Update

'Because most eastern areas, especially the coastal regions, are fast-developing areas with large populations, the damage from a natural disaster would be heavy,' said Shi Peijun, deputy director of the National Committee of Disaster Relief in a report by Xinhua. Learn more about risk mapping at the Global Platform...

The cities of San Francisco (Philippines), Santa Fe (Argentina), and District of North Vancouver (Canada), were unveiled as winners of the United Nations-Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction last night at a special ceremony on the second last day of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva.

'The imperative that countries subject to impact by natural disasters include in their development policy planning the development of strategies to manage and mitigate the fallout of disasters is self evident, ' said Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in his keynote address to open the Central Bahamas Disaster Conference. Discussions on disaster risk reduction policy planning and development also continue at the Global Platform...

Members of the Scientific and Technical Committee of UNISDR prepared a statement during the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction that sets out a clear agenda to better align existing science and technical knowledge with the efforts to implement the Hyogo Framework for Action.

The MSP project is meant to strengthen the capacity of The Gambia to implement Multi-Lateral Environment Agreements through the establishment of an institutional framework for global environmental management that integrates national and regional responsibilities. The project uses the ecosystem approach as the core principle of integration and capacity building. More on environmental and risk reduction strategies at the Global Platform...

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank Managing Director, yesterday called for a stronger framework to coordinate disaster activities with greater transparency, at a high-level policy panel on “responding to natural disasters: a long-ignored development challenge.”

Xinhua reports that as China commemorates the anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province, also designated as National Disaster Reduction Day in China, it is timely to reflect on how China can reduce the risk of such devastation in the future. Hear more from China on their lessons learnt in recovery and building resilience at the Global Platform...

The 'survival fund' will serve as a trust fund to finance adaptation programs and projects based on the National Strategic Framework and the National Climate Change Action Plan, Legarda said, reports the Inquirer. 'This proposal is anchored on the fact that we need to decentralize responsibilities and resources for climate change efforts.' Follow talks on climate change and governance at the Global Platform...

A CSIRO synthesis in early 2011 found that Australians largely support the need for action, but are confused about climate change and appropriate policy responses. The synthesis looked at 22 recent Australian surveys of climate change attitudes undertaken by universities, CSIRO units and media organisations between 2008 and 2011, reports ECOS Magazine on ScienceAlert. More on climate chanage adaptation at the Global Platform...

Global Platform Highlights: On Wednesday, plenary discussions addressed the economics of disasters, followed by an informal plenary on the implementation of the outcomes of the Mid-term Review of the Hyogo Framework for Action. As part of the World Reconstruction Conference, taking place at the Global Platform, a high-level policy panel discussed recovery and investment in prevention, reports IISD...