Seoul
Korea, Rep of

International Forum on Urban Policy for Sustainable Development Goals

Organizer(s) Seoul Metropolitan Government United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) Citynet United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Office in Incheon for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction
Venue
Seoul City Hall
Date
-

About the Conference

Building upon the experience of the existing policy archive and inter-city cooperation of Seoul, and in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the conference will:  

  • Discuss the role of cities in the implementation of the SDGs and share experiences in sustainable urban development through focused 
  • Discussions on selected targets under the Urban SDG (Goal 11) and other goals and targets relevant to urban issues.
  • Provide a venue to share urban policy examples on various areas including urban planning, transportation, water management, environment and climate change, housing, e-government, and safer cities.
  • Explore opportunities for regional and international cooperation to support the implementation and follow-up and review of the SDGs, and in particular SDG 11.
  • Present and discuss the concept of an Urban SDG Knowledge Sharing Platform, to support local action for the implementation of the SDGs.

Disaster Risk Reduction Session, Day 2

The session will emphasize experience and lessons learned in implementing disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation for sustainable development, in particular towards SDG Goal 11 on resilient cities and its target on implementing integrated policies. It will identify practical approaches and programmes for sharing policy experiences, best practices, as well as tools and/or technologies among city stakeholders.

Key question explored:

If, as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Our generation is the first that can end poverty but the last that can act to avoid the worst climate change”, what can be learned from cities current challenges and practices? How do disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation help cities achieve the SDGs, in particular Goal 11 and its target on integrated policies and plans?

By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels

Background

The world is at a tipping point and the challenges before us are vast. Risks as perceived by communities are complex and inter-linked.

  • There is a surging frequency, intensity and unpredictability of extreme weather events and disasters.
  • While disaster death tolls are slowly declining (on the whole), the numbers of affected people, destroyed livelihoods and economic losses are growing.
  • The changing climate is wreaking havoc in the most vulnerable coastal, island and mountain areas.
  • Our cities are expanding faster than we plan leading to haphazard development.

    [1]

Given these challenges that cities and communities face today, it is well recognized that coherence is key - that doing disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) are part of sustainable development, that risk must be reduced and resilient development the goal.

2015 was a landmark year for international agreements on sustainable development: beginning in March 2015, UN Member states adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, then in June 2015 the Addis Agreement on Financing for Development, in September 2015 the Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs and in December, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The international policy frameworks adopted in 2015 provide an opportunity for joint, coherent action.

Moderator: Sarah Wade-Apicella, Programme Officer, UNISDR ONEA-GETI



Introduction: Overview of the 2015 frameworks for DRR-CCA coherence towards sustainable development and use of tools such as the UNISDR Making Cities Resilient campaign ten essentials

Panelist 1: Dr. Myong O. Yoon,  Professor of the University of Seoul - on current Seoul Metropolitan city policy and experience

Panelist 2: Mr. Ataul Haque, Joint Secretary, Directorate of Fire Services and Civil Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Bangladesh - on lessons learnt during Cyclone Roanu and the DRR and CCA strategies and systems

Panelist 3:  Mr. Jeong Park, Asia Pacific DRR Coordinator, IFRC – on the use of tools and strategies for coherent disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation implementation

Panelist 4: Ms. Qiaoqiao Xu, Programme Officer, ICLEI - a local government association perspective on promoting urban resilience

Panelist 5: Mr. Demetrio Innocenti, Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist, Green Climate Fund – on funding mechanisms, innovation and impact for coherent DRR, CCA and SDG implementation of the Sendai Framework

[1] Breaking Down Global Frameworks for Resilience Action, Sendai Spring campaign 2016. ADDRN, SWC.

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