IDRLF Incheon 2024

Overview

All-of-Society Capacity Development and Education for Urban Disaster Risk Reduction

The 3rd Forum focused on the capacity developmentneeds of local governments for disaster risk reduction (DRR). Since 2022, Incheon Metropolitan City — a Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) Resilience Hub — has organized the Forum every year with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea and UNDRR ONEA & GETI, as an annual platform for sharing experience and possible solutions for greater urban and local resilience in the face of disasters and climate change. National and local leaders from Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions gathered to exchange DRR knowledge and expertise.

‘Capacity’ is the combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within an organization, community or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience — including infrastructure, institutions, knowledge, skills and leadership — and ‘capacity development’ is the process by which these are systematically strengthened over time. The Forum set out from the recognition, underscored by the Political Declaration of the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework (2015–2030) adopted in May 2023, that its goal and targets cannot be achieved without adequate capacity and the finance and technology to support it.

Acknowledging that disaster risk reduction is the concern of the entire society, the Forum addressed strategies for building capacity at all levels and across stakeholders, from the household to the national government. Sessions showcased national-to-local capacity development support, community education and training, city-to-city cooperation through MCR2030, and the role of academia and research institutions, and Songdo Smart City’s experience in disaster governance was also introduced. The Forum was supported by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and held in cooperation with the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS).