UNO Disaster risk reduction is urgent, alert by 2030 there will be more than one disaster a day

In 2021, between 350 and 500 medium to large-scale disasters were recorded. Hundreds of representatives of governments, international organizations and other actors meet in Bali to discuss the reduction of the danger of catastrophes and their management in the face of the increasing frequency of extreme events.”
The world faces the constant threat of disasters. “If things continue like this, we will experience 1.5 medium-to-large-scale disasters every day by 2030,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amin Mohammed warned Wednesday at the opening of the Global Platform for Risk Reduction. Disasters.
The conclave – which takes place in Bali, Indonesia, a country with high exposure to climate-related and other disasters – brings together for the first time after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic hundreds of representatives of governments, international organizations and other actors involved in risk reduction and disaster management.
The World Environment Congress is watching and supporting action after the pandemic slowed progress in all areas of global development, from climate change and risk reduction to gender equality.
In his speech, Mohammed stated that decisions made and actions taken at this time “may inadvertently influence our risk and exposure.”
For this reason, the participants in the summit agreed that the event constitutes a unique opportunity to progress towards a safe and sustainable future by building greater resilience.
Frequent disasters, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), between 350 and 500 medium to large-scale disasters were recorded last year and projections point to 560 catastrophes per year, or 1.5 per day by 2030 if immediate hazard management and financing provisions are not made.
“We have to act urgently and on a large scale,” Mohammed said, adding that, to begin with, the lessons learned from the pandemic must be put into practice, improving risk governance because “we still do not have the frameworks to manage risks, whether from a global pandemic or a tsunami, and to mitigate its impact.”
Second, he noted, there is a need to invest in stronger data capabilities that can better anticipate, prevent, and respond to complex risks before they become disasters, including joint development of risk analysis and investment in coordination and data infrastructure that enables knowledge sharing and joint anticipatory action.
“Such investments will help us navigate complex risks sooner, faster, and in a more targeted and efficient way.” He stressed that disaster risk reduction must be taken into account in financial frameworks and resilience must be included in all investments.
Prioritizing the most vulnerable, Mohammed noted that priority needs to be given to least developed countries and small island developing states that suffer disproportionately when disasters strike.
“Disasters in these countries can wipe out decades of progress in development and economic growth in a single event, with very serious long-term economic and social consequences,” he said.
He called for strengthening international cooperation for disaster risk reduction and prevention in the most vulnerable countries and communities, including women and girls, people with disabilities, the poor, the marginalized and the isolated.
Asia-Pacific, the most affected region. Last month, the UN published a report warning of the spiral of self-destruction in which the world finds itself and reporting that disasters in the Asia-Pacific region, currently the most affected by these disasters, cost an average of 1.6% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), more than anywhere else in the world.
In this sense, the president of Indonesia, in charge of opening the Summit, stressed that from January 1 to May 23 of this year, 1,300 disasters have been documented in his country, which observed an average of 500 earthquakes per month.
“Therefore, at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction today, the Indonesian government offers the world the concept of resilience as a solution to mitigate all forms of disasters, including pandemics,” said Joko Widodo, urging all countries to commit to and advance the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030).
For her part, the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction asserted that the meeting in Bali is proof that humanity has not given up and will continue working to reduce the threats posed by disasters. “We must seize this moment to transform the way we see and manage