Governing Council gives boost to UN-HABITAT’s Disaster
Management Programme
Nairobi, 15 April, 2005 – Leaders from national
and local governments, NGO’s and international aid agencies worldwide,
participated in a dialogue on post-conflict, natural and human-made disasters
assessment and reconstruction on Tuesday 5 April 2005, at the 20th session
of the Governing Council for UN-HABITAT.
High level of support and interest in issue related to natural and human-made
disasters was also conveyed through the keynote speech by President Mwai
Kibaki of Kenya: “I am gratified to note that one of the special
themes during this session of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT will
focus on post conflicts and disasters mitigation. I hope that the outcome
of the deliberations will contribute significantly towards reducing the
impact of disasters particularly in developing countries.”
During the dialogue, several delegates shared their own experiences of
mitigating and managing disasters. Mr. Hilson N. Baptiste, Minister of
Housing, Culture and Social Transformation of Antigua and Barbuda, pointed
out a special concern of small island nations, as a single natural disaster
can wipe out the entire economic base. Learning from chaos created by
uncoordinated information and relief aid in the aftermath of hurricanes,
he stressed the importance of establishing one focal point, through which
all information and relief supplies are released to affected communities.
Mr. Satoru Miyamura, Japanese ambassador to Kenya, shared experiences
in Japan, of how strengthening the local capacity has effectively reduced
the vulnerability of the population in the disaster-prone island nation:
“Communities are often the first to respond to disaster before external
aid agencies arrive. Evacuation training prior to disaster and prompt
dissemination of disaster warnings helped reduce damages.” The Secretariat
of International Strategy for Disaster Reduction expressed their support
for UN-HABITAT’S initiative for sustainable human settlements development
through the adoption of measures to reduce risk and vulnerability to disasters;
“We believe that both the ISDR secretariat and UN-HABITAT share
the common vision of building a culture of prevention, as indicated in
the background document for this session’’.
The importance of community participation and local ownership of reconstruction
efforts was repeatedly emphasized by a number of delegates. Relief and
reconstruction efforts need to be community-based, encouraging capacity
building of local government as well as re-establishment of local businesses
and livelihoods. Hon. Dr. Qiamuddin Djallalzada, Deputy Minister of Urban
Development and Housing in Afghanistan, stated that involvement of affected
populations in reconstruction efforts generated positive energy in communities
for recovery in post-war Afghanistan.
In light of effective disaster response and recovery, the need to link
emergency relief with long-term development strategy was emphasized. Mr.
Paul Simkin, Technical Advisor of the European Commission for Somalia
stated “Relief and development are not mutually exclusive.”
His comment was supported by several participants from the floor, including
Mr. Ardian Gjini, Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning in Kosovo,
highlighted the success of UN-HABITAT activities in Kosovo in support
of housing and property administration and good governance.
The significance of the roles women play in peace building and reconstruction
processes was highlighted throughout the discussion. However, at the same
time, relief activities tend to categorise women as victims and beneficiary
recipients in programming, rather than enabling them to be actively involved
and increase their capacity through relief and reconstruction activities.
‘’Women should not be disconnected from recovery processes’’
as confirmed by the Huairou Commission.
Anna Zambrano, General Directorate of Italian Technical Cooperation,
pointed out that poverty alleviation adds challenges to disaster mitigation
and response. It was repeated that coordination of resources and expertise
is necessary, both at donor and recipient levels. Financial resources
for disaster response need to be planned and coordinated before disaster
strikes. Several delegates pointed out the need to tap in potential for
public-private partnerships, and to create enabling environment for the
two sectors to work in harmony towards disaster preparedness and sustainable
response.
In conclusion, UN-HABITAT’s proposal of sustainable relief and
reconstruction was largely welcomed as an important step forward, and
our task ahead is to develop measures and mechanisms to translate them
into practice.
For further information, please contact: Sharad
Shankardass, Spokesperson & Head, Press & Media Relations Unit,
or Ms. Zahra Hassan, Media Liaison, Tel: (254 20) 623153, 623151, Fax:
624060, E-mail: habitat.press@unhabitat.org,
Website: www.unhabitat.org
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