The Third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015, resulted in the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. It is the result of stakeholder discussions that were started in March 2012 and intergovernmental negotiations that were supported by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction at the UN General Assembly’s request from July 2014 to March 2015.
- The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction was the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda, and it lays out clear steps for the Member States to preserve development benefits from disasters.
- Following the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in 2015, the UN General Assembly endorsed the Global Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy.
- It aims to reduce catastrophe risk and the resulting harm to people, businesses, communities, and countries’ economic, physical, social, cultural, and environmental assets during the next 15 years.
- Hyogo Framework was succeeded by Sendai Framework.
- The Sendai Framework sketches seven global targets to guide and against which to assess progress. The seven global targets are:
- The goal is to reduce the average worldwide disaster mortality rate by 100,000 in the decade 2020-2030 compared to 2005-2015.
- In the decade 2020– 2030, reduce the number of people affected worldwide per 100,000, aiming to decrease this number compared to the period 2005– 2015.
- Minimise global GDP (gross domestic product) losses related to direct economic losses by 2030.
- Substantively reduce the damage due to disaster to critical infrastructure, disturbance of elementary services, health and educational facilities.
- By 2020, make sure that national and local disaster risk reduction strategies are in place in more countries.
- Improve international cooperation with emerging countries by complementing their national actions for implementation of the present framework significantly by 2030 through the provision of satisfactory and sustainable support.
- Increase substantially the availability of early warning and risk assessment data on multi-hazard scenarios to people by 2030.
- The priorities for action underlined in the Sendai Framework are:
- A thorough understanding of disaster risk.
- Managing disaster risk through strengthened disaster risk governance.
- Resilience can be achieved by investing in disaster risk reduction.
- Providing effective preparation for disaster response and “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.
The Sendai Framework includes a number of improvements that were requested during the discussions and negotiations and is based on components that guarantee continuity with the work done by States and other stakeholders under the HFA.