Drr training in dhaka and delhi

Together Rise up from Wreckage

Workshop on Mainstreaming Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 26, 2017.

RESILIENCY lies at the heart of the matter when talking about city’s sustainable development. Why, simply because sustainable development can only be achieved when city can stand tall and strong against disasters, and recover to its previous or even better state, from their aftermath, whether man-made or natural ones. UCLG ASPAC has determined to play a much bigger role in the Sendai Framework through actions, such as to strengthen local government’s capacity to mainstream DRR into spatial planning and local development programme. Taking the commitment into action, UCLG ASPAC collaborates with UNISDR by holding “Implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030” workshops in New Delhi, India on September 22, 2017 and in Dhaka, Bangladesh on September 26, 2017.

The workshops produced a valuable discussion with identified cities in both India and Bangladesh on gaps and challenges in implementing the SFDRR 2015-2030. The discussion turned even further into knowledge sharing on the conditions of each city and how their local government deals with challenges, thus, inspiring all attendees. In this one day facilitated activity, delegates of local governments were equipped with information on the concepts and process of Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities and the Quick Risk Estimation (QRE) Tool which was developed based on ten essentials for making cities resilient.

India leg workshop held in collaboration with AIILSG was attended by nine municipalities from greater Delhi area and cities from northern part of India, such as Shimla and Srinagar. Greater Delhi cities (Central, North and Eastern Delhi) are facing similar problems in flood, heat wave, and minor earthquake hazards. During the group work presentation on scorecard tool, Shimla shared that they focused on landslide and snowfall in large number. There were some questions about the air pollution hazard which was not included as one of hazards that was identified as risk in New Delhi. Man-made disasters such as building collapse and terrorist attacks were also concerns raised during workshop discussion in New Delhi.

Training session in Bangladesh was hosted by Municipal Association of Bangladesh (MAB) Secretariat. UNISDR representative, Tejas Patnaik, was one of the training facilitators. Participants from 19 cities from five different regions, which were mainly city/town planners and those from technical department, actively participated in the SFDRR training. Representative from Cox’s Bazar Municipality, Faridpur Municipality, Mongla Port Municipality, were among active participants during the discussion on QRE and preliminary scorecard assessment group work session. Representative from Faridpur Municipality presented the QRE and preliminary scorecard result showing score 63/141, reflecting the resilience level of Faridpur Municipality is moderate and that hazard is dominated by flood, storm, and other family of hydrological hazards such as strong wind.

The workshop sees that the capacity of local government to tackle the risk and hazard has not yet met the needs. Therefore, city needs to cooperate more with other cities in addition to boosting their own capacities. Delegates from cities attending the workshop gained insights on the level of their city’s resiliency and were encouraged to take further actions in making their cities even more resilient.