United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

1. Launch of the Joint development of guidance on managing risks of natural hazard-triggered technological disasters (Natech risks). UNECE is cooperating with OECD and EU Joint Research Centre on the development of the joint guidance "Managing Natech Accident Risk: A Guide for Senior Leaders in Industry and Public Authorities". The publication draws attention to Natech risks, including, among other aspects, transboundary Natech risks, and provides recommendations for addressing them through preventive, preparedness and response measures.
2. One of the main achievements is organisation of the Global workshop on droughts in transboundary basins on 26-27 February 2024 followed by the 14th meeting of the Task Force on Water and Climate under the Water Convention on 28 February 2024. The global workshop brought together water, agriculture, climate and environment communities as well as drought experts to jointly discuss best practices and lessons learned in addressing droughts in transboundary basins. It was organised under the leadership of the Netherlands and Switzerland, in cooperation with UNCCD, UNDRR, World Bank, WMO and the INBO. More information on the workshop and its outcomes are available here https://unece.org/info/Environmental-Policy/Water-Convention/events/386479.
3. UNECE and UNESCO are co-custodian agencies for SDG indicator 6.5.2. This indicator focuses on the proportion of transboundary basin area (rivers, lakes, and aquifers) covered by operational arrangements for transboundary water cooperation. The third and most recent report Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation: Mid-term Status of SDG Indicator 6.5.2) , has a special focus on climate change and provides information on how water-related disasters such as floods and droughts are integrated into the transboundary arrangements and the activities of transboundary basin organisations. The report also provides best practices and recommendations on how to integrate climate-informed transboundary management into national and global disaster risk reduction and climate change polices and make them more efficient in this way.
4. At the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Baku, 11-22 November 2024) for the first time a Declaration on Water for Climate Action was developed by Azerbaijan as COP 29 presidency country, in collaboration with UNECE, UNEP and WMO, endorsed currently by 70 countries and 24 non-state actors. This Declaration launched the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action which provides a unique platform to ensure that water remains at the center of the global climate agenda, linking adaptation, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction.
5. The high-level special session of the 10th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention "Our waters, our future: Transboundary water cooperation to power climate resilience" was organised on 23 October 2024 in Ljubljana, Slovenia with contribution of almost 90 countries as well as other stakeholders. The event highlighted the role of transboundary water cooperation in accelerating climate action and reducing the risk of disasters; thereby contributing to sustainable development, peace and regional integration. View more information.

Policies and Programmes in DRR

UNECE develops policy documents and operational guidance on disaster risk reduction and resilience in most of its areas of activities, including the following:

1. Risk management in regulatory systems

The UNECE Group of Experts on Risk Management in Regulatory Systems is a high-level and international partnership, which works under the UNECE Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies. It has produced two non-binding Recommendations on "Crisis Management within a Regulatory Framework" and "Managing Risk in Regulatory Frameworks". Both were approved by the Working Party on Regulatory Cooperation and Standardization Policies in 2011.

The recommendations call for a more consistent and systemic application of risk management tools in regulatory work. The first lays out in detail the roles of all the key actors in the regulatory process and shows how risk management functions can be incorporated into overall regulatory functions.

2. Industrial accidents

The UNECE Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents helps its Parties to prevent industrial accidents that can have transboundary effects and to prepare for, and respond to, accidents if they occur.

Such accidents are sometimes triggered by natural events and disasters, and are often themselves considered to be disasters.

Besides providing support to countries for implementing the Convention, ECE participates in related activities such as on Natechs (natural-hazard triggered technological accidents). In this area, UNECE could cooperate routinely with ISDR, particularly in Europe, for example through the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The second calls for regulators to design a crisis management function as an integral part of all regulations; for instance, by encouraging authorities to create "crisis management units", endowed with the necessary resources such as emergency funding, people with required skills, communication systems, etc. that can be quickly released in a crisis.

Based on the results of the work of the Group of Experts, the UNECE secretariat published the book "Risk Management in Regulatory Frameworks", which provides guidance for regulatory authorities to establish regulatory frameworks that effectively manage the risks that confront consumers, citizens and communities.

3. Housing and land management

The priority direction is the integration and mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in the UNECE programmes and activities on housing and land management. Especially in countries of Southern Europe and Central Asia, housing frequently suffers from disasters such as earthquakes, floods and landslides.

The UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management is developing its long-term Strategy for sustainable housing and land management for the period 2014-2020. This document includes elements of disaster risk reduction and resilience.

At its seventy-third session, in October 2013, the Committee is expected to approve an updated methodology for the development of the Country Profile studies, which will preview as an integrated part the topic of disaster reduction and resilience.

UNECE aims at working on the development of thematic spatial planning guidelines, including on disaster risk reduction, as an output of the Interdivisional Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development.

4. Water

The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) provides a sound framework for water management and transboundary cooperation, including in the context of adaptation to climate change and disaster risk reduction. With the entry into force of the amendments opening the Convention for accession by non-UNECE countries in February 2013, the Convention turned into a global legal framework.

The Convention is supporting countries in developing transboundary adaptation strategies through guidance, capacity-building, projects on the ground and exchange of experience. In 2013-2015, a global network of basins and platform for exchanging experience on climate change adaptation in transboundary basins is being established and a collection of lessons learnt and good practices will be prepared.

5. Public Private Partnerships in disaster risk reduction and reconstruction

As a part of its Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Initiative, the UNECE International PPP Centre of Excellence undertook two missions to Tsunami-hit areas of Japan, namely to Sendai and Tohoku regions in July and November of 2011. They met with local governments and explored the possibilities of using PPPs to recover and prevent future severe damages, as well as help them to get 'back in business'.

Locally these missions were supported by the PPP department of the Toyo University. A report has been prepared "On the Visit of the UN-led delegation to the Tsunami affected region of Japan on the role of PPP in disaster recovery and risk mitigation".