News and announcements

New SDGs should cover sustainable consumption and production patterns, as well as priority areas such as oceans; food security and sustainable agriculture; sustainable energy for all; water access and efficiency; sustainable cities; green jobs, decent work and social inclusion; and disaster risk reduction and resilience...

14.9 million people were internally displaced throughout the world due to natural disasters in 2011, mostly related to weather events such as floods and storms. 89% of the displacement occurred in Asia.

The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the US City of San Francisco as both a role model and the first major US city to join the Making Cities Resilient Campaign which seeks to saves lives and reduce economic losses in member cities.

'Every time a disaster strikes, the poor and vulnerable lose their loved ones, their homes and their jobs, unable to send their children to school and provide for their nutritional needs. This is the disaster trap that pushes them deeper into poverty,' said Filipino senator Loren Legarda...

With erratic weather and the often related pressure on water and other resources, the Shack Dwellers International model is an example of how an empowered process could help ensure 'pro-poor outcomes to climate change adaptation, integrating protection from adverse climate change with other community development needs'...

'One thing we realized from last year’s flood is that our city’s drainage capacity is not enough,' said Chusit Apirumanekul, a climate information application specialist at the Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre. 'We need to do something from the lessons that we learned'...

The panel-led discussion will highlight the need for strengthened disaster risk reduction efforts, especially as they relate to natural disasters, environmental degradation and climate-change related stresses...

The lessons spoke to the potential, risks and options associated with using conservation action as a foundation for employment, food security, watershed management and disaster risk reduction while maintaining ecosystem integrity and biodiversity conservation outcomes...