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Central Africa spurs disaster risk reduction

YAOUNDE, 13 February 2017 – Collective action by regional organisations is a key means to help countries reduce their risk of disasters, and the Economic Community of Central African States is stepping up its efforts to rein in the impact of hazards amid rising pressure from climate change.

The ECCAS secretariat, plus its 11 member states and partners have together set out a disaster risk management and climate change action plan to be implemented over the course of this year.

The ECCAS groups Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe. Its member states include some of the least developed countries in the world.

Common disasters in their region number epidemics, droughts, floods, and storms.

Out of a total of 36 countries worldwide with ‘very high’ and ‘high’ risk profiles, half of them are African, according to the INFORM Index for Risk Management. Central African Republic, Chad, and Democratic Republic of Congo are in the top 10 ranking for the highest overall disaster risks.

Central African Republic and Chad are among the 10 countries globally facing the highest levels of risk in the Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas. Of the 32 countries identified globally as the most vulnerable in the atlas, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad and Democratic Republic of Congo are also at ‘extreme risk’ in the Food Security Risk Index and exhibit high levels of poverty and/or conflict and displacement, all of which compound the potential impact of hazards.

Countries around the world raised the bar for disaster risk reduction and climate change action in 2015, when they adopted an interlocking set of agreements as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The accords included the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Fifth Session of the Central Africa Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, in December in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, convened to focus on the need to synergise the Sendai Framework and the Paris Agreement in order to implement the Central Africa Strategy on Risk Prevention and Disaster Management.

"The regional platform placed under the aegis of ECCAS is a crucial body that allows stakeholders to share their achievements and constraints and to jointly face the challenges posed by disasters in a coordinated and harmonised way," said Ms. Elisabeth Huybens, Director of the World Bank Office in Cameroon.

A total of 75 representatives drawn from ECCAS states, national focal points in disaster risk reduction, climate, water and meteorology, UNISDR, the World Bank Group’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), civil society and the Parliamentarians Network for Resilience to Disasters in Central Africa (REPARC) attended the meeting.

The session came just weeks after the adoption of the ‘Programme of Action for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Africa’ at the Sixth Session of Africa Regional Platform and Fifth High Level Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in November in Mauritius.

One of the areas spotlighted in Yaoundé was the ECCAS disaster risk reduction data base, which will support the development of policies, strategies, institutions, early warning system and human resources was completed and validated.

Member States were also called upon to develop and strengthen disaster risk reduction frameworks and dialogue among all stakeholders, to ensure for better synergy in disaster resilience actions. They were also requested to ensure that their national strategies are developed and aligned with the Sendai Framework and other global agreements.

To ensure greater impact on policy decisions, the meeting also decided that REPARC – which was launched in 2015 with support from UNISDR and GFDRR – be involved in a multi-year programme entitled ‘Building Disaster Resilience to Natural Hazards in Sub-Saharan African Regions, Countries and Communities’, funded by the European Union in support of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

The recommendations are to be implemented before the next ECCAS platform, planned this October.

Central Asia declaration reaffirms regional commitment to disaster law

Though rarely making headlines, disasters in Central Asia constitute one of the most significant threats to human security in the region. It is a vast area that is frequently affected by a range of natural hazards including earthquakes, floods, mudslides, landslides and avalanches. This, coupled with varying degrees of socio-economic development, highlights the need for Central Asian Republics to be well-prepared to mitigate, prepare for and respond to disasters.

States and National Red Crescent Societies in the region have been considering the issue of legal preparedness for disasters for a number of years now, and several consultations and initiatives have taken place. The need to have laws and policies in place to manage and respond to disasters was recognized with the adoption of a Model Act on International Disaster Assistance by the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) in 2014.

The Republic of Kyrgyzstan is currently leading the way at the national level, with a new law on facilitating international disaster relief due for adoption this year. The draft law is based largely on the CIS Model Act on International Disaster Assistance, and the ‘Guidelines for the domestic facilitation and regulation of international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance’ (the ‘IDRL’ Guidelines).

Last month, the National Societies and Governments of four of the Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) came together for a regional ‘consultative conference on legal aspects of disaster risk reduction’, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on January 18. This event was hosted by the newly established Almaty Centre for Emergency Services and Disaster Risk Reduction (CESDRR) and was held within the framework of a project on ‘Consolidating and Strengthening DRR in Central Asia’, funded by the Department of the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO).

The parties to the conference in January adopted the 'Almaty Declaration', which outlines their commitment to strengthening disaster law. A Memorandum of Understanding on disaster preparedness and response was also signed by the Red Crescent Societies of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the IFRC and the CESDRR, cementing their commitment to strengthen this area of work.

The workshop brought together representatives from National Red Crescent Societies, national authorities, UN agencies, and other key stakeholders in the region. It provided an opportunity to consolidate existing experience and developments, and identify a clear way forward for strengthening legal preparedness for disaster risk management, particularly at the national level.

Prior to the consultative workshop, the CESDRR hosted a ‘National Society Dialogue’ on disaster law, where the National Society representatives came together to discuss how to harness their unique auxiliary role and undertake effective legislative advocacy – the aim of which is to create tangible legal and policy change in the interests of the at-risk and disaster-affected communities which they serve.

It was clear from the discussions that law can play a fundamental role in establishing the necessary frameworks to facilitate many aspects of disaster risk management, especially when it comes to facilitating life-saving disaster relief in an emergency. As highlighted by the Director of the CESDRR, Mr. Valery Petrov, during his closing remarks, “at the end of the day it’s not just about moving goods across borders, it’s about saving people’s lives.”

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