Workshop on advancing disaster risk reduction, urban strategy in GCC kicks off

KUWAIT, June 13 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Human Settlements Programme Regional Office for Arab Cities (UN-HABITAT Kuwait Office) and a number of other UN bodies and programs organized a workshop on "Advancing Disaster Risk Reduction and Urban Strategy in Gulf States" in Kuwait from 13 to 16 June 2011.
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Regional Office for Arab States (UNISDR Cairo Office), Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI), United Nations Development Programme Kuwait Office (UNDP Kuwait) and International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISoCaRP) are also contributing to the event.
General Fahed Al-Sharkawi, senior representative of Kuwait Government, opened the workshop with his welcoming speech, acknowledging the importance of integrating disaster preparedness into urban strategy.
Senior government officials from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and representatives of research institutions such as Jordan Arab Towns Organization, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and Kuwait University, An-Najah National University were present at the workshop.
Local and international media also participated in this event to create awareness on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Urban Strategy at the regional and local level in Gulf States.
Natural and human-caused disasters have resulted in extensive loss of life, damage to property, and harm to the environment.
In the last decade, more than 200 million people were affected annually by natural disasters particularly the factors such as inappropriate land use, poorly designed and constructed buildings and infrastructure, and an increasingly degraded environment put human settlements at risk.
In the Arab region, there were 276 disaster events over the last 25 years, which caused around 100,000 deaths, exposed 10 million people to risk their lives and made 1.5 million people homeless.
Historically, Arab countries have been particularly exposed to risks of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and droughts.
Tarek El-Sheikh, Chief of UN HABITAT Regional Office for Arab Cities has highlighted the climate change challenges impacting Arab cities.
He recalled recent floods in Yemen 2008, Morocco and Algeria that had disastrous impact on buildings and people. He added, Arab cities are prone to disasters. The major disasters that affect Arab cities are floods (45 percent), drought (9 percent) and earthquakes (5 percent).
Cities are realizing the dangers and are starting to device institutions, initiate mitigation plans and undertake prevention measures.
UN HABITAT cities in climate change initiative supported cities in prone areas to develop participatory mitigation strategies and put in place preventive action plans.
The Global Urban Campaign of UN-HABITAT promotes resilience in cities and encourages integration of disaster risk reduction measures and climate change assessments in sustainable development plans.
The workshop aims to shed light on this and introduce participants to tools and techniques that can help them in their prevention initiatives.
Adam Abdelmoula, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Kuwait Office, emphasized in his statement that successful integration of disaster resilient cities into sustainable urbanization can result not only in disaster risk reduction but can also bring benefits such as economic growth, fresh business and employment opportunities, more balanced ecosystems, better health and improved education. (end) azk.ta.ibi KUNA 131907 Jun 11NNNN