A view over the city of Thimphu, Kingdom of Bhutan (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

BANGKOK, 5 April 2018 – The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) today welcomed Thimphu, the capital of earthquake-prone Bhutan, as the newest member of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign.

Ms. Loretta Hieber-Girardet, UNISDR’s Chief for the Asia-Pacific region, said: “Bhutan is famous for measuring Gross National Happiness which can only increase further following the decision of the Mayor of Thimphu, Mr. Kinlay Dorjee, to join the Campaign. His commitment to deliver on the Campaign’s checklist to prevent future disasters and reduce the city’s disaster risk is good news for the people of Thimphu.”

The Making Cities Resilient Campaign was launched in May 2010 and today has almost 4,000 participating cities and towns including over 700 across Asia.  The Campaign provides knowledge, tools and resources to support and encourage local government funding for disaster risk reduction and to raise awareness of citizens.

Mayor Dorjee, who spent 15 years as an engineer before becoming Thimphu’s first elected leader, said: “In the last five years we’ve improved clean water supplies, fixed parks and open spaces, tackled crime, tidied up litter, and provided better public transport.

“The quality of life is improving for everyone but our neighbour Nepal had a very big earthquake. We’re in the same Himalayas, and we could be hit any time. Through the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, we’ll be stepping up our efforts to protect them, and the economy they rely on, against the threat of disaster.”

Thimphu will now have access to the Campaign’s Disaster Resilience Scorecard which provides for in-depth analysis of risk, assisting the city to identify gaps and create action plans in line with the global plan for reducing disaster losses, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

Date:

5 Apr 2018

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNISDR AP)

Themes:

Urban Risk & Planning

Hazards:

Earthquake

Countries:

Bhutan