Peace Boat and UN promote resilience from Chile and Peru, on the road to the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

By: UNDRR - Americas

Panama, Panama, January 15, 2015 – With the conviction that strengthening resilience* is key to the sustainable development of the region, experts from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Japan will discuss proposals and challenges in this area, during the 86th Global Voyage organized by the Japanese NGO Peace Boat, arriving at ports of Valparaiso, Chile and Callao, Peru.

The regional meeting is part of the international actions that are taking place in preparation for the Third United Nations World Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (#WCDRR) to be held in Sendai, Japan, from 14 to 18 March, and will provide the opportunity for Latin America and Japan to share experiences on the advances and challenges in the region on both disaster risk reduction strengthening resilience from community level and involving all sectors.

‘2015 is the year of the historic opportunity for all sectors, at all levels and especially the public to assume a shared responsibility for sustainable development of a planet that demands to be more resilient,’ said Ricardo Mena, Head of the Regional Office for the Americas of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), after noting that 2015 is the 20th anniversary of the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in Japan, the 10th anniversary of the approval Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) for the resilience of nations and the 5th anniversary of the earthquake in Chile.

Yoshioka Tatsuya, Founder and Director of Peace Boat added: ‘Although Japan is thousands of miles away from Chile and Peru, we are connected by the Pacific Ocean and share the same risks. It is a privilege for us to use our boat to connect these shores and contribute to the campaign led by the UNDRR. It is very important that we work together to share the knowledge and ideas of our respective countries in order to protect our people and build sustainable, resilient communities on both sides of the Pacific and the rest of the world.’

The ‘Road to Sendai: Sharing achievements and examining challenges’ programme will contribute to strengthening the resilience building capacities of the participating decision makers during the voyage, and is part of the World Campaign ‘Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!,’ led by UNDRR and promoted by the Peace Boat worldwide since June 2014.
‘Road to Sendai: Sharing achievements and examining challenges’ is organized by Peace Boat and UNDRR through its Regional Office for the Americas, with the support of the governments of Chile and Peru as well as the private sector and the promoters of the Global Resilient Cities Campaign in both countries.

* Resilience: The ability of a system to reduce, prevent, anticipate, absorb and adapt to, or recover from the effects of a threat in an efficient, timely manner, including ensuring the preservation, restoration and improvement of infrastructure and basic functions.

About the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (#WCDRR).The Third World Conference of the United Nations on Disaster Risk Reduction (#WCDRR) will be celebrated in March in Sendai, Japan; with the aim of reviewing the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA), highlighting the risk reduction strategies implemented at regional and national levels, and adopting an international framework for disaster risk reduction post-2015.

Peace-Boat and UNDRR.The 84th global crossing of the Peace Boat (July, 2014) served as the framework for the official launch of the cooperation agreement between UNDRR and the Peace Boat, signed in June, by which the international NGO agreed to raise awareness of the ‘Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!’ Global Campaign, led by UNDRR since 2010, at each of the 60 ports of call of its educational voyage around the world between 2014 and 2015.

During the El Salvador-Nicaragua-Panama leg, workshops were held on disaster prevention and resilience building for young leaders from Central America to strengthen the knowledge and ability to work together to reduce the impact of disasters associated with natural hazards and community resilience in Central America.
In December 2014, there was also a capacity building programme organized on board for young people in Africa. The “Road to Sendai” is the third educational and capacity strengthening programme held aboard.

About Peace Boat.Peace Boat is a Japan-based international non-governmental and non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment. This is achieved through the organization of global educational programmes, responsible travel, cooperative projects and advocacy activities. It carries out its main activities through educational voyages for peace aboard a large passenger ship, with three global trips and one regional trip a year.

Peace Boat has carried out humanitarian assistance operations, training in prevention and management of natural hazards and emergency assistance over the past 18 years, through its Humanitarian Assistance Centre (HAC). It delivers material donations and collects funds, as well coordinates the dispatch of experienced logisticians, interpreters and volunteer teams to affected areas all over the world. This includes the coordination, training and dispatch of thousands of volunteers after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011.

About UNDRR.The UNDRR is the UN office dedicated to disaster risk reduction. The Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction heads this office, which supports the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA): Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. The HFA seeks ‘a substantial reduction of disaster losses, in lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of communities and countries.

Upon conclusion of the HFA, it is waiting for the approval of a new framework for disaster risk reduction post-2015, during the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to be held in Sendai, Japan in March 2015.

Related Links:
Making Cities Resilient Global Campaign
UNDRR - The Americas Press Room
Peace Boat Press room

 

 

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