The Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

May 17, 2011

(Japanese)

1. The Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction was held from May 10th to 13th in Geneva. More than 2600 delegates representing 168 governments, 25 international organizations, 65 non-governmental organizations and others participated in the meeting.
2. At the opening session, Mr. Shozo Azuma, Senior Vice-Minister for Disaster Management, Cabinet Office, announced that Japan was willing to host the third World Conference on Disaster Reduction, which was included in the Chair’s Summary announced on the 13th. Mr. Azuma also stated that Japan was considering holding a high-level meeting next year to share the experiences of recent large-scale disasters.
3. The Third Global Platform welcomed the progress made in implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, international strategy for disaster risk reduction, and identified the concrete steps for facilitating the framework, such as increasing investment in disaster risk reduction at the local level.

(Reference)

1. The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is held biennially by the UN to study and review the progress made and identify the future directions in implementing Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, adopted at the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005.
2. The Hyogo Framework for Action sets five priorities actions for disaster risk reduction efforts in the international community during 2005-2015: (1) Make disaster risk reduction a national priority; (2) Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning; (3) Use knowledge, innovation and education to build the culture of safety and resilience; (4) Reduce the underlying risk factors; (5) Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective reponse.