ISC: Report for the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction

This report from the International Science Council (ISC) is a contribution on behalf of the Scientific and Technological Community Major Group to the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework led by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). It identifies achievements in disaster risk reduction (DRR) since 2015 under the Sendai Framework, but also highlights key implementation gaps. The Sendai Framework was a major step forward in taking a more complete approach to risk reduction and disaster management. The seven years since its inception have highlighted that there is much more to be done, both within disaster risk science and the policy community.

Some of the key recommendations from the report include:

• Strengthen territorial level risk governance in regions and at the local level that addresses the drivers of risk across sectors.
• De-fragment finance to align investment with risk reduction goals at global, regional and local scales.
• Develop community-led nature-based solutions to enhance the protection of natural buffers that reduce risks and achieve co-benefits for sustainability.
• Develop multi hazard early-warning systems to anticipate and reduce the impacts of disasters and cascading risks across timescales.
• Develop integrated information systems to monitor the depletion of natural resources ahead of dangerous thresholds to support anticipatory action and prospective risk reduction.