Official Development Assistance (ODA)

• 1. The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

  In March 2015, the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Sendai. This is a conference organized by the United Nations to discuss international disaster risk reduction strategies. As an active promoter of international cooperation on disaster risk reduction, Japan was hosting the meeting for the third time in a row, following the first held in Yokohama in 1994 and the second held in Kobe in 2005. It was one of the largest international conferences that had ever been held in Japan, with more than 6,500 people from 185 UN member states participating, and total participation in excess of 150,000 people from both Japan and abroad when related events were included in the count.

  At the meeting, the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030" was adopted as a set of international guidelines on disaster risk reduction. The Sendai Framework incorporated many of Japan's ideas and opinions, including the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction, the importance of prior investment in disaster risk reduction, and the "Build Back Better" concept.

  The results of the conference were also reflected in the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" adopted at the UN Summit in September of the same year, and the perspective of disaster risk reduction was included in five of the SDGs.

   

  【Main Ideas Presented by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction】

  • ○ Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction:

    This is a concept whereby disaster damage will be mitigated by achieving the following: (1) The government of each country makes disaster risk reduction a priority issue for policy; (2) The perspective of disaster risk reduction is incorporated into all development policies and plans; and (3) Investment in disaster risk reduction is expanded as a result.

  • ○ The importance of prior investment in disaster risk reduction:

    Investing in disaster risk reduction will protect lives and towns, and support the stable economic growth of regions. For frequently occurring disasters, being prepared in advance can reduce the damage by more than the cost invested. The importance of prior investment in disaster risk reduction has also been voiced in the international community.

    "One dollar invested in flood and drought resilience measures saves multiple dollars in future avoided losses."
    (Principles on Investment and Financing for Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction [June 2019] High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters [HELP])　 (Provisional translation)

    "Making infrastructure more climate-resilient can have a benefit-cost ratio of about 6 to 1. For every dollar invested, six dollars can be saved."
    (Message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction [October 13] [2019])

  • ○ "Build Back Better":

    This is the idea of making communities more resilient to disasters in the reconstruction phase after they have been struck by one, by incorporating into the reconstruction measures to prevent the same damage from happening again in the event of a similar or worse disaster in the future.

  [SDGs on Disaster Risk Reduction]

  • Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
    • 1.5
      By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters.
  • Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
    • 2.4
      By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
  • Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
    • 9.1
      Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
    • 9.a
      Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.
  • Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
    • 11.5
      By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
    • 11.b
      By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels.
    • 11.c
      Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials.
  • Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
    • 13.1
      Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
    • 13.2
      Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
    • 13.3
      Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
• 2. Sendai Cooperation Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction

  At the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, the then Prime Minister Abe (with "the then" continuing to apply hereinafter) announced the basic policy for Japan's cooperation regarding disaster risk reduction: the Sendai Cooperation Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction. The initiative set out to provide cooperation amounting to $4 billion and human resources development for 40,000 people over the four-year period from 2015 to 2018. These aims were achieved by the end of 2018.

  At the G20 Osaka Summit in 2019, Prime Minister Abe announced "Sendai Cooperation Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction Phase2," and the rolling-out of assistance to at least 5 million people over the four years from 2019 to 2022. In these and other ways, he demonstrated Japan's commitment to making further contribution to the international community by leveraging its advanced knowledge and technology related to disaster risk reduction.

   

  Sendai Cooperation Initiative for Disaster Risk Reduction Phase2 (Japanese / English)

  • • Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (March 2015)

At the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai in March 2015, Japan proposed that a "World Tsunami Awareness Day" be established in order to raise global awareness of disaster risk reduction, alluding to the fact that November 5 is the "Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction Day" in Japan. "Tsunami Disaster Risk Reduction Day" traces its origins back to the Ansei Nankai earthquake of November 5, 1854, in the late Edo period. It was established on the basis of an anecdote called "Inamura no Hi" ("The Fire of Rice Sheaves"). According to this, when a huge tsunami from the earthquake hit the Kii Peninsula, a villager in what is now Hirogawa Town in Wakayama Prefecture alerted people to flee to high ground by setting fire to the rice sheaves he had harvested. Japan hoped that a "World Tsunami Awareness Day" be associated with an example of success where lives were saved through early warning and traditional knowledge, rather than a day when terrible damage was suffered in the past. Activities to establish it began with that sentiment to the fore. Japan assumed the central role, and other countries were repeatedly asked to lend their support.

A resolution to establish November 5 as the "World Tsunami Awareness Day" was adopted by consensus at the 70th Session of UN General Assembly in December that year. Co-sponsored by 142 countries including Japan, this resolution is regarded as a follow-up to the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Awareness-raising activities toward tsunami disaster risk reduction are expected to be rolled out worldwide in keeping with "November 5." It is hoped that this will save many precious lives from tsunami in the future. Spurred on by the establishment of the "World Tsunami Awareness Day," Japan will continue to demonstrate its initiative in the sector of disaster risk reduction, and accelerate international cooperation on disaster risk reduction including tsunami observation and early warnings.

"Inamura no Hi" ("The Fire of Rice Sheaves")
When the tide went out strangely and the well water suddenly dropped, HAMAGUCHI Goryo, a villager in what is now Hirogawa Town, Wakayama Prefecture, foresaw that a tsunami was coming. To get the villagers to evacuate, he set fire to the rice sheaves he had harvested in his own fields to warn them of the danger. His actions saved them from the tsunami.

〇How to prevent tsunami damage
Prompt communication and sharing of information, in other words, "early warning," is a counter-tsunami measure that is as important today as it always has been. Tsunamis take time to reach the coast after they arise, so if people can get the information early, they can evacuate. Achieving this will require tsunami countermeasures based on both hard and soft aspects. Examples include establishing a system for communicating information—including issuing prompter, more accurate tsunami alerts—making sure that people are thoroughly aware of the dangers of tsunamis, and raising residents' awareness regarding "early evacuation."

• World Tsunami Awareness Day (November 5) （in Japanese）

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) was established in 2000 as the successor to the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) (1990-1999). UNDRR aims to increase the importance of disaster risk reduction as an essential element of sustainable development, reduce the risk of disasters and the damage and loss caused by them, and make countries and communities disaster-resilient. As a comprehensive effort toward incorporating the viewpoint of disaster risk reduction into the humanitarian and development sectors, UNDRR plays a catalyzing role for establishing and coordinating frameworks for international cooperation on the issue. These activities focus not only on post-disaster emergency response, but also ex ante prevention and reduction of disaster risks. The Office also supports the implementation of disaster risk reduction policies in each country, and together with many partner organizations, promotes the implementation of international guidelines on the issue.

UNDRR serves as the secretariat of the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and is promoting the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and monitoring and reporting on its progress. Its other activities include publishing the UN Global Assessment Report, and conducting global awareness-raising activities for disaster risk reduction and various training programs toward promoting development of disaster-resilient schools, hospitals, and cities. It also operates “PreventionWeb”, which collects and disseminates data and information about disaster risk reduction from all over the world.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, UNDRR also has offices in New York, Bangkok, Nairobi, Cairo, Brussels, Panama, Bonn (Germany), Suva (Fiji), Kobe, and Incheon (Korea). It is headed by Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction. (As of December 2020.)
UNDRR Website: https://www.undrr.org/

Note: The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) was renamed the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) on May 1, 2019.

〇About the UNDRR Office in Japan
UNDRR opened an office in Kobe in October 2007. In order to further strengthen and enhance UNDRR's work to promote the implementation of the Sendai Framework and international cooperation on disaster risk reduction, the office conducts various activities to promote cooperation on disaster risk reduction and build partnerships with the Japanese government and other organizations related to the sector based in Japan that have particularly accumulated expertise and experience regarding disaster risk reduction, and with similar organizations in Asia and the rest of the world.