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Indonesia
hosted another consultative meeting to determine ways to mainstream
disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience into the post-2015 development
agenda on Feb. 19-20. One of the main outcomes expected from this meeting
is to discuss and offer concrete recommendations for the most essential
aspects of DRR and resilience building that could be integrated into
priority goals, targets and indicators.
DRR and resilience have been an integral part of most of the deliberations
on global development within the United Nations. Here in New York, efforts
to link DRR and resilience with poverty eradication, climate change and
even with conflict have been increasing.
Due to the fact that no country, even the most developed, is immune from
the impact of natural disasters, DRR and resilience have become one of the
rare pertinent issues of common interest of both the developing and
developed world.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a political manifesto of the
Millennium Declaration, which was launched in 2000, failed to address the
importance of DRR and resilience as the focus of the MDGs had been focused
on individual basic needs and well-being.
The Millennium Declaration, however, did make a few references to disasters
as stipulated in Paragraph 23 of its Chapter IV: Protecting our common
environment and in paragraph 26 of Chapter VI: Protecting the
vulnerable.
Even so, the Millennium Declaration, which is seen as a more legitimate
universal declaration than the politically crafted MDGs, is unable to
address the core of DRR and resilience.
This is because the references made in the Millennium Declaration are too
general, i.e. to intensify cooperation to reduce the number and effects of
natural and manmade disasters, and too narrow, i.e. to spare no effort to
ensure that children and all civilian populations that suffer
disproportionately the consequences of natural disasters, genocide, armed
conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies are given every assistance and
protection so that they can resume normal life as soon as possible.
The
formulation of the post-2015 development agenda will be completely
different from the process in formulating MDGs as it will be more inclusive
in the sense that it involves all stakeholders, including locals. The
post-2015 process is also seen as more thorough as it has commenced in late
2012 to allow ample time for consultative deliberation.
With that in mind and the evidence-proved catastrophic impacts of natural
disasters that the world has been witnessing in the last decade, the chance
for DRR and resilience to be integrated into the development agenda of the
post-2015 should be relatively fair.
Within this perspective, many have pinned their hopes on the leadership of
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as the first global champion on DRR as
well as cochair of the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015
Development Agenda, to ensure the inclusion of DRR into the post-2015
development framework.
However, in the highly political process that involves the entire United
Nations member states’ agendas and vested interests, such as the post-2015,
relying on the evidence-based urgency of DRR and resilience and the
democratic process of the post-2015 will not suffice.
Similarly, it is not enough to place the responsibility on the shoulders of
Yudhoyono alone. Stronger campaigning is required and more effective
strategy at all levels, the global, regional and national, is critically
important to mobilize further political support for the inclusion of DRR
and resilience into the post-2015 development agenda.
An informal discussion was organized by the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
(UNISDR) for the member states of the United Nations in New York last
month.
At the discussion, the head of Climate Change at the Overseas Development
Institute, Tom Mitchell, proposed to member states to calibrate targets for
DRR and resilience in the post-2015 framework while balancing prudence and
ambition as part of the strategy to mainstream DRR and resilience into the
post-2015 development agenda.
Mitchell further proposed four options of goals for DRR and resilience
should the post-2015 process agree to make DRR and/or resilience a
standalone goal. Those options are: (a) to reduce risk and build resilience
to disasters for all; (b) disaster-resilient nations; (c)
disaster-resilient communities; or (d) resilience to shocks and
stresses.
Formulating a set of universal goals for the post-2015 development agenda,
including a universal goal for DRR and resilience is comprehensible due to
the need for drawing support from all nations on the set goal(s).
However, it is important to take into consideration the special needs of
individual countries as well as the different starting level each country
has due to the different capacity and resources they have with regard to
DRR and resilience.
The frequency and intensity of natural disasters that are faced by each
country and the impact they entail vis-à-vis the population of the country
are also factors of equal importance.
Learning from the shortcoming of the MDGs, what should also be addressed in
the coming post-2015 DRR and resilience framework is the “how” aspect. The
MDGs left out this very important aspect of achieving its goals as there is
no clear and direct framework to guide, support and assist countries,
especially the developing and least developed ones, in achieving the
MDGs.
In this regard, the coming post-2015 DRR and resilience framework should
also put into context the goal of partnership that can contribute to the
strengthening of the capacity of DRR and resilience not only at the
national level but also at the local/sub-national level. ●
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