National Platforms for Natural Disaster Reduction
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The United Nations General Assembly declared the 1990’s as International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) with the spanning goal of reducing the human, social, economic and environmental losses due to natural disasters. At the end of the decade a successor arrangement, under the name of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), was established to prosecute and broaden the efforts initiated by IDNDR. Given the fact that global strategies are only as effective as they are adapted to national conditions and implemented by local actors, the establishment of so called National Platforms, all over the world, was an essential factor for success.
Disasters mostly emerge across boarders but must be addressed; in consideration of the explicit economic, social, cultural and ecological national context; at the national level. While the ISDR- Secretariat, located in Geneva, formulates the overall objectives (see IDNDR for these), the mission of the National Platforms is to incorporate these into national policies and implement them at the national and local level, while working together in networks at the regional level. National Platforms and their networks are the complementary structure at the local, national and regional level to the international structure of ISDR. Political lobbying at national, regional and international level is one of the most crucial elements of the work of National Platforms. The concrete process should encompass situation analysis, formulation of policies and action plans, and the implementation, monitoring and regular review of disaster reduction activities. Clearly national platforms reach the public more easily and can thereby expand the understanding and the perception of the importance of disaster risk reduction. National Platforms also act as facilitators for all the fields involved in disaster reduction (science, politics and governments, private sector, civil society, civil protection), whereby its function comprises managing progress towards disaster reduction objectives rather than producing a “plan” as an end product. Considering the multiple compositions of disasters (comprising of a natural hazard on one side and societal vulnerability on the other side) it is clear that disaster reduction is a cross-sectoral issue which can only be successfully addressed through a participatory process that includes multisectoral perspectives and actions and consists of multi- stakeholders.
National Platforms can establish themselves as national networks, fora or committees, recognized by its government. Given its mandate, the composition of a National Platform should include lead agencies/ ministries within the Government, research and academic organizations, civil society, private (commercial) sector, NGO’s, media and other UN Agencies.
To this date many National Platforms have been established. Only with broadend national commitment all over the world, can the objectives of the ISDR be accomplished and natural disasters can be noticeably reduced. A pressing need remains to push for the establishment of more national mechanisms in those countries most affected by natural hazards.
[edit] See also
- International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
- World Conference on Disaster Reduction
- Natural Disasters
- Vulnerability
