11. We emphasize the urgency to take immediate actions to reverse the current trends of water scarcity, floods, degradation of sewer systems and sanitation, and water-related disasters. We reiterate our commitment to include water considerations in all of the development discussions at the global arena.

12. We underscore the societal need, and recognize the business opportunity, for increasing partnerships between public and private sectors and civil society in the development, maintenance and upgrading of infrastructure and urban development, including housing, to reduce disaster risk.

13. We recognize the need to continue investing in education and awareness to maximize the opportunity at hand.

The Commitments

14. In the context of overall development investments, including Building Back Better following disasters and “building better from the start”, We resolve to work together and call upon all actors to:

a) Implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015- 2030, in coherence with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the New Urban Agenda and other relevant instruments;

b) Conduct a disaster risk assessment of existing critical infrastructure by 2019;

c) Invest in collection of data and information on disaster risk and losses, taking into account the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples and addressing intensive and extensive risk, underlying risk drivers, and ensuring that they are tailored to local contexts;

d) Strengthen, as appropriate, normative and regulatory frameworks at all levels for disaster risk reduction, improved land use, building codes, enforcement and accountability as well as make resilience affordable, reduce the economic incentive for vulnerable development, foster private and public partnerships, allocate budget for disaster risk reduction and make resilient investment gainful;

e) Make disaster risk assessments a prerequisite for infrastructure and housing investments, with time horizons commensurate to the life cycles of infrastructure and housing;

f) Consider the risk of loss in infrastructure and housing and its consequences in the development of economic strategies and budgets;

g) Pursue the development and expansion of risk transfer mechanisms, including social safety net schemes to protect the population, natural assets, livelihoods and infrastructure, enhance their penetration and coverage, especially for the poor and low-income groups, and strengthen community resilience;

h) Promote people-centered, gender-sensitive, accessible and resilient urban development that supports all of society, including the vulnerable, poor and marginalized;

i) Encourage and support the development of multi-stakeholder and socially-inclusive partnership initiatives for the development of resilient infrastructure and housing;

j) Strengthen international cooperation at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels to manage disaster risk in accordance with the Sendai Framework.

k) And to take stock on progress at the next Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction which will take place in Switzerland in 2019.

Date:

25 May 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

Themes:

Climate Change, Urban Risk & Planning, Governance

Regions:

Africa, Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania