This session aims to present geospatial information platforms and institutional arrangements that serve as the basis for facilitating the availability of data generated by various institutions, as well as its distribution, exchange and use to ensure that entities involved in DRM can have access to quality data for decision making in a quick and timely manner.

In the context of systemic risk exacerbated by climate change and socioeconomic phenomena, such as forced displacement, gentrification and establishment of communities in areas of greatest exposure, as well as a regional sociodemographic pyramid with a tendency towards groups under 35 years of age, this session will seek provide an innovative and permanent space for youth to develop a solid risk epistemological foundation built from local experiences.

This, in turn, will represent a local approach towards meeting the objectives and goals of the Sendai Framework, since it will guarantee "leaving no one behind" and will take up the needs of groups in a particularly vulnerable situation.

Based on the projects worked on during ResilienceTech22, the improvement of Early Warning Systems will be deepened based on the conditions inherent to youth: accessible, simple, low-cost and realistic solutions for the given context.

Uncontrolled forest and rural fires have significant impacts on societies, economies and the environment. Every year around 33 million hectares are affected in Latin America and the Caribbean, impacting forests but also crops, livestock and other sectors and activities essential for livelihoods and food security. fires can severely affect highly vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants - 80% of indigenous peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean live in forests (FAO, 2021).

The event will present best practices for fire management and fire prevention based on the integration of monitoring activities, risk reduction, response preparations, and restoration, in line with the 5Rs approach based on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

A multi-stakeholder and representative panel will present initiatives and concrete experiences to reduce the risk of fires in the region, integrating local, national, regional and global perspectives. Among these perspectives stand out:

• The comprehensive approach to fire management proposed by the agencies of the UN system for LAC and the global platform for fire management.
• The approximation of the regional network of fire experts.
• Public policies for fire management in Argentina.
• Municipal early warning systems for the prevention and mitigation of fires in Bolivia.

During the COP27 climate change conference, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in, last November 2022, the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, announced “The Executive Action Plan for the Early Warnings for All Initiative (EW4ALL)”.   This initiative aims to boost new action to ensure every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within the next five years in line with Target G of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.  

The need for people´s centered early warning systems is urgent as the number of recorded disasters has increased five-fold, driven by vulnerability and exposure conditions of communities, human-induced climate change and more extreme weather events, as well as, by other hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and more recently pandemics. Peoples centered early warning systems are widely regarded as a relatively affordable and effective way of protecting people and assets. Early Warning Systems are a proven, robust, and feasible measure that save lives, and provide a tenfold return on investments.

Science and technology play a major role in reaching Target G of the Sendai Framework, as well as the ambitious Executive Action Plan for the EW4ALL initiative. Those objectives would be only possible with modern science, reducing vulnerability and exposure, sustained systematic observing networks for multiple hazards, daily international exchange of quality data, access to high-quality early warning products, the translation of forecasts into impacts, plus advances in telecommunications.

This will only be possible if disaster risk governance mechanisms that ensure bridging science and technology and effective MHEWS are in place.

This session is linked to two main priorities of the Sendai Framework which can contribute to its implementation:

Priority 2: Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk

Presenting the collaboration to develop innovation fund mechanisms from the experience of CRGR-civil society network in risk management of Central America- and the NEAR network at a global level.

Priority 4: Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Building Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Presenting Response Capacity Index, the tool and methodology developed by the IHCIT for municipalities to assess their disaster response capacity, will be an example of the use of data and knowledge management for improved capacities and decision-making.

The session also contributions to advance the SDGs:

SDG #11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

The session will present innovative practices and experiences that advance the power and leadership of multi-sector local actors in disaster risk reduction.

This event will report on the progress and challenges of Central America and the Dominican Republic in the implementation of the Central American Policy on Integrated Risk Management (PCGIR) contained in the Declaration of the VI Consultative Forum of the PCGIR, whose results will contribute to the construction of the Regional Plan for Integrated Disaster Risk Management 2024-2028, outlining a roadmap.

This session will review progress towards a more inclusive and resilient future for all people, discussing how the region is working to support the participation of groups disproportionately impacted by disasters in disaster risk reduction planning and how to strengthen this commitment by 2030.

This session will present an assessment of the vulnerability and risk of 15 UNESCO Global Geoparks and Biosphere Reserves and Biosphere Reserves, carried out through a new science-based tool, in the hope that it will be an opportunity to exchange ideas and build partnerships.

This technical session aims to address the challenges of an increasingly interconnected and globalised world by providing a space to share experiences, discuss approaches and present recommendations, facilitating dialogue and exchange on how to better understand and assess systemic risks as the main basis for decision-making processes.

This session will present three examples of SDC-supported projects in the Andean countries and Central America, and will analyse how Early Warning Systems (EWS) and anticipatory action are an effective tool that connects communities, science and technology to reduce disaster losses and damage.