Context:
Due to the increasing frequency of natural and man-made disasters worldwide, which have a negative impact on poverty, development, and social cohesion, the G20 has established a new working group on disaster risk reduction under India’s Presidency, positioning itself to prioritise disaster risk financing and meet the targets set forth in the Sendai framework for 2030.
Relevance:
GS Paper-3: Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.
Mains Question
A working group on disaster risk reduction has been established by the G20 during India’s Presidency. Discuss the importance of making disaster risk finance a top priority and its contribution to attaining the goals set forth in the Sendai Framework for 2030. (250 Words)
Key Takeaways:
- Financial methods must be created to successfully manage these risks because low-income economies have high annual disaster losses as a percentage of their GDP.
- States must improve their ability to comprehend and include risks in their planning and budgeting procedures.
- Better legislation, oversight, and regulation are needed for the insurance sector.
- To transfer sovereign risk to capital markets, partnerships with the private sector should be encouraged.
- Ex-post to ex-ante financing strategies for response, recovery, and reconstruction should be used instead.
- It is essential to invest in a development-oriented strategy that encourages open action at the national level.
About the Sendai Framework:
- The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which was held in Sendai, Japan, in 2015, resulted in the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.It establishes the global framework for disaster risk reduction and offers a plan of action to lessen the effects of disasters on people, communities, and nations.
- Principal components of the Sendai Framework:
- The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is an unenforceable voluntary agreement.
- It provides a framework for international initiatives to reduce disaster risk and improve resilience and replaces the Hyogo Framework for Action, which was in place from 2005 to 2015.
- Goals and Objectives The framework identifies seven worldwide targets to be met by 2030 as well as four actionable priority areas. Understanding disaster risk, bolstering disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction, and improving disaster readiness for efficient response and recovery are the four main areas.
- People-Centered Approach: The Sendai Framework strongly emphasises community and local stakeholder participation in disaster risk reduction initiatives. It acknowledges the significance of encouraging inclusive and accessible risk information as well as empowering and including individuals in decision-making processes.
- The framework encourages a move away from managing disasters and towards managing disaster risk. o Risk Reduction and Resilience. Through precautions, risk assessments, early warning systems, and readiness, it works on lowering current and potential disaster risks. It also emphasises the necessity of strengthening infrastructure and community resilience to withstand and recover from disasters.
- Multi-Hazard Approach: According to the Sendai Framework, numerous hazards, such as environmental, technological, and natural hazards, should be addressed. This is because catastrophe risks are frequently interconnected. It promotes holistic and integrated methods to risk reduction.
- International Collaboration: The framework places a strong emphasis on the value of global collaboration and cooperation in catastrophe risk reduction. To strengthen catastrophe resilience at all levels, it calls for increased regional and global cooperation, knowledge sharing, and capacity-building.
- Monitoring and Reporting: The Sendai structure contains a structure for monitoring and reporting on how well the agreed-upon targets are being implemented. It encourages nations to create national and local indicators to track development and provide periodic updates on their work.
Disaster Risk Financing: A Vital Concept
- The new Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) of the G20 recognises the need of giving disaster risk financing top priority.The second meeting of the DRRWG will be held in Mumbai with a focus on disaster risk finance.
- By providing the required financial resources for risk reduction, preparedness, response, and recovery, disaster risk finance helps countries increase their resilience against disasters.
- It aids in governments’ capacity building, infrastructure, early warning systems, and other investments in countervailing vulnerabilities.
- Allocating Resources: o Additional financial resources can be allocated for disaster response and recovery through the use of risk transfer and insurance instruments.
- Countries can obtain more funds and improve their capacity to manage and recover from disasters by pooling resources and distributing risks.
- Supporting Sustainable Development: o Disaster risk finance is compatible with the objective for sustainable development.
- Countries can lessen the economic and social effects of disasters, safeguard development gains, and secure a more sustainable future by allocating cash to disaster risk reduction initiatives.
- Supporting Sendai Framework Targets: The Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction has established a number of challenging goals for lowering catastrophe risk and losses.
- Prioritising finance for disaster risk helps nations reach these goals by providing the resources needed to put risk reduction plans into action, fund activities to develop resilience, and ensure prompt and efficient response and recovery.
- Strengthening International Cooperation: The G20’s working group on disaster risk reduction provides a forum for member nations to cooperate and exchange information.
- Making disaster risk financing a priority encourages international collaboration in building resilience and attaining the goals of the Sendai framework by facilitating the exchange of best practises, lessons learned, and creative financial solutions.
Addressing Common Challenges:
- Based on risk levels and economic growth, different economies take a different approach to the financial management of catastrophic risks.
- Recurrent issues still exist, including those related to data collection and processing, improving the capacity for risk assessment and modelling, and obtaining complete coverage of catastrophic hazards.
Role of the DRRWG
- The DRRWG’s role is to give a thorough review of financing and risk assessment procedures used in various economies.
- Access to international (re)insurance markets will be made easier through the harmonisation of definitions and data collecting and analysis procedures.
- The DRRWG aims to address important elements of a thorough financial management plan for catastrophe risks, such as risk assessment, cost-effective and comprehensive insurance coverage, financial aid and compensation, and risk transfer mechanisms.
The pressing need for disaster preparedness
- The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report emphasises how vulnerable many people are to climate change, emphasising the need of disaster resilience.
- According to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, disaster risk and losses must be significantly reduced.
- Disaster resilience must be prioritised in light of the effects of climate change, but it can be difficult to bridge the gap between high-level goals and realistic investments.The G20 DRRWG can be extremely helpful in allocating funding towards projects that improve the resilience of society and economy to disasters.
Conclusion:
India’s G20 presidency offers a chance to prioritise catastrophe risk funding and direct disaster management activities.The G20 DRRWG can aid in bridging the gap between goals and realistic investments through its comprehensive approach and emphasis on financial management measures, ultimately improving disaster resilience on a global scale.
