Official Statement of the Czech Republic, Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR 2022)

Distinguished delegates,

on behalf of the Czech Republic, I would like to thank the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction for organisingthe Seventh Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Government of Indonesia for hosting it in Bali.

The Czech Republic hasdisaster risk reduction and resilience as a national priority, including in our international and development cooperation. Our strategy on DRR and resilience is in full harmony with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, its long-term goals and implementation framework, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Czech Republic is proud to participate ininternational cooperation in DRR and resilience throughGlobal and European Platforms as well as on a bilateral basis.

All steps of risk management principles are involved in the DRR strategy of the Czech Republic, starting from knowledge base development through prevention, warning, preparedness, and response to the BBB principles application. Preparedness and timely response to the effects of climate change, particularly extreme weather events such as flood, drought and extreme wind, and the prevention of associated losses, are among the priority topics of our environmental policy and civil protection. Principal national strategic documents such as the Strategy onAdaptation to Climate Change in the Czech Republic, the Strategy of Environmental Safety,and the Strategy of Civil Protection, respond to these needs and are regularly reviewed and updated.

In line with Adaptation Strategyof the Czech Republic, we continue to further improve our early warning systems and those of our partners with the support of the European Global Flood Awareness System, European Global Forest Fires Information System, European Global Drought Observatory and Copernicus.

With the increasing dynamics of weather and climate manifestations in our territory leading to extreme events, we cannot rule out that other multi-hazard risks could manifest themselves soon, including interactionwith technological risk. Moreover, emerging risks such as the COVID-19 pandemic also manifest the need of a complex, holistic approach.

Then, in line with the Global Strategic Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, we pay increased attention to these multi-hazard risks, their reduction in prevention and preparedness and on multi-sectoral synergies. We also promote the development, dissemination and use of science-based methodologies and tools.

All these national efforts and lessons are also part of our international engagement. We regularly contribute to the international work of UNDRR. We have developed a dedicatedgrant programme onDRR a resilience in the bilateral humanitarian-development assistance, targeting DRR related needs of our development partner-countries as well as of fragile countries in need of DDR assistance as part of disaster response.

In view of the growing and comprehensive challenges, we will also focus on DRR and resilience in the framework of fragility and climate change during our upcoming Presidency in the Council of the European Union. Talking to the forum in Bali, I would also like to mention joint EU –ASEAN work on DRR. We intend to contribute to it with an event on the use of space data for DRR.

Distinguished delegates, several hazards challenge our future, but we are convinced that by coordinated effort, international cooperation, national initiatives,and protection of shared values, we can face the disaster risks successfully and, in certain cases, even with enhanced resilience succeed in turning hazards into opportunities.