In a recent development, India was unanimously chosen as the co-chair of the Consultative Group (CG) of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for the fiscal year 2020. This marks a significant milestone as it is the first occasion where India has been accorded the opportunity to co-chair the CG meeting of GFDRR.
The position opens doors for India to collaborate with member countries and organizations of the GFDRR, enabling a focused contribution towards the advancement of the disaster risk reduction agenda throughout the year. At the heart of this engagement lies the theme of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (DRI).
The Role and Objective of India’s Candidature
India entered into the CG of GFDRR in 2015 and its consistent progress in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) within the country, coupled with its initiative to form a coalition on disaster resilient infrastructure, led to its candidature receiving backing. The main objective now is to pursue a focused agenda and develop synergies with ongoing workstreams of the GFDRR.
About the Consultative Group (CG)
The CG stands as GFDRR’s primary advisory body, also taking key decisions. It consists of Members and Observers who collaboratively work to set GFDRR’s long-term strategic objectives while supervising expected results. The group has a Chair from the World Bank Group and a Co-chair who is a Member of the CG.
About GFDRR
The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is a global partnership that aims to help developing countries reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change. Established as a grant-funding mechanism by the World Bank, UN agencies and bilateral donors in September 2006, GFDRR supports disaster risk management projects across the world.
Its mission is to mainstream disaster reduction and climate change adaptation in country development strategies and to foster and strengthen global and regional cooperation among various stakeholders under the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) system. The GFDRR plays an essential role in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2006 | GFDRR was established |
| 2015 | India becomes a member of CG of GFDRR |
| 2020 | India is elected as co-chair of the CG meeting of GFDRR |
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030
The SFDRR was adopted in 2015 by UN Member States at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It’s a voluntary, non-binding agreement that spans over 15 years where the primary role is to reduce disaster risk shared amongst stakeholders, including local government, private sector, and others.
This framework outlines seven global targets and four priorities for action to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks. The seven global targets include reducing global disaster mortality, the number of affected people, direct disaster economic loss concerning the global GDP, and damage to critical infrastructure. Other targets aim to enhance international cooperation, increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies, and accessibility of multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information.
The action priorities are understanding disaster risk, strengthening disaster risk governance, investing in disaster reduction for resilience, enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and “Building Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. The Sendai Framework is the successor to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters.
