Local government units (LGUSs) in the Philippines are investing in disaster risk reduction strategies to improve disaster resilience, which aligns with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive. These investments will be highlighted at the upcoming 2024 Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction, hosted by the Philippines for the first time, as the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction acknowledges the country’s significant progress in disaster resilience.
“With the theme, Surge to 2030: Enhancing ambition in Asia-Pacific to accelerate disaster risk reduction, the ministerial conference aims to provide LGUs with a platform and network to accelerate their progress in reducing disaster risks through knowledge-sharing and good practices, new tools and ways access to innovative financing,” Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga shares.
APMCDRR is a biennial event convened by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). The Philippines will host this year’s event at the Philippine International Convention Center on October 14-18, 2024.
As it aims to help LGUs address roadblocks by looking at successful interventions around the region and the globe, the Conference will have a session on “Enhancing Capacity and Resources for Local Resilience” on Oct. 16, focusing on best practices in capacity-building opportunities, assessments of local resilience initiatives, and efficient resource allocation.
Other critically important areas for LGUs and their partners include discussions on multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS), which have been incorporated in disaster risk reduction strategies in places such as the Caribbean for hurricanes, Japan for geohazards and landslides, Bangladesh for monsoon season flooding and even in various Philippine localities such as Makati City where it has been used to prepare for geological, hydrometeorological and technological hazards.
Co-organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, the DENR, and the Department of Defense National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management-Office of Civil Defense (NDRRMC-OCD), the 2024 APMCDRR brings together governments, intergovernmental, international, national and civil society organizations, the private sector, science, academia, and stakeholder groups to accelerate progress in reducing disaster risk.
APMCDRR is the leading platform in Asia and the Pacific to monitor, review, and enhance cooperation to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at the regional level. As the first APMCDRR since the adoption of the Political Declaration of the Sendai Framework Midterm Review, the conference will provide a significant opportunity to review risk reduction efforts, share innovative solutions, and make actionable commitments to accelerate disaster risk reduction by 2030 in the world’s most disaster-prone region.
