty,
unplanned urban growth, lack ofawareness and institutional capacities...
Physical: insufficient land use planning,
housing, infrastructures located in hazard
prone areas...

VULNERABILITY

Environmental degradation
ecosystem degradation; coastal,watershed, marshland…, etc.

Natural hazard X

Vulnerability=Disaster Risk

Disaster Risk Reduction – An Agenda in Progress
1989: IDNDR 1990-1999 – promotion of disaster reduction, technical andscientific buy-in
1994: Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action –first blueprint fordisaster reduction policy guidance (social & community orientation)
2000: International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) increased public commitment , linked to sustainable development,enlarged networking and partnerships.
Mechanisms: IATF/DR, ISDR secretariat, UN Trust Fund
2002: Johannesburg Plan of Implementation - WSSD Includes new
section on “An integrated, multi-hazard, inclusive approach to address
vulnerability, risk assessment and disaster management…”
2005: WCDR - Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015
Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters
2007: Global Platform The ISDR Movement

UN/ISDR’s message to the AP Water
Summit and G8 Summit

Climate Change
WaterDisaster Risk Reduction
These three words need to bespelled out together

Because
the impacts of climate change appear
as disasters
Hydro-meteorological disasters

www.unisdr.org

The scientific evidence is clear¾ 4th IPCC Assessment: temperaturesrising, loss of glaciers and polar ice, rainfall
patterns change, rising sea levels, moredrought, stronger tropical cyclones¾ Vulnerable areas: Africa, mega-deltas ofAsia, small island developing states, andthe poor everywhere

The ISDR underlines that to reduce the risk ofextreme climate events, action is required on
twin policies: to reduce the greenhouse gas
emissions that drive climate change, and toreduce the vulnerability of societies to inevitableclimate change impacts.
Both MITIGATION and ADAPTATION
approaches are important!

Strengthening tropical cyclones
Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Cyclone Sidr in 2007

We cannot conclude thesestrong tropical cyclones are
due to the effects of ongoingclimate change, but weneed to be well prepared forsuch tropical cyclones in thenear future!

A Cyclone Sidr Victim in Bangladesh

We are here to serve for a person
like herAre we ready for strengthening tropical cyclones in the near future?

Image by JMA - 5 October 2007

• Climate Change is a new challenge• We need a new strategy• We need to identify new resources

What should be done?
• Country-level and basin-level assessment basedon sound science such as the IPCC report andother reliable reports is important as a first step
• Yet, global-scale work does not help country to
make a strategy – dependable country-scale
impacts scenario is needed• Make a national strategy to cope with climatechange – identification of needs – is important

Review the existing strategy to see if thatworks for the new situations and make a new one
if necessary
Practical solutions may be:- to construct new dams and reservoirs to mitigate
the negative impacts of climate change byincreasing the capacity of water management- to practice community-level or household-level
water harvesting- and many more (both structural and non-structural
measures• UN/ISDR welcomes efforts to reducewater-related risks by water-related
sectors (governments, UN and otheragencies)• UN/ISDR expects the International FloodInitiatives (IFI) to be a thematic platform
to link with the Global Platform for DRR
mechanism

Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005-2015 isconsidered effective forclimate change adaptation
Global Framework for Disaster RiskReduction is already there
We need to implement the Framework
based on specific hazard, region withdifferent socio-economic and culturalsituations

World Conference on Disaster Reduction
168 Governments, 78 regional and int’l orgs, and 161 NGOs attended• Integrate disaster risk reduction into policies, plans and programmes ofsustainable development and poverty reduction• Recognize risk reduction as both a humanitarian and development issue– in the context of sustainable development

Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015
Building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters

9999

3 Strategic goals
5 Priorities for action
Cross-cutting issues
Implementation and follow-up• Focus on national and local implementation,with bilateral, multilateral, regional and international cooperation• Targets and indicators to be developed according to needs

Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015
Three strategic goals- The integration of disaster risk reduction intosustainable development policies and planning.
- The development and strengthening ofinstitutions, mechanisms and capacities to build
resilience to hazards.
- The systematic incorporation of risk reduction
approaches into the implementation of emergency
preparedness, response and recovery programmes.

Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (continued)
Five priorities for action
1. Governance: ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national andlocal priority with strong institutional basis for implementation
2. Risk identification: identify, assess and monitor disaster risks
and enhance early warning
3. Knowledge: use knowledge, innovation and education to build aculture of safety and resilience at all levels
4. Reducing the underlying risk factors: mainstreaming in various
sectors (environment, health, social support, insurance and risk
transfer, critical infrastructure and construction, etc.)
5. Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response.

Brainstorming to enhance climatechange adaptation• For some countries, it is very difficult toregulate the amount of carbon emission at
this moment.
• Maybe, we should seek a way to create anoption – carbon emission reduction
substituted by investing on climate change
adaptation (disaster risk reduction, etc.)

“Climate change is expected to cause more severe andmore frequent natural hazards. As our cities and coasts
grow more vulnerable, these hazards can lead to disasters
that are far worse than those we have seen to date. We
have a moral, social and economic obligation to build
resilience by 2015. Implementing the Hyogo Framework forAction will also help us reach the Millennium Development
Goals.”Ban Ki-moon,
Secretary-General of theUnited Nations