Summary
The Fifth Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) opened in Cancún, Mexico, on Wednesday, 24 May 2017. This followed two preparatory days, during which delegates met in regional meetings and networking sessions.
Meeting for the first time since the approval of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 in Japan in 2015, delegates convened for a brief plenary session in the morning. They then broke out into special sessions and working sessions, which met in parallel throughout the morning. Two special sessions considered the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information, and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “build back better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. During the four working sessions in the morning, delegates considered: critical infrastructure, international cooperation, risk insurance, and the Sendai Framework Monitor Prototype.
In the afternoon, delegates attended an opening ceremony, attended by Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto, who called for enhanced prevention and preparedness measures to address disaster risk. Also in attendance was Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, who underscored that DRR and climate change resilience are integral to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
High-level delegates then convened in a closed-door Leaders Forum. Others convened in two parallel working sessions to consider risk information and disaster loss databases, and private sector engagement in DRR.
Side events were also held over the lunch break and in the late afternoon. In the evening, participants attended a reception hosted by the Government of Mexico.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports in English and Spanish, daily web coverage, and daily Earth Negotiations Videos (ENV) from the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. In addition, IISD Reporting Services published a summary report of the meeting in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera
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Welcome Plenary Session
Remberto Estrada Barba, Mayor of the Municipality of Benito Juarez, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Luis Felipe Puente, Coordinador General, Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil (SINAPROC), Mexico
Robert Glasser, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRR and Head of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)
Remberto Estrada Barba, Mayor of the Municipality of Benito Juarez, Quintana Roo, Mexico and Robert Glasser, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRR and Head of UNISDR, at the end of the session
Special Session - Build Back Better & Preparedness
(L-R) Johannes Luchner, Director, Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operation (ECHO), European Commission (EC); Inonge Wina, Vice President of the Zambia; Session Co-Chair Aris Papadopoulos, Adviser, Titan America; Session Chair Lourdes Tibán, Member of Parliament, Ecuador; Session Chair Shigeki Habuka, Vice Minister, Cabinet Office, Japan; Khaled Abo Aisheh, Director, Programming of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA); and Marcie Roth, Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA/DHS), US
Inonge Wina, Vice President of the Zambia
Session Co-Chair Aris Papadopoulos, CEO, Titan America
Marcie Roth, Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA/DHS), US
Session Co-Chair Shigeki Habuka, Japan
Session Co-Chair Lourdes Tibán, Ecuador
Working Session - Critical Infrastructure
(L-R) Rubem Hofliger, Swiss Re; Michele Young, Asia Regional Shelter and Construction Advisor, Save the Children; P.K. Mishra, Prime Minister’s Office; Session Chair Wais Ahmad Barmak, Minister of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, Afghanistan; Hirotada Matsuki, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Japan; Hans Sy, President SM Prime; and Inés Gutiérrez, Peru
Rubenm Hofliger, Director-General, Natural Disasters Fund, Mexico, and Michele Young, Asia Regional Shelter and Construction Advisor, Save the Children
Hans Sy, Executive Director, President SM Prime, and Inés Gutiérrez, Peru
Rubenm Hofliger, Director-General, Natural Disasters Fund, Mexico, and Michele Young, Asia Regional Shelter and Construction Advisor at Save the Children
Translation for deaf participants
Working Session - Sendai Framework Monitor Consultation
(L-R) Andria Grosvenor, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA); Kamal Kishore, National Disaster Management Authority, India; Marc Gordon, UNISDR; Session Co-Chair Yannick Glemarec, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Programme, UN Women; Session Co-Chair Mercedita Sombilla, National Economic and Development Authority, the Philippines; and Martin Owor, Commissioner for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Management in the Office of the Prime Minister, Uganda
Special Session - Early Warning & Risk Information
(L-R) Elliot Jacks, US National Weather Service; Molly Nielson, Principal Disaster Management Officer, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Samoa; Session Chair Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, Coordinator of the FemLINKPACIFIC, Fiji; Session Chair David Edgar Tonoyan, Minister of Emergency Situations, Armenia; Session Chair Gautier Mignot, Director, Sustainable Development, Ministry of Interior, France; Petteri Talaas, Secretary-General, WMO; and Tatsuo Hirano, Member of Parliament, Japan
Working Session - International Cooperation
(L-R) Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Director, UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS); Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Director-General of Global Issues, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany; Session Chair David Douglas Des Van Rooyen, Minister, Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, South Africa; Laura Tuck, Vice President of Sustainable Development, World Bank; Sandra Wu, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Kokusai Kogyo Co. Ltd; and Rolf Alter, Director of Public Governance, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Working Session - Risk Insurance
(L-R) Sophia Belay, Oxfam America; Shaun Tarbuck, CEO, International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation; Phil Evans, COO, Met Office; Session Co-Chair Riikka Laatu, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland; Session Co-Chair Simon Young, African Risk Capacity Insurance Company Limited; Liliana Cardozo de Cano, Tarjy; and Robert Muir-Wood, Risk Management Solutions
Opening Ceremony
Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, and Amina Mohamed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, before the opening ceremony
Mayan cultural performance at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
The dais during the opening ceremony
Carlos Joaquin Gonzales, Governor, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Robert Glasser, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRR and Head of UNISDR
Participants watched a video about the history of the DRR process
Amina Mohamed, UN Deputy Secretary-General
Luis Videgaray Caso, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mexico
Participants watched a video on DRR activities in Mexico
Amina Mohamed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, and Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico
Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico
Participants during the opening ceremony
The media at the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
Working Session - Private Sector Engagement
(L-R) Session Co-Chair Chloe Demrovsky, Executive Director, DRI; Daniel Stander, Risk Management Solutions; Mark Crosweller, Director General, Emergency Management, Australia; Dale Sands, CH2M; and Jesús González Arellano, KPMG, Mexico
Working Session - Risk Information & Loss Databases
(L-R) Anoja Seneviratne, Director of Mitigation Research and Development, Sri Lanka; Bapon Fakhruddin, Senior Specialist in DRR and Climate Resilience, Bangladesh; Session Co-Chair Fatih Özer, Department Head, Disaster & Emergency Management Authority of Turkey; Session Co-Chair Ricardo Peña-Herrero, Undersecretary of Risk Analysis, Ecuador; and Jutta May, Information and Knowledge Management Specialist, Noumea, New Caledonia
Around the Venue
Red Cross youth members dance at a parallel event on resilience
Delegates gather for the first day of the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction