business.un.org, Partnering for a better world

Cities and local governments need to get ready, reduce the risks and become resilient to disasters. For the next two years and beyond, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) will campaign together with its partners for this to happen.

The World Disaster Reduction Campaign “Making Cities Resilient” addresses issues of local governance and urban risk while drawing upon previous ISDR Campaigns on safer schools and hospitals, as well as on the sustainable urbanizations principles developed in the UN-Habitat World Urban Campaign 2009-2013.

My city is getting ready!

Mayors and their local governments are both the key targets and drivers of the campaign. Local government officials are faced with the threat of disasters on a day-to-day basis and need better access to policies and tools to effectively deal with them. The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005- 2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters offers solutions for local governments and local actors to manage and reduce urban risk. Urban risk reduction provides opportunities for capital investments through infrastructure upgrades and improvements, building retrofits for energy efficiency and safety, urban renovation and renewal, cleaner energies, and slum upgrading. Local governments are the institutional level closest to the citizens and to their communities. They play the first role in responding to crises and emergencies and in attending to the needs of their constituencies. They deliver essential services to their citizens (health, education, transport, water, etc.), which need to be made resilient to disasters.

But making cities safe from disaster is everybody’s business: National governments, local government associations, international, regional and civil society organizations, donors, the private sector, academia and professional associations as well as every citizen need to be engaged. All these stakeholders need to be on board, take on their role and contribute to building disaster resilient cities.

Know more – Invest wisely – Build more safely

The overall target of the World Disaster Reduction Campaign is to get as many local governments ready as possible, to span a global network of fully engaged cities of different sizes, characteristics, risk profiles and locations. The campaign is focusing on raising political commitment to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation among local governments and mayors; including through high profile media and public awareness activities, and will develop specific technical tools that cater for capacity development opportunities.

Partnerships

If your company is interested in exploring this partnership opportunity, please contact: Ms. Kiki Lawal, UNISDR (lawalk@un.org; Tel:+41 (0) 22 917 8452 – Mobile: +41 (0)79 444 3778)

Partnership types of interest
Advocacy of global issues; Business opportunities in low income communities/countries ; Standards and guidelines development; Project funding

Further information

Campaign Webpage

Regions / countries / territories
Global issues

Agriculture, aquaculture and forestry; Children, youth and family welfare; Community development; Disasters and humanitarian affairs; Education and training ; Job creation and enterprise development; Energy ; Environment and climate change; Gender issues; Information and communications technologies; Migration and population; Refugees and internally displaced persons; Trade and development; Transportation and logistics; Water and related ecosystems; Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Business sectors

Accounting and management services; Advocacy and legal services; Agriculture and livestock; Aquaculture; Arts and culture; Community and social services; Construction; Education and training; Engineering; Environmental services; Extractive industries and chemicals; Finance; Forestry; Leisure, hospitality, tourism and sports; Manufacturing; Media and PR; Medical and health; Personal care; Property and real estate; Public administration; Retail trade; Telecommunications and IT products and services; Transportation and logistics; Utilities

Disasters

Jan 2010 - Haiti: Earthquakes; Jul 2010 - Russian Federation: Wild Fires; Jul 2010 - Iran: Earthquake; Jul 2010 - DR Congo: Floods; Jul 2010 - Mexico: Floods and Landslides; Aug 2010 - Thailand: Floods; Aug 2010 - DPR Korea: Floods; Aug 2010 - Philippines: Tropical Storm Dianmu