QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The Philippines participated in the High-Level Meeting convened by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) where the country reaffirmed its support to the realization of the Sendai Framework agreement.
The Philippine delegation was headed by Secretary Antonia Loyzaga of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Joining her in the roster were officials from the Department of National Defense - Office of Civil Defense (DND-OCD), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), and ARISE Philippines which is a private sector alliance for disaster resilient societies.
For their part, the Philippine delegates recognized the importance of understanding the “intersectionality of vulnerability and how interdependencies require systemic solutions across sectors, scales, and geographies” in developing a comprehensive risk management system that addresses the needs of all societal sectors, especially those who live in vulnerable environmental conditions.
“These complexities drive our renewed commitment to comprehensive risk management—an all-hazards, whole-of-society nexus approach to climate and disaster governance that is capable of addressing even the needs of fragile, displaced and the most vulnerable communities,” said the delegation, despite the setbacks caused by the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of generating disaster-induced poverty incidence.
The delegation also reported the primary disaster resilience strategies of the country that prioritized the development of early warning systems and other emergency communication platforms.
“We enabled data-driven decision-making and open science through GIS (geographical information system) platforms such as Georisk Philippines and established the Philippine Space Agency,” the Philippine delegation shared.
“Coupled with end-to-end multi-hazard early warning systems and impact-based forecasting, we are able to design new forms of social protection, set engineering standards, and pursue subnational risk financing,” it added.
This, as the state government’s disaster management and response efforts progress along with the projected creation of a national natural resources geospatial database, Water Resource Management Office, and the National Virology Institute.
“We continue digital technologies for DRR, while leveraging transdisciplinary science, and local and indigenous knowledge for nature-based solutions,” the delegation said.
The High-Level Meeting was held in New York last May 18 to 20.
It served as the prelude to the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in October 2024 which will be hosted by the Philippines.
It can be recalled that the Sendai Framework was outlined in 2015 to set out a global target of preventing the emerging and reducing the existing disaster risks through the implementation of not only integrated but also inclusive institutional measures at a policy level.
It primarily anchors the need for state governments to share the responsibility of investing in disaster risk resilience efforts with other stakeholders, particularly the local governments, private sector partners, and non-governmental organizations in order to strategically lessen the hazard exposure of the country.
The APMCDRR, meanwhile, is known to be the largest conference on disaster risk reduction that functions as the primary regional platform for the exploration of mutual cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. (PIA-NCR)
