Interview with Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

Source(s): Institute for Environmental Studies
by Claudio Reyes

by Claudio Reyes

What exactly is the role of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for disaster risk reduction, within UNISDR as well as within the international DRR agenda?

My role as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction is very much about ensuring that the good will, capacity and experience of all countries and interested stakeholder groups, are used to best advantage in the global effort to reduce mortality and economic losses from disasters. A proper appreciation of risk and the capacity to manage it, are both essential to sustainable development. A key part of my role is to help ensure that we get the best possible new framework for disaster risk reduction when everyone gathers to agree on it in Sendai, Japan, next March, at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

This has been an exciting year to be head of UNISDR. We are experiencing a very rich and fruitful series of reflections on the successes and challenges of implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action which was adopted in January 2005, just a few short weeks after the Indian Ocean tsunami claimed over 200,000 lives. The record attendance at last year’s Global Platform is being followed up with a series of conferences in every region to capture the learning of the last nine years and to distil the knowledge and insights gained from HFA implementation. All of that is really important to the drafting process for a new framework.

Why is the private sector so important in DRR, and how were the private sector and public private partnerships (PPPs) addressed within the existing Hyogo Framework for Action?

According to the UNISDR Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR 2013) the private sector is responsible for 70 to 85% of all new investments globally. This includes major multinational corporations as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. These investments build the foundation and critical infrastructure of communities around the world; they provide transportation, drinking water, electricity, offices, public buildings and housing.

With every investment decision, a company contributes to either increased risk exposure or greater resilience. In order to create economically viable and resilient societies, all private investments have to be resilient. Reducing a company’s own risk as well as encouraging suppliers, vendors, local and national governments to become more resilient makes perfect business sense in an increasingly interconnected world economy.

Recognizing the importance of the private sector, the HFA includes language on the importance of the “full commitment and involvement of all actors concerned [in disaster risk reduction], including…the private sector.” Under Priority 4, “Reduce the underlying risk factors”, public-private partnerships are listed as an important part of social and economic development practices. It also lists the private sector as a vital stakeholder in supporting the implementation of disaster risk reduction at all levels, including the local level.

UNISDR has already conducted some important work in regards to DRR and the private sector. We advocate for the inclusion of natural hazards in risk management processes and the creation of resilient supply chains. We steer both public and private sector investments towards greater resilience. But we also engage with leading multinationals and innovative small- and medium sized enterprises from all over the world. We innovate and develop products and services for businesses as well as local and national governments. We do this work through our DRR-Private Sector Partnership, Private Sector Advisory Group, Private Sector Working Groups and the new R!SE Initiative on resilient investment.

The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction will be held from 14 to 18 March 2015 in Sendai City (Japan). What are the main objectives of the Conference and the expected outcomes?

The WCDRR is a globally significant event for disaster risk reduction. The event draws thousands of participants from all relevant stakeholder groups, including parliaments, civil society, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, non-governmental organizations, national platforms for disaster risk reduction, focal points for the Hyogo Framework for Action, local government representatives, scientific institutions and the private sector, as well as organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations.

The WCDRR has two important purposes: one is to celebrate the achievements of the HFA within the past 10 years, and the second one is to adopt the new framework – the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction – which will provide the blueprint for DRR for the next ten to twenty years, depending on the member states’ preferences. This framework should be a concise, focused, forward-looking, and action-oriented outcome document which reflects the following:

- It needs to be based on a complete assessment and review of the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action;

- It needs to take account of the views of all our stakeholders as expressed, for example, at previous Global Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction, through individual submissions from National and Regional Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction and, of course, from the forthcoming prepcoms or preparatory inter-governmental meetings, which will take place in the lead-up to next year’s World Conference.

- It’s also vitally important that the new framework is interwoven, interlinked and complementary to the whole post-2015 development agenda which seeks to put resilience at the heart of sustainable development through the new Sustainable Development Goals and the new UNFCCC agreement on climate change.

Based on consultations so far, how does UNISDR plan to address the topic of public-private partnerships (PPPs) within the post-2015 framework for DRR?

Over the years, we have been observing that the priority area of the HFA that addresses the underlying risk factors, which involves environmental, social and economic actions, has achieved the least progress. Success here depends to a significant degree on engaging the private sector.

For example, economic loss risk in the OECD countries is rising faster than GDP per capita, which means that the risk of losing wealth in weather-related disasters is increasing faster than that wealth is being created. This does not mean that countries are not reducing their vulnerability – they are. But these improvements are not happening fast enough or deep enough to compensate for increasing exposure.

Within our ongoing discussions with the private sector, it was identified that there is a need for increased knowledge and understanding of disaster risk reduction. There is a need for movement away from generating shared risks for business, governments, communities and households, towards creating the shared value that comes from an effective multi-stakeholder approach to disaster risk management. To build on that success, one of the requisites for any post-2015 framework is for the private sector to be a central actor in future efforts to incorporate disaster risk reduction as a necessary part of approaches to sustainable development.

In UNISDR’s latest contribution to the post-2015 framework for DRR drawing on all the consultations which have taken place to date – a document entitled “Suggested elements for the post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction” – the private sector is well integrated as a key player in global DRR efforts. This and other materials related to the conference can be found on www.unisdr.com

How can the European Union institutions support the implementation of the framework within Europe, as well as globally?

Strong collaboration with Intergovernmental Organizations is essential to UNISDR’s success in advancing the disaster risk reduction agenda. The European Commission has been UNISDR’s most significant financial donor and partner for many years now. In regards to private sector inclusion in DRR, for example, the European Commission, under the leadership of DG Market, issued the Green Paper on Insurance of Natural and Man-Made Disasters.

The Green Paper addresses the need to increase the capacity of the insurance sector to insure against disasters caused by natural hazards. However, this collaboration between the EU and UN extends far beyond European borders, where together we have strengthened institutions and enabled the piloting and replication of community-based approaches and good practices to risk reduction, including promotion of safer schools, hospitals, and urban resilience, in disaster-prone countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Cuba, Haiti, Ethiopia and Mali, just to mention a few.

With the adoption of the post-2015 framework for DRR, we hope to continue this important partnership. Recently, the European Council adopted conclusions on the “post-2015 Hyogo Framework for Action: Managing risks to achieve resilience”, which directly feeds into the development of the post-2015 framework. This is a clear expression of the continued engagement of the European Union towards building resilience to disasters. The Council conclusions confirm the commitment of the European Union and its Member States to play an active and constructive role in the ongoing negotiations with a view to contributing to an ambitious outcome of the WCDRR. I am looking forward to a continued collaboration with the EU in implementing improved accountability, transparency and governance, using indicators to measure progress and encourage implementation, strengthening the contribution to sustainable and smart growth, addressing vulnerabilities and needs, and ensuring coherence with the international agenda.

Note to readers:

In November 2008, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment of Margareta Wahlström as his first Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Ms Wahlström has extensive experience in both disaster relief operations and disaster risk management, with the United Nations system and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Her broad experience spans conflict and non-conflict emergencies, and addressing long-term issues of sustainable development.

Ms Wahlström is also the head of UNISDR, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, that is the focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction. Under the SRSG’s leadership, UNISDR is in charge of supporting the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters throughout the world and to facilitate the process of developing a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

The ENHANCE project is coordinated by IVM, The Netherlands. Communications activities by ARCTIK, Belgium

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