CIFAL Quito Organized the II Regional Forum on Risk Reduction and Climate Change

27 February 2015, Quito, Ecuador – CIFAL Quito, in collaboration with the Decentralized Government of the Province of Pichincha (GADPP), held the II Regional Forum on Risk Reduction and Climate Change in Quito on 18 - 19 February 2015. The event brought together 130 local government officials, private sector representatives and civil society leaders from Ecuador and the Latin American region.

The objective of the event was to enhance the capacity of the participants to make the appropriate decisions when facing a risk situation. The event provided the space to share best practices on risk reduction in Latin America. The event also aimed at consolidating a Latin American position on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as we approach the Third UN Conference on DRR, to be held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.

The forum included presentations from national and international experts in different areas of Disaster Risks. Dr Ricardo Mena from UNISDR’s Americas Regional Office presented on the development of action plans to strengthen resilience in cities. Ms. Maria del Pilar Cornejo, Secretary of Risk Management, provided an overview of the functioning of the Decentralised Risk Management System.

Mr Alex Mejia, Senior Manager of UNITAR’s Decentralized Cooperation Programme presented the role of UNITAR and the CIFAL Global Network in building capacities to enhance resilience against disasters. Mr. Gustavo Baroja, Prefect of the Decentralized Government of the Province of Pichincha shared the experience of the Province of Pichincha in addressing risk and climate change.

In the framework of this event, participants signed the Quito Declaration, which included substantial recommendations for the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

CIFAL Quito is part of UNITAR's Network of International Training Centres for Local Actors –CIFAL Global Network–.

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