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Peace Boat and the Post 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action
March 19, 2013
Building Disaster Resilient Communities – Communities cannot be resilient in Isolation
“It takes people to support people”
Peace Boat and the Post 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action
The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 – 2015 (HFA) is a 10-year plan to make the world safer by building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. The HFA came out of the UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction 2005 (WCDR) a milestone event to increase the profile of disaster risk reduction (DRR).
In the lead up to the UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction to be held in Japan in 2015, Peace Boat’s Disaster Relief Volunteer Center will be attending international preparative conferences to share our experiences and give recommendations for the post-HFA 2015 environment.
1. GNDR Global Conference on People-Centred Resilience – The Hague, 20-21 March 2013.
The Global Network for Disaster Reduction (GNDR) is a major international network of non-governmental and not-for-profit organisations committed to working together to improve the lives of people affected by disasters world-wide.
2. The Fourth Session of the Global Platform For Disaster Risk Reduction – Geneva, 19-23 May 2013.
The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) is now the world’s foremost gathering of stakeholders (governments, NGOs and civil society, international agencies and organizations, academic and technical institutions, and the private sector) committed to reducing disaster risk and building the resilience of communities and nations. The Global Platform is organized by UNISDR, the UN’s office for disaster risk reduction and secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
Peace Boat (an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations) began its disaster relief work following the Kobe earthquake of 1995, and since then has provided disaster relief support in Japan and around the world. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, Peace Boat established the Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center (PBV) to focus on emergency relief and DRR, specializing in the training and coordination of volunteers.
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center has trained, despatched and coordinated 12,941 volunteers for a total of 79,797 working days (period between 17 Mar 2011 and 31 Dec 2012) during the response and recovery phases. PBV’s Training Programme is being delivered to volunteers and community members for the mitigation and preparedness phases and also pays particular attention to the training of leaders.
Based on this experience, Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center has formulated a Goals and Action Statement to present at these conferences.
STRATEGIC GOALS
- Strengthen the capability and capacity of community and volunteer organisations through improving the management and coordination of volunteers
- Strengthen the strategic role of the community and volunteers in all phases of DRR
- Building disaster resilient communities – Communities cannot be resilient in isolation
PEACE BOAT “ACTION POINTS”
- Work towards developing “How to make YOUR community more resilient – a handbook for community members” inspired by the UN “How to make cities more resilient – A handbook for local government leaders”
- Develop and implement a training programme for community members and volunteers that gives them the skills to strategically manage and coordinate their communities and design their own Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (DRRP) and Disaster Response Plan (DRP)
- Bring community and volunteer groups together to facilitate better understanding and cooperation in DRR, through networking, exchange programmes, conferences etc.
- Build a resource pool to enable a quick pre-planned response in time of need
Relevant Documents
Building Disaster Resilient Communities Statement (Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Center) (English – PDF)
2012 Annual Report – 11 March 2011 – 31 March 2012 (Peace Boat Disaster Relief Volunteer Centre) (English – PDF)