UNITAR Contributes to Habitat III Discussions on Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction

July 27, 2016, Quito, Ecuador - UNITAR’s Decentralized Cooperation Programme in collaboration with the Government of Ecuador hosted the third series of webinars aimed to raise awareness of key topics related to the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III). The webinar titled “Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Management” took place Wednesday, July 27 with three experts from UNISDR Office for Northeast Asia, the University of Newcastle and CIFAL Newcastle. 106 participants from Ecuador, Chile, the United States, Australia, China, Spain and the UK attended the webinar.

Between 200 and 2012, disasters have affected 2.9 billion people, caused USD 1.7 trillion of damage and killed 1.2 million people. Disasters have affected people living in developing countries and, in particular, the most vulnerable communities within these countries.

This webinar introduced participants to disaster trends and risks. It provided an overview of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and highlighted priorities for action at national, local, regional and global levels. It also presented a disaster risk reduction integrated and comprehensive strategy of structural and non-structural measures.

Throughout the webinar, the range of key players in the disaster management landscape, as well as the disaster management cycle, including the tasks of relief and recovery were presented. It also explored the links between disaster risk reduction and its impact on recovery. Finally, the webinar discussed the reconstruction costs and the need for “building back better”, and made a comprehensive overview of the New Urban Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Sanjaya Bathia, Head of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) Office for Northeast Asia (ONEA) and Head of the Global Education and Training Institute (GETI) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Incheon, Republic of Korea stressed the importance of disaster risk management within the framework of Habitat III: “We cannot achieve sustainable development without addressing disaster risks…we cannot work in silos, we need to work together.”

Capt. Steve O’Keefe, former Chief of Staff for the Australian Defense Force Civil-Military Centre and Commander of its Peace Operations Training Centre addressed the topic of “Transition from Response to Recovery”. Capt. O’Keefe outlined the effects of risk reduction practices on the effectiveness of response and recovery efforts in urban areas. He claimed that, in the period of time following a disaster, “early recovery is a multidimensional process guided by development principles.”

Dr. Graham Brewer, Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Built Environment Research, Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Built Environment of the University of Newcastle, Australia, and also Director of the International Training Centre for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL Newcastle) pointed “resilience will become increasingly important in all its forms, and we should have started planning for it yesterday.” His presentation discussed the impacts of cities (environmental, climatic, infrastructural, etc.) and how they are creating a need for urban planning that addresses the risks posed by disasters.

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