Signing ceremony, 'Making cities resilient' campaign, Lami, Fiji

In a signing ceremony held in Lami on 8th March 2011, Special Administrator Suva/Lami Mr. Chandu Umaria signed Lami’s Certificate of Commitment to Disaster Resilience for the 2010-2011 World Disaster Reduction Campaign “Making Cities Resilient“. Lami was the first Pacific island city to join the global campaign.

“Making Cities Resilient” addresses issues of local governance and urban risk while drawing upon previous ISDR Awareness Campaigns on safer schools and hospitals, as well as on the sustainable urbanizations principles. The campaign has been regionally adapted to: Making the Pacific Resilient – My community is getting ready!

The Campaign objectives are to

1) Know more - Raise the awareness of citizens and governments at all levels of the benefits of reducing urban risks;
2) Invest wisely - Identify budget allocations within local government funding plans to invest in disaster risk reduction activities; and
3) Build more safely – Include disaster risk reduction in participatory urban development planning processes and protect critical infrastructure.