UNDP has supported dozens of countries to establish or strengthen the institutional mechanisms to identify, reduce and manage disaster risk. Over the last decade:
Risk governance: 45 national disaster management agencies have been strengthened and laws for disaster risk reduction have been passed and/or enhanced in 58 countries;
Risk identification: early warning systems strengthened in 25 countries, and risk assessments and hazard mapping done in 58 at-risk countries.
Helen Clark, Administrator of UNDP, will be attending Sendai and available to speak on disaster risk reduction and sustainable development, gender empowerment in DRR, the link between HFA2 and climate change, and the Post-2015 development agenda (SDGs).
UNPD experts available in Sendai and Geneva:
Jo Scheuer, Director/Chief of Profession, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDP (English, French, German). Expertise includes climate/disaster governance, preparedness, resilient recovery and risk-informed development;
Kamal Kishore, Programme Advisor, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (English, Hindi). Expertise includes climate/disaster governance, preparedness, resilient recovery and risk-informed development;
Jan Kellett, Partnerships Advisor, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (English, French). Expertise includes financing for preparedness, DRR and recovery; institutional and legal mechanisms for DRR.
Angelika Planitz, Climate and Disaster Governance Advisor, (English, German). Expertise in governance for DRR, including legal, policy and institutional arrangements; mainstreaming disaster risk reduction.
Krishna Vatsa, Disaster Recovery Advisor, (English, Hindi). Expertise in sustainable, resilient recovery processes (build back better), risk identification and early warning.
Communication Focal Point
Carl Mercer, Advocacy and Partnerships Officer, (English, French). Contact: carl.mercer@undp.org; +1-347-652-5933; 1-212-906-6380;
UNDP focuses on sustainable development and the eradication of poverty. With a presence in 177 countries worldwide, UNDP’s efforts to undertake resilient and sustainable development include preventing, mitigating and preparing for disasters, which have been shown to consistently and dramatically set back development gains.
For UNDP, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development are one and the same: on the one hand, development can never be truly sustainable if it is susceptible to disasters; on the other hand, disasters themselves are partly brought on by poor, risk-blind development, which, having not taken into account possible risks, increases exposure to natural hazards.
Working with national partners at country level, UNDP addresses risk through three priority areas:i) identifying and understanding risks; ii) reducing risks through better development and overall good governance (DRR laws, policies and capacity building); and iii) managing the risk that remains, such as through preparedness efforts and strengthening resilient recovery.
The end result is risk-informed development efforts that integrate risk-concerns and address disasters at each step of the development path.
Since 2005, UNDP has expended at least $1.7 billion in support of nation efforts to meet the goals of the Hyogo Framework for Action.