IDNDR

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It has been suggested that National Platforms for Natural Disaster Reduction be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) declared the 1990’s as the IDNDR (International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction). Its basic objective was to decrease the loss of life, property destruction and social and economic disruption caused by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, droughts, locust infestations, and other disasters of natural origin.

While the IDNDR followed a strictly techno-centric and scientific approach in the beginning, the Yokohama conference in 1994 put socio-economic aspects as component of effective disaster prevention into perspective. It was recognised that social factors, such as cultural tradition, religious values, economic standing, and trust in political accountability are essential in the determination of societal vulnerability. In order to reduce societal vulnerability, and therewith decrease the consequences of natural disasters, these factors need to be addressed. The ability to address socio-economic factors requires knowledge and understanding of local conditions, which can – in most cases - only be provided by local actors. A global strategy aiming at reducing the impacts of natural hazards therefore must include the development of national and sub-national mechanisms for disaster risk reduction. Within this context the IDNDR called on the UN-member states to establish National Platforms which would facilitate the adjustment of general disaster risk reduction objectives to national/local conditions, implement the agreed policies and expand the understanding and perception of the importance of disaster risk reduction on national levels. However, while some countries successfully established national networks many did not. In practice, there remains a pressing need to revitalize and strengthen these national structures.

[edit] International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)

Coming to its end the IDNDR was replaced and continued by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). The ISDR aims at both prosecuting initiatives and cooperations agreed on during the IDNDR and developing new mechanisms as well as pushing for further commitments from policy-makers. The spanning goal of reducing human, social, economic and environmental losses due to natural hazards (and related technological and environmental disasters) identifies the building of disaster resilient communities as main objective. The ISDR promotes the following four objectives as tools towards reaching disaster reduction for all:

Increase public awareness to understand risk, vulnerability and disaster reduction globally
Obtain commitment from public authorities to implement disaster reduction policies and actions
Stimulate interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral partnerships, including the expansion of risk reduction networks
Improve scientific knowledge about disaster reduction

Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the ISDR-Secretariat is supplemented by the inter-agency task-force on disaster reduction and the inter-agency secretariat of the ISDR and subordinated to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs of the UN. While the ISDR-secretariat is the focal point within the UN system for the coordination of strategies and programmes, and the interface between disaster reduction strategies and those in the socio-economic and humanitarian field; close cooperation with already established National Platforms (and fostering the development of new Platforms in countries without national structures for disaster reduction) is essential for the successful implementation of the UNISDR.