About the Conference

Science and technology (S&T) have historically played important roles in different disciplines, and disaster risk reduction (DRR) is not an exception. From risk understanding to risk assessment, from risk prevention/mitigation to early warning, different types of technologies have been used and found effective. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) highlights the importance of S&T in decision and policy making. Although there has been an increasing understanding of the importance of S&T in the global, regional and national levels, its use at the local level still remains a significant challenge. With increasing urbanization, climate change and other anthropogenic pressures, many urban areas are becoming hotspots of disasters. As asset concentration and resource utilization are higher in cities, there needs to be stronger evidence of science-based decision making at the city and local government levels.

With climate change, adaptive governance for resilience is becoming a “new normal”, and the key challenge is how we can apply science-based adaptive governance as opposed to “ad-hoc adaptive governance”. Inclusivity is essential to adaptive governance. Innovation and the use of new and emerging technologies are other issues which need to be considered when S&T approaches are discussed. The role of youth and young professionals is also critical to bring innovation in the field of DRR with application of new and emerging technologies and promoting social entrepreneurship in the field of DRR.

Following a decision by the UN General Assembly, a midterm review of the Sendai Framework will take place in 2023, and the outcomes and policy recommendations of this process would constitute an essential contribution to the stocktaking and identification of strategic areas for further action.