Summit of Local and Regional Governments

As its Steering Committee members, Professors Dilanthi Amaratunga & Richard Haigh took part at the “Summit of Local and Regional Governments” held on the 23rd May 2017 which was organised under the aegis of UNISDR’s “Making Cities Resilient Campaign” and its Steering Committee.

Its activities included:  Release of the Sendai Local Monitoring Tool – Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities by AECOM; Making Cities Resilient Campaign and its role; Building resilience in cities across the world: a showcase of efforts in African and Latin American cities; Coherence in addressing and implementing the 2030 development agendas at local level; and Consultation on the Local and Regional Government’s Statement.

There was commitment from Local and Regional Governments to:

1. Stepping up our local action with a view to implementing the Sendai Framework;
2. Introducing a specific budget for disaster risk reduction and particularly in cities which are located in areas subject to risks, and establishing a specific budget line in the general budget allocated to disaster risk reduction;
3. Strengthening our territories' technical and institutional capacities and providing continual training that is tailored to technicians;
4. Incorporating disaster risk reduction considerations into spatial planning and development;
5. Adopting an overall approach to our territories in order to consider both risk reduction and climate change, which has an impact on populations and property;
6. Introducing arrangements at local level for coordination and consultation with the different state departments and with non-governmental organizations in order to improve knowledge of disaster risks;
7. Giving more visibility at local level to the International Day for Disaster Reduction (held on the second Wednesday in October each year), by organizing discussions and open days at the specialized services for citizens and also in order to present traditional expertise so that it endures;
8. Setting up a local coalition around elected officials which includes all public and private partners for consultation and exchanging information on disaster risks;

Making Cities Resilient Campaign

Throughout 2010-2020 and beyond, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) Making Cities Resilient Campaign (MCRC), together with partners, aim to support sustainable urban development by promoting resilience activities and increasing local level understanding of disaster risk. Dilanthi and /Richard has been formally involved within the campaign since its inception in 2010.