Taking stock of the Global Target E, this event will highlight the importance of improving the quality of DRR Strategies and accelerate DRR investments in order to achieve the Sendai Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

As we reached 2020, the end year for the Target E,  120 countries reported having National and/or Local DRR Strategies in the Sendai Framework Monitor. During the latter half period of the Sendai Framework, efforts should be made not only to further increase the number of countries having Strategies but also to improve the quality of the Strategies so that they will guide governments to accelerate pre-disaster DRR investments. This is particularly important in low and middle income countries which are severely impacted by climate change. 

The side event will share good examples at local and national levels and explore the ways in which governments can accelerate DRR investments in a planned manner.

Session objectives

1. Stock-take the progress of the Global Target E 
2. Share good practices and lessons on transforming DRR Strategies into actual actions, particularly planned DRR investments 
3. Review the importance of disaster statistics and monitoring to assist evidence-based policy making and implementation  

Registration 

During the second half of 2020, a moderate to strong La Niña phenomenon was registered with predictions it could cause extreme weather conditions in various parts of the world. In Afghanistan, this commonly results in below-average rainfall and snowfall across the country. The timing of this La Niña event coincides with the main wheat season with harvests in May-July 2021, which are critical for food security and livestock production throughout the country. Instead of waiting for the worst, in November 2020 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) acted on the warning signs.

The team implemented anticipatory actions to mitigate the impact on farmers and livestock owners including crop and livestock protection packages, cash-for-work, and animal health support among others. The intervention came at a critical time, where 42 percent of the population is already estimated to be in acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels, and limited wheat harvests could further exacerbate the situation. Drought was officially declared in the country on the 22nd of June 2021. However, FAO managed to act early, a whole 8 months earlier, thereby showing the importance of predicating crises and providing pre-emptive support.    

This Ignite Stage session dives into this case study and, with the Centre for Disaster Protection and Oxford University, explores the impact of the approach. It showcases the preliminary results of a conjoint impact analysis. The session’s aim is to advance understanding of the food insecurity situation in Afghanistan and explore the efficacy of anticipatory action to combat the negative effects of drought; it will also examine the linkages between and the comparative advantages of anticipatory action versus emergency response along with key emerging lessons on addressing the gamut of constraints in programming for anticipatory action in conflict settings. This case study should make an important contribution to a limited existing base of evidence.

This session presents the latest technological approaches which allow countries and organisations to become Sendai-ready. Mayday would like to showcase how they have implemented these concepts in concrete applications, like the Mayday.ai platform, providing real-time risk and disaster management covering all geographical regions, multiple disasters and all phases of the disaster cycle. This includes dynamic risk monitoring at the parcel level. This presentation highlights practical cases and shows how Mayday are effectively implementing the approach with local authorities (e.g. in Germany, Chile) and other selected international organisations.

Session objectives

Hazards forecasting and warnings are a crucial element of understanding and managing systemic, cascading and compounding risk. Significant advances in the technology of observation and data management have created enormous opportunities in terms of complex modelling for hazard forecasting and risk assessment. However, these types of data and research advancement are often not incorporated in the operational services domain. In addition, operational ocean monitoring and forecasting systems (e.g. AI or Ml based forecasts) and tools (e.g. 3D printers to use weather station) with specific applications (e.g. heat waves, oil spills etc) are limited to few centres and countries. This is seen as the big scientific, innovation and capacity challenge to address. Furthermore, within the operational domain, many of the forecast and risk information services that are in use are not being translated for community application to covert risk information into risk management at local level reduce. As climate change increasingly poses a threat to resilience and other sustainable development goals, a change in mindset in early warning system and disaster risk reduction is required to link emerging technology with operational implementation and society. Addressing complex mechanisms and sources that trigger hazards (e.g 15 January Tonga volcanic eruption and tsunami) also underlines the challenge and opportunities of the next generation of forecasting and warning systems.   This calls for people centred, collaborative co-design and co-production combined with harnessing advances in science, technology and engineering solutions. It could accelerate proactive scenario based pre and post disaster risk assessments based on multi-hazard forecasting and warning information, which when developed through engaging multiple stakeholders will ensure that early warning and risk information is useful, usable and used. 

This is a hands on interactive learning event focused on Impact-based forecasts and Forecast-based financing. 

Session objectives

The main objective of this session is to create a space for sharing learning, exchanging experiences and building partnerships around impact-based forecasting and anticipatory action. Hydro-meteorological agencies have developed considerable expertise and capacity in providing hydrometeorological forecast and warning services. Complementing these efforts, other organizations are incorporating concepts of vulnerability and exposure which can be used to develop impact-based forecasts that can trigger early or anticipatory action by disaster managers, humanitarian actors and communities at-risk. Over the past 8 years the humanitarian community (Red Cross Red Crescent, UN agencies, NGOs) has gained extensive experience implementing Forecast-based Financing/anticipatory action programmes, alongside government agencies and scientific partners. Such experiences demonstrate the value of investing resources in the development of partnerships with defined roles, responsibilities, and accountability structures to co-develop frameworks that enable early action by communities at risk. 

The session will highlight national-level impact-based forecasting and anticipatory action journeys through the lens of practitioners and government representatives. Experiences will be shared on multi-stakeholder collaboration, partnership building and co-creation, for example, joint trigger development, data sharing agreements, simulation exercises and training. An interactive discussion will follow to collect wider experiences of participants and facilitate exchange around specific challenges or needs.  

Participants will then be asked to share their needs for continued knowledge exchange, learning and guidance around enabling impact-based forecasting and anticipatory action to generate an initial Action Plan for the Anticipation Hub and supporting partners.  

Expected Outcomes

• Collect experiences and lessons on what worked well and not so well along different practitioner and government journeys towards impact-based forecasting and anticipatory action. 

• Facilitate connections and inspire new partnerships to advance impact-based forecasting and anticipatory action at country and regional level.  

• Collect a wishlist on how the Anticipation Hub, WMO, and other partners can facilitate continued exchange around impact-based forecasting and anticipatory action to meet the needs of hydro-met and government actors.  

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions - What is Anticipatory Action and Impact Based Forecasting? Where are the synergies? 
• Part 1: Journeys on Impact Based Forecasting and Anticipatory Action from Africa - Uganda and Burkina Faso 
• Part 2: Journeys on Impact Based Forecasting and Anticipatory Action in Asia - Nepal and Bangladeesh
• World Cafe group discussion
  • Discussion question: What can you learn from this case study to apply in your content? Do you expect similar challenges/ opportunities? Have you similar/ different experiences of FBF / IBF in the region? 
  • Discussion question: What is needed (training, knowledge sharing, advocacy) to speed up your IBF / AA journey? 
• Plenary discussion and Feedback
• Next Steps and Action Plan
• Wrap up

This presentation will demonstrate the good practices for the inclusion of refugees into national and local level DM systems. It will share the experiences and learnings gained from the engagement with refugees on reducing risks and building resilience through the replication and adaptation of the national level DM and Early Warning systems. It will portray the local leadership of the refugee community, host communities, local government and civil society agencies that worked in a collective manner to understand the inter-connected disaster risks and the needs to a whole-of-society approach rather than through a fragmented manner.

Speakers from the Bangladesh Red Cross Society will share their role where they have been able to act as a convenor to this process and bring various stakeholders to the discussion table. Speakers from the Government of Bangladesh will present the various DM policy and programmatic changes to incorporate refugees and their contribution.

U-INSPIRE Indonesia is a platform for youth, young scientists, and young professionals working in the fields of Science, Engineering, Technology, and Innovation (SETI) to support disaster risk reduction and build resilience in line with the SDGs and SFDRR. U-INSPIRE was formed as a platform for youth and young professionals (YYPs) in Indonesia who come from different disciplines but share the same vision of building resilience through SETI. Share in the story of how the spirit of YYPs in Indonesia through U-INSPIRE Indonesia has contributed to building resilience and influenced YYPs in other countries in the Asia Pacific and Africa to take action!

This presentation shares lessons learned from a cross-border disaster-displacement simulation exercise held at the end of March 2022 between Colombia and Ecuador. This government-led, multi-stakeholder exercise simulates the displacement of a number of persons in a border area. The aim is to develop and test Standard Operating Procedures that assign roles and responsibilities to responders from National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs), Migration Authorities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Local Authorities, Civil Protection, the Red Cross, civil society and others to improve preparedness, emergency procedures, contingency plans and response mechanisms in the event of a disaster. This case study builds on the methodology developed in a similar exercise on the Panama-Costa Rica border in 2017. It can serve as a model for other countries across the world wishing to explore cooperation and to set up mechanisms to deal effectively with cross-border displacement in the context of disasters.

Young people have the most to lose from the climate and nature emergency - and the most to gain if they understand and grasp the opportunities for action to address environmental degradation. In a world where more than three billion people have a smartphone, Earthbeat inspires and connects a growing global community of young smartphone film makers. Earthbeat Challenge provides a platform for young people to share their local actions and solutions - and it helps connect them with key opportunities, processes and social movements to help them shape a better future for themselves and the planet.

From launch in August 2021, Earthbeat Challenge has rapidly established itself as a vibrant digital project with a global reach, which can give a wider voice, recognition and inspiration to young people who are working to address the nature and climate crises at the grassroots. Earthbeat Challenge is currently partnering with UNDRR to commission grassroots videos on community action on disaster resilience.