Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Mami Mizutori holds a press conference to present Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes at the United Nations offices in Geneva, on Sept. 1, 2021. (File photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / Agence France-Presse)
MANILA, Philippines — A United Nations (UN) official is slated to visit the Philippines and launch this year’s largest biennial conference on disaster risk reduction in the Asia-Pacific, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Sunday.
Mami Mizutori, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Reduction, is set to meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. along with Cabinet secretaries in preparation for the 2024 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR).
The DENR said the conference will be launched on Friday and will gather representatives from the national and local government, private sector, academe and scientific institutions, civil society, international development partners, and other groups.
Meanwhile, the ministerial conference next year is expected to draw over 3,000 high-level international delegates.
READ: Why disaster preparedness should be part of your plan
“The APMCDRR serves as the primary regional platform, which brings together global leaders to monitor, review, and enhance cooperation for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at the regional level,” the DENR said.
On Sept. 26, Marcos issued Administrative Order No. 09 mandating the creation of an interagency committee led by the secretaries of the DENR and Department of National Defense for the 2024 APMCDRR.
Mizutori, who also heads the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, will also serve as the keynote speaker at the Barangay Leaders for Resilience Forum on Thursday.
The event will gather more than 300 barangay leaders from the Province of Bataan, Province of Rizal, Ormoc City, and Siargao, Surigao del Norte, the pilot sites of the DENR’s Project Transform (Transdisciplinary Approach for Resilience and Environmental Sustainability through Multistakeholder Engagement).
During the forum, the community leaders are expected to show their best practices in the fields of environmental protection, climate action, and disaster risk reduction.