UNU-IAS at the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) to be held in Sendai, Japan on 14–18 March 2015 will review progress in disaster risk reduction (DRR) over the past 10 years under the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), and adopt a new global post-2015 framework for DRR. It is expected to attract around 8,000 participants, with thousands more participating in the open Public Forum segment of the conference. The United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) will be organizing several side events in the Public Forum.

Hope to see you there.

• Mainstreaming Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Reconstruction   
  14 March, 13:00-16:00 (TKP Garden City Sendai Kotodai, Sendai Park Building)

This event will showcase Japan’s good practices, such as Kesennuma Ooshima (an island off the coast of Miyagi prefecture), based on the lessons learned from 3.11, referring to other cases outside of Japan. It will discuss how to mainstream ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and reconstruction measures domestically and internationally.

• Transdisciplinary Education for Disaster Risk Reduction: Launching the International Network for Advancing Transdisciplinary Education  
  15 March, 9:30-12:00 (TKP Garden City Sendai Kotodai, Sendai Park Building)

This session will illustrate experiences in transdisciplinary DRR programmes at universities, exploring the role of university partnerships in developing and delivering effective transdisciplinary educational and capacity development programmes. The session will highlight the launching of the International Network for Advancing Transdisciplinary Education (INATE) in which network partners will commit to the development and implementation of locally-based, multi-stakeholder projects in DRR.

• Integrated Water Cycle Management for Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainability  
  15 March, 13:00-16:00 (TKP Garden City Sendai, Conference Hall 2)

This event will explore sustainable approaches to urban water management for disaster reduction and amenity through water cycle stability. The event will compare experiences from different countries to understand the balance between centralized and decentralized (on-site) measures and the importance of community participation.

• Disaster Risk Reduction and the Transition from Response to Recovery 
  16 March, 09:10-11:40 (Tokyo Electron Hall Miyagi 601 Large Meeting Room)

This event will provide an interdisciplinary perspective on ways to address gaps between actual needs and existing local and national policies in areas such as housing, employment, welfare, health care and community revitalization during the post-disaster transition phase, and consider their policy implications for the international disaster risk reduction agenda.

Makiko ARIMA 
Communications Associate
United Nations University
Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)
Tel: +81-3-5467-1212 | URL: ias.unu.edu