The Platform on Disaster Displacement’s recent engagement in Disaster Risk Reduction

May 2, 2018
Events

In line with the Platform on Disaster Displacement’s (PDD) overall objective to strengthen the protection of people displaced across borders in the context of disasters, PDD continually engages with a variety of stakeholders and initiatives in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR). This focus comes from the understanding that displacement is a common, immediate impact of disasters and the reduction of disaster risk will reduce the number of people affected (Target B of the Sendai Framework). PDD works to advance its strategic priorities by addressing knowledge and data gaps, promoting policy and normative development in gap areas, enhancing the use of identified effective practices and mainstreaming human mobility challenges across action areas. As part of this engagement, PDD is currently involved in research, advocacy, policy development and national/regional sharing of experiences and effective practices.

In order to address gaps, PDD is first working to identify them through a global mapping exercise that reviews the extent to which disaster displacement and human mobility are included in national DRR strategies around the world. Target E of the Sendai Framework requires countries to have such strategies in place by 2020. The question is, however, which strategies include displacement? As part of this project, PDD is creating a global dataset of publically accessible national strategy documents and related policy, plans and legislation. By assessing current DRR strategies, this project will provide a baseline for the future monitoring of policy progress with regards to the integration of human mobility. The findings of this study will inform PDD’s future engagement with states at both regional and national levels so that they might be able to assist in the development or revision of DRR strategies to integrate disaster displacement and human mobility issues.

After identifying the gaps, the next step is fostering the inclusion of disaster displacement and human mobility into DRR strategies. To do this, PDD, under the leadership of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has developed a “Words into Action” (WiA) guide to support the national implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 regarding displacement. The WiA is a how-to guide for reducing the risk of disaster displacement, addressing the protection needs of those affected and strengthening resilience. The WiA offers practical guidance to government authorities for the integration of disaster displacement into their national DRR strategies and other areas of government planning. It is a tool for practitioners and contains a short check-list, that may be translated in many local languages.

Putting the research and guidelines into practice, PDD will be supporting a Regional Workshop on DRR, Preparedness and Disaster Displacement for Pacific Island States in the Philippines in June this year. This workshop will be for technical experts and aims to provide an opportunity for participants from 12 Island States and Timor-Leste to share best practices, lessons learned and experiences in DRR with their colleagues from the Philippines. Topics covered range from preventing disaster displacement, reducing displacement risk, and the use of science, technology and innovation to build community resilience. The workshop place on the island of Bohol will allow officials from the Philippines to share their strides in DRR in an environment similar to that of many of their guests. The goal is to develop key actions and next steps that will support the implementation of the Sendai Framework, the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda and the Words into Action on Disaster Displacement in the region. This workshop will take place shortly before the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia where the participants will have the opportunity at a side event to both share and learn more.

The Coordination Unit would like to express sincere thanks to the generous contributions of the governments of Switzerland, Germany and the Philippines, enabling and supporting the above mentioned activities.

Watch this space: once finalized, both the DRR strategy mapping and the Words into Action Guide will be uploaded into the resources section on our website and shared via our social media accounts. Please get in touch if there is any of your work on these issues that you would like us to share or highlight.

Download the Platform on Disaster Displacement’s Disaster Risk Reduction Policy Brief