Online Capacity Development Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and Digital Governance for Local Resilience

Date: April 6 (Tuesday); April 8 (Thursday), & April 13 (Tuesday),

15:00-17:00 (Seoul Time)

Application form
https://bit.ly/3cPJMVt

Background

"To eradicate poverty and reduce the impacts of climate change, we must place the public good above all other considerations. For these reasons and more, this year's International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is all about strengthening disaster risk governance to build a safer and more resilient world"^[1]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres (2020)

The engagement of cities and local authorities are at the core of disaster risk reduction and building resilience and they have been at the forefront of COVID-19 response. Now that half of the world's population live in cities, making sustainable and resilient cities - amidst a changing climate, rapidly depleting resources, and unplanned urbanization - is one of our most significant challenges and opportunities.Therefore, cities' planning and development must now give adequate consideration to biological hazards such as pandemics. It is highly encouraged for cities to build resilience through effective, inclusive and accountable institutions that ensure sustainable and inclusive development that addresses the root causes of existing risks and prevents new ones. 

Accordingly, with the Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2020[2], the Asia-Pacific region needs to accelerate its progress on all 17 SDGs as per the current path; none of the 17 SDGs is on track to be achieved in the region by 2030. In this regard, building resilience and adapting to climate change, and adequately integrating health-related risk into local disaster risk reduction strategies is crucial, especially for cities and local authorities in the Asia-Pacific region.

This training will provide concepts, tools and approaches for implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at the local level. It will also introduce the Toolkit[3]on Risk-informed Governance and Innovative Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience, which is part of UN DESA’s Curriculum on Governance for SDGs, and provide specific guidance on leveraging data and digital government for disaster risk reduction and resilience. The training structure includes lecture sessions with expert inputs. Session-based group work will enable participants to transform in-depth learning into practice and familiarize with coordinated action for decision making. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to localize and implement the international frameworks into their cities or national context to pursue greater resilience and sustainable development.

The training will also be an opportunity to learn about the global initiative on Making Cities Resilient (MCR2030) launched in 2020 to ensure cities become inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030, contributing directly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) and other global frameworks including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda. 

Workshop Objectives

The capacity building training workshop, while promoting risk-informed governance, will:

1.      Support the localization and implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030;

2.      Introduce the Toolkit on Risk-Informed Governance and Innovative Technology for DRR and Resilience and specifically provide guidance on leveraging data and digital government for DRR and resilience;

3.      Get familiar with MCR2030 and its diagnosis tools.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

a)      Understand the global framework for disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals;

b)      Build capacities with a focus on effective urban planning and digital government solutions;

c)      Learn about MCR2030 and how to join this global initiative;

d)      Utilize the operational tools of Sendai Framework at a local level to develop city action plans;

e)      Increase understanding and strengthen capacities on Governance Innovation and Leveraging Risk-informed Governance for DRR and Resilience.

Structure and Methodology

The workshop is composed of three Sessions. The training will comprise of lectures and thematic presentations by experts, interactive Q&A discussion, self-assessment exercises and group work, developing your city action plan. The thematic focus of each session will include:

Session 1: Localizing Global Frameworks in Coherence

The 2018 UN ‘High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development’ (HLPF) focused on transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies, with a major attention, among others, to SDG 11 named “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, confirming the pivotal role played by Cities, Local and Regional Governments in pursuing sustainability and disaster risk reduction challenges[4]. Recognizing that local governments play a central role in any commitments to disaster risk reduction (DRR) by successfully integrating DRR and resilience into urban developing process, the Making Cities Resilient initiative (MCR) promotes resilience building through awareness-raising activities among local governments and provide tools, technical assistance, city-to-city support networks and learning opportunities. There are Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient which are key to building urban resilience at local levels and a strong, practical framing of the issues. This is also a guide to areas of intervention that address the fundamental elements of resilience-building.

Risk governance, digital government and frontier technologies on the other hand presents rapidly evolving prospects for building resilience across developed and developing countries. Digital technologies and effective public governance have the potential for strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability. Governments are increasingly leveraging frontier technologies to ensure resilience and reduce disaster and climate risks. Digital government tools and particularly open data and big data analytics, can enable governments to effectively anticipate, prepare, and respond to risks and disasters. Digital government and innovations have become more significant in building resilient societies especially for those countries in special situation to help build back-better in times of disasters.

This session will focus on providing the fundamental knowledge on disaster risk reduction and its linkage with sustainable development. It will familiarize participants with key concepts, terminologies and the MCR2030 initiative as well as integrating ecosystem-based DRR in local development strategy. The Session will also highlight and share insights on the significant role of risk-informed governance and innovative technology for DRR and resilience.

Session 2: Urban Resilience Tools and Digital Government Solution for DRR

Most of the world’s population now live in urban areas and cities. The rapid growth of urban populations has resulted in increased concentrations of people, livelihoods and properties in areas exposed to high risks from hazards and shocks. Projections indicate that by 2050, 60% of the world’s population (nearly 5.2 billion people) will be urban (UN DESA 2018)[5]. Cities have huge responsibilities but also face great challenges in ensuring the health, safety, and wellbeing of increasing numbers of residents. Subsequently, strengthening urban resilience is the key to sustainable development and enhanced prosperity. There are many ways to build urban resilience ranging from highly technical and resource-intensive, to simple and inexpensive practices. City resilience building requires extensive and systematic public engagement and communication, using modern media methods, to provide accessible and comprehensible information that is targeted at different stakeholders and will mobilize community action.

Digital government solutions and smart technologies for emergency and disaster management significantly contributes to timely response to DRR and resilience during disaster situations. The dissemination of smart, leveraging data and innovative technologies can strengthen urban resilience to disaster risks. Innovative technologies and digital government tools through early warning systems for instance has helped in saving lives during disasters and has supported governments and other agencies with relief efforts, thus demonstrating how ICT tools play a key role in pursuing resilience and sustainability targets. The use of digital solutions and technologies therefore provides great support to governments as a tool towards DRR, development planning and identifying appropriate measures of reducing risks for present and future disasters.

This Session aims to highlight and discuss how to apply diagnosis tools for urban resilience. Participants will understand the Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient as a building block for local resilience building, know how to use the Scorecard Assessment Tool to review the DRR progress and be able to identify disaster resilience gaps against the Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient.

The Session will also delve into leveraging digital government solutions for DRR and building resilience using the training toolkit on Risk-informed Governance and Innovative Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience, which is part of UN DESA’s Curriculum on Governance for SDGs.

Session 3: Towards Developing Local DRR Strategies

Important policy actions are taking place at local level that reflect the commitment and perspectives of local players. These local actions are the key to sustainable management of environmental resources, building resilient society, and enhancing governance to ultimately achieve the sustainable development goals. To further the ambition of local actors in strengthing the impact of local action, it is crucial to develop capacity by sharing best practices and learning peer-to-peer.

The last Session of the workshop will reiterate the importance of awareness-raising opportunity in building the capacity of local authorities. Peer-to-peer learning and interactions between diverse players who are part of a local system can contribute to locally-owned and locally-sustained development strategy . By addressing the tools available for digital governance and local resilience, the Session will also support well-informed decisions on local disaster risk reduction strategy.

By the end of the Session, participants will better understand the purpose and key content of a local DRR strategy and able to formulate the DRR strategy based on the evidence analysis that addresses the gaps and needs and aligned with the national DRR strategy and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Target Audience

This training is open to national and local government officials and other stakeholders from civil society and institutions in Asia-Pacific interested in or supporting cities in disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, building resilience and sustainable development.

Certificate

UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC, UNDRR and UN DESA/UNPOG will issue a joint certificate upon successful completion of the training.

Requirements:

·         Attend all three sessions

·         Submit pre-training readings and assignments, i.e. case studies etc. actively participate in the training programme.

Application and Deadline

Interested participants are required to complete the registration form by 2 April 2021 at  https://bit.ly/3cPJMVt

Organizers

UN DESA/DPIDG/UNPOG

UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction ONEA & GETI

Websites

UN DESA/DPIDG/UNPOG event page

UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC event page

UNDRR ONEA & GETI event page

Contacts

Ana Cristina Thorlund, Programme Officer, UNDRR ONEA & GETI, undrr-incheon@un.org

Hwajin Kim, Program Officer, UNITAR CIFAL Jeju/JITC, hjkim.jitc@gmail.com

Samuel Danaa, Associate Capacity Development Expert, UN DESA/DPIDG/UNPOG, samuel.danaa@un.org

DRAFT AGENDA