The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers 17 goals, the eleventh of which is "Sustainable Cities and Communities", namely: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Under this major goal, there are ten targets, the fifth of which is "By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations".

● Current Situation

About the World

Global Agreements Reinforce Importance of Disaster Risk Reduction

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is an integral part of social and economic development, and is essential if development is to be sustainable for the future. This has been recognized by several global documents on DRR and sustainable development. The Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World (1994), as the first major international framework for disaster risk reduction, recognized the interrelation between sustainable development and DRR.

Ever since, this close interrelation was continuously strengthened within the key global agreements, from MDGs to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (Johannesburg, September 2002), to the “Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015)” and to the “Future We Want” (Rio, June 2012), to the Sendai Framework for DRR (Sendai, Mach 2016) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (New York, September 2015).

Text and photo source: un.org 

About China

Vigorously Promote Disaster Prevention and Mitigation

Photo source: time-weekly.com

China has made tremendous headway in building its resilience to disasters in recent decades. Against a backdrop of rapid economic growth and an ever-changing climate that threatens to increase the frequency and severity of adverse natural events, China has been making headway to reduce vulnerability and prepare for the inevitable. Facing the specter of intensifying disaster risk，China is moving apace with its resilience building efforts — from emergency response and protective infrastructure, to developing agricultural insurance products. 

Text source: worldbank.org

●  Cases

About the World

Making Cities Resilient 2030

Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a unique cross-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience through advocacy, sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing mutually reinforcing city-to-city learning networks, injecting technical expertise, connecting multiple layers of government and building partnerships. There are 1119 MCR2030 cities with 364,183,085 peoples. 

Through delivering a clear 3-stage roadmap to urban resilience, providing tools, access to knowledge and monitoring and reporting tools, MCR2030 will support cities on their journey to reduce risk and build resilience. 

MCR2030 operates at two levels simultaneously. At the global level, the MCR2030 implementation and delivery strategy is negotiated, agreed and formed by the Core Partners coordinated through the Global Coordinating Committee (GCC) supported by the MCR2030 Global Secretariat served by UNDRR.

At the regional level, the Regional Coordinating Committees (RCCs) will be responsible for coordinating and ensuring synergies among regional partners in providing technical support to cities to empower them to progress along the resilience roadmap. 

Text and photo source: undrr.org

About China 

Catastrophe Insurance Dissolves Huge Compensation Risk

Photo source: 163.com

Shenzhen is a coastal with where natural disasters such as typhoons and rainstorms occur frequently and may cause huge property losses and serious casualties. Since 2014, Shenzhen government has started to pilot the catastrophe insurance system, which disperses the risks caused by natural disasters and serious man-made calamities. It has played a better role as a "cushion" and social "stabilizer" of catastrophe risks for the city.

Catastrophe insurance in Shenzhen is underwritten by five insurance companies, namely PICC, CPIC, Pacific，China Life and Ping An Property and Casualty Company. The "coinsurance" jointly formed by the five insurance companies fully resolves the risk of huge compensation caused by catastrophe. Since the pilot catastrophe insurance system began in 2014, 5287 people have been rescued through catastrophe insurance, and 16.3 million yuan of compensation has been paid to rescue assistants.

Text source: sznews.com

●  Background

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiated by the United Nations

On 1 January, 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 169 targets, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit — officially came into force. Countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.