Implementation: A challenge in disaster risk management

CEBU, Philippines - Putting into action all measures against climate change is the main challenge for the next 15 years, a Cebuano recipient of United Nations award for disaster risk reduction said.

Former San Francisco mayor Alfredo Arquillano said this was what he realized when he attended the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan this month.

“The highlight of the conference was basically partnership, commitments of local government unit. Because in partnership, there are resources. Multi-sectoral collaboration is important with different sectors playing a role. The challenge? Implementation. It is what the next conference has to focus on,” Arquillano said.

Arquillano received in 2011 the prestigious UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction through the community’s “purok system,” a micro approach to empowering the community.

“In order for all our residents to understand by heart, we translated the Hyogo Framework into Cebuano. We also did massive information and education dissemination,” he said.

Document Calamities for Future Reference

Another lesson that Arquillano shared after attending the conference along with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, and other Filipino delegates is proper documentation of calamities and response.

This way, he said, good response and approach techniques are preserved and passed on to the succeeding generations.

“The challenge is for leaders to channel the system to the grassroots. To localize and document the technical things that most people won’t understand but are very important,” he said.

It is likewise important in presentations such as the conference so that other communities and institutions can learn from them.

Over 6,500 participants from 187 United Nations member states attended the five-day conference held every 15 years.   This year, it was held from March 14 to 18 in Sendai, Japan. —/FPL  (FREEMAN)