In line with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s directive to enhance disaster resilience of Filipino communities, local government units (LGUSs) are investing in disaster risk reduction strategies to safeguard lives and livelihoods.
These investments and initiatives will be highlighted in the upcoming 2024 Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR), with over 4,000 participants from 69 countries convened by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). The event is hosted by the Philippines for the first time, reflecting the UN agency’s recognition of the significant progress that the country has made in disaster resilience.
“With the theme, Surge to 2030: Enhancing ambition in Asia-Pacific to accelerate disaster risk reduction, the ministerial conference aims to provide LGUs with a platform and network to accelerate their progress in reducing disaster risks through knowledge-sharing and good practices, new tools and ways access to innovative financing,” Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga shares.
APMCDRR is a biennial event convened by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). This year’s event will be hosted by the Philippines on October 14-18, 2024 at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Sharing Global Best Practices to Bridge Local Gaps
As it aims to help LGUs address roadblocks by looking at successful interventions around the region and the globe, the Conference will have a session on “Enhancing Capacity and Resources for Local Resilience” on Oct. 16, focusing on best practices in capacity-building opportunities, assessments of local resilience initiatives, and efficient resource allocation.
Other critically-important areas for LGUs and their partners include discussions on multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) which have been incorporated in disaster risk reduction strategies in places such as the Caribbean for hurricanes, Japan for geohazards and landslides, Bangladesh for monsoon season flooding and even in various Philippine localities such as Makati City where it has been used to prepare for geological, hydrometeorological and technological hazards.
Co-organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, the DENR and the Department of Defense National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management-Office of Civil Defense (NDRRMC-OCD), the 2024 APMCDRR brings together governments, intergovernmental, international, national and civil society organizations, the private sector, science, academia and stakeholder groups to accelerate progress in reducing disaster risk.
APMCDRR is the main platform in Asia and the Pacific to monitor, review and enhance cooperation for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at the regional level. As the first APMCDRR since the adoption of the Political Declaration of the Sendai Framework Midterm Review, the conference will provide an important opportunity to review risk reduction efforts, share innovative solutions and make actionable commitments to accelerate disaster risk reduction by 2030 in the world’s most disaster-prone region.