What is Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction?

The Philippines hosted the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction, which marks the country’s implementation of the Sendai Framework.

The United Nations says it is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda as it “provides Member States with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disaster.”

But what is the Sendai Framework? How can it mitigate damage and save more lives during earthquakes, floods, and other calamities? 

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What are the Sendai Framework’s objectives?

The United Nations University—Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) explains that the Framework’s name comes from the city of Sendai, Japan.

READ: APMCDRR 2024 highlights media’s role in disaster risk awareness

In 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck this location, claiming over 15,000 lives and causing widespread destruction.

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In response, the United Nations created the Sendai Framework, which builds on the earlier Hyogo Framework for Action. It involves the cooperation of local, national, regional, and global institutions to achieve the following priorities:

1. Understanding disaster risks: Countries must manage natural calamities based on all their dimensions, like hazard characteristics and the environment.
2. Strengthening governance: Disaster risk governance is essential for disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, and rehabilitation.
3. Investing in disaster risk reduction (DRR): The public and private sectors should invest in DRR via structural and non-structural measures. Consequently, they can enhance the resilience of their people, communities, and environments.
4. Enhancing disaster response: Countries should bolster disaster preparedness to “Build Back Better” through integrating DRR into development measures.

The Sendai Framework also has seven long-term targets:

1. Reduce global disaster mortality by 2030
2. Decrease the number of affected people worldwide by 2030
3. Lower direct disaster economic loss by 2030
4. Substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services by 2030
5. Have more countries with national and local DRR strategies by 2020
6. Enhance international cooperation by 2030
7. Increase the availability of and access by 2030

The Philippines affirmed its commitment to the Sendai Framework last week with APMCDRR 2024. Learn more about the nation’s DRR goals here.