Working Session 25– Commitment to Implementation
From Crisis Response to Building Resilience
FINAL Concept Note – 29 January 2015
I.
Why is this topic important and worth a Working Session?
Country context is crucially important in understanding the set of actions needed to take place to
reduce disaster risk. In case of large-scale disasters and protracted crises, national response
capacities can be overwhelmed and may require external assistance in the form of regional
cooperation and/or international humanitarian assistance. In different and complex contexts,
where the compound effect of chronic vulnerability, drought and flooding cycles and poor
governance lead to situations of recurrent and mostly predictable crises. These situations cannot
be addressed effectively with short-term, ad hoc support, leading to the dependency on external
assistance. Being better prepared to manage catastrophic events through a greater focus on
anticipatory crisis risk management will enhance the effectiveness of response. Furthermore,
development of better approaches to crisis risk management will support building resilience for
sustainable development.
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What needs to happen to create momentum for a paradigm shift from reactive crisis
response to anticipatory risk management in high risk countries and complex situations?
How can resilience to disasters be built in such contexts?
II.
What gaps need to be filled?
Governments of disaster affected countries generally recognise the need to build and
strengthen self-reliant response capacities and focus on people at risk. At the same time there
needs to be increasing emphasis, even in the most complex contexts, on the reduction of risk. In
effect, the focus needs to move towards treating the cause, not the symptoms. The increasing
complexity of different contexts demands a considerable re-evaluation of their approach to
managing risk at national, regional and global levels. In this endeavour, international partners,
through humanitarian and development assistance, can assist these countries in their efforts to
build resilience, while increasing the effectiveness of humanitarian action, through joint risk
analysis, planning, programming and funding as part of a long-term compact in partnership
with governments.
III.
What (new) commitments are expected to be achieved?
Member States, relevant United Nations organizations, international NGOs and others, will put
forward examples of good practice and proposals for change that support an anticipatory
approach to crisis response and humanitarian action, with a particular focus on the building of
national resilience, linking with other risk management goals of post-2015 global agendas, the
World Humanitarian Summit and beyond.
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Schedule
Tuesday, 17 March 2015 (16:00 – 17:30)
Room and Venue
Hagi Hall, Sendai International conference center
Organizing Team
OCHA, UNDP, JICA (Japan), AFAD (Turkey), IFRC (Asia)
UNISDR Focal Points
John Harding
Background and
Rationale
Global challenges - such as climate change, urbanisation and
population growth will cause humanitarian needs to rise, if risk is not
managed. Humanitarian crises are lasting longer and affecting more
people than ever before. Underlying risks are complex and intertwined.
To save lives more effectively today and reduce the prospect of future
losses, a fundamental shift by those engaged in humanitarian action
and sustainable development is urgently required, towards a more
anticipatory and preventive approach to disasters and crises in
the increasingly complex situations. This shift needs to better
recognise the leading role that must be played by Governments and
people of disaster-affected countries.
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Session Objectives
(Areas of
commitments from
decision makers and
emergency managers)
Being better prepared for large-scale disasters must be an
integral part of disaster risk management, if the impact on lives
and livelihoods is to be minimized. Countries and communities
need to be better supported to build their own capacity to
manage risk before and in the aftermath of crises.
To respond to some shocks of great magnitude, predictable and
well-planned external humanitarian, recovery and development
support may be required. For this purpose, international partners
need to work with governments, civil society and vulnerable
populations to effectively support nationally-led response to
disasters, while also assisting and building capacity at all
levels to manage crisis risk in an increasingly anticipatory
manner.
Heightened vulnerability to disaster risk tends to occur in
least developed or fragile and conflict-affected countries
with limited coping capacity, governance and inclusion. Thus,
there needs to be particular attention placed on building
resilience in these complex situations.
Objective 1: Examine the challenges of managing risk in complex
situations, and suggest ways in which both governments and the
international community shift current work.
Objective 2: Present concrete examples where countries have
reduced their dependency on external aid through building resilience
and sustainable development.
Objective 3: Propose measures to support States to be better
prepared for different contexts, whether large-scale disasters or
complex emergencies, as well as recurrent and predictable shocks, by
enhancing international and regional response coordination
networks to more readily support national response capacity.
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Objective 4: Present ways in which the successor to the HFA and the
World Humanitarian Summit can manage risk and while building
resilience in complex contexts.
Discussion agenda
and structure
(90 minutes)
1. Opening remarks (5 minutes) by ASG Kang
2. Panel discussion, Good practices/ Proposals for a Change
(50 minutes) 5 panelists x 8 minutes plus 1 panelist x 5 min
3. Q & A (25 minutes) with the audience
4. Wrap-up by Moderator (5 minutes)
5. Closing remarks (5 minutes) by ASG Nakamitsu
Expected outcomes
1) Effective regional and national practices aiming at self-reliance in
dealing with mega disasters / protracted crises are shared.
(Japan)
What different kinds of work is needed for different contexts,
whether mega-disasters or complex emergencies? International
assistance needs to be deployed in ways that build on local and
national capacities and those coping capacity that lead to
resilience.
2) Successful models of crisis risk management are discussed.
(Turkey)
When national self-reliant response capacities can play a
significant role? Governments need to align DRR, development and
climate finance behind national plans for coherent political and
operational action, including anticipatory crisis risk management.
3) Challenges and opportunities in the International systems
response are analysed and options presented. (IFRC, IGAD)
Challenges include: Institutional and inter-personal barriers,
Attitudes and cultures, Funding streams and the international aid
architecture.
4) An understanding of undertaking of DRR in complex contexts,
especially in shifting emphasis from crisis response to building
resilience is discussed. (UNDP)
What are the lessons learnt from undertaking DRR in a range of
contexts, especially those in complexity? How should that inform
the work of DRR?
Commitment / special
announcement in
support of a post-2015
framework for DRR
We will learn from anticipatory risk management practices in
complex contexts (e.g. Sahel) in support of building resilience, while
responding to humanitarian crises with enhanced capacities. We will
sustain our commitments made at Sendai WCDRR, throughout the
consultation process of post-2015 Global Agendas, including the
World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 and beyond.
Expected number of
participants
Plenary Session
Technical Equipment
Required
1 fixed microphone, 5 mobile microphone (panel and audience), PPT
projector, screen, video equipment, 2 laptops (to be confirmed)
Background
documents
-Saving Lives Today and Tomorrow
-One-pager flier for the Working Session 25
-Messages to potential audience by email
-Key Note speeches (Opening/Closing) to be distributes afterwards
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Working Session 25– Commitment to Implementation
From Crisis Response to Building Resilience
Topics
Identified Speaker
Status
Alternative
Opening
Kyung-Wha Kang (ASG/OCHA) on Member States’ Self-Reliant Response Capacity and the WCDRR
linkage with the World Humanitarian Summit (Reducing Vulnerability, Managing Risk)
Intervention on
1) Being Better Prepared: Self-Reliant Response and International Assistance
1) Response to the Great East
Japan
Confirmed
Japan earthquake
Ms. Kae Yanagisawa
(preparedness for response
Vice-President
and international assistance)
Japan International
2) JICA’s cooperation with
Cooperation Agency
Member States (Photo Slides)
(JICA)
linking emergency
preparedness and DRR
DRR in fragile context.
Liberia (TBC)
TBC
Minister for Internal
Affairs (Mr. Morris
Dukuly)
2) Managing Crisis : Anticipatory Risk Management
Anticipating and managing
Turkey
Confirmed
disaster and conflict risk
Dr. Fuat Oktay
(Predictive risk model and
President
preparedness) and the World
Disaster and Emergency
Humanitarian Summit
Management Presidency
(AFAD)
3) Building Resilience: Multi-year, joint programming
Emergency Preparedness,
IFRC
Confirmed
coordination and partnership
Mr. Jagan Chapagain
Asia Regional Director
Building resilience
IGAD
To contact
Slow-onset disasters and
Amb. Maalim
(John Harding)
multi-year planning/ funding
Secretary-General
(Sahel-resilience), Fragility
Germany
Linkage between WCDRR
Ms. Ina Lepel, Deputy
and WHS through risk
Director-General for
management
Global Issues at the
Federal Foreign Office
Closing
Izumi Nakamitsu, (ASG/UNDP) on Understanding DRR in Complex Situations
SESSION MODERATOR IDENTIFICATION
Identified Moderator
Jemilah Mahmood, Chief
World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat
Status
Confirmed
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