1989-International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.
Given growing concerns about the impact of disasters, the UN General Assembly declared 1990-1999 the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). Initially, the IDNDR was largely influenced by scientific and technical interest groups. Still, widespread global awareness of the social and economic consequences of disasters caused by natural hazards developed as this decade progressed.[4]
[5].
1994-First world conference on disaster reduction and Yokohama strategy for a safer world.
The Yokohama strategy for a safer world: guidelines for the prevention of natural disasters, preparedness and mitigation, and its action plan, were adopted at the first world conference on disaster reduction.[6].
1999-International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).
The United Nations Economic and Social Council launched the ISDR in 1999, which was adopted by the General Assembly as an international framework to respond to the challenge of the increasing incidence and magnitude of disasters. UNISDR was created as an interdepartmental secretariat of ISDR alongside the Interdepartmental Working Group on Disaster Reduction. The mandate of UNISDR was then expanded to serve as a focal point within the United Nations System for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies in the activities for this purpose of the UN, regional organizations and socio-economic and humanitarian actions. Additional mandates include building public awareness and commitment, expanding networks and alliances, and improving knowledge of the causes of disasters and risk reduction options. All of this is based on the Yokohama strategy and its action plan as a continuation of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.
[7][8][9][10][11].
2002-The Johannesburg action plan.
The Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, highlighted that “an integrated, multi-hazard and inclusive approach to addressing vulnerabilities, risk assessment and disaster management – including prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery – is an essential element of a safer world in the 21st century.” The Johannesburg implementation plan provided UNISDR and the aforementioned Interdepartmental Working Group with a set of concrete objectives to integrate and generalize disaster risk reduction in development policies and processes.[12].
2005-Second world conference on disaster reduction and Hyogo Framework for action 2005-2015.
This conference was held in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan and adopted the "Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters", which currently serves as a guide to build and strengthen international cooperation to ensure that disaster risk reduction is used as a basis for national and international development plans.
2007-First session of the Global Platform for Disaster Reduction.
The General Assembly, in order to support the implementation of the Hyogo Framework, established a biennial platform for representatives of governments, NGOs, scientists, specialists, the private sector, international financial institutions and UN agencies to share experiences, identify areas to cover and provide strategic advice. 6 regional and more than 80 national platforms have also been established as multi-sector forums. Likewise, 5 regional platforms, in addition to assessing progress, focus on the details of the regional implementation plans of the Hyogo Framework. National platforms act as the national coordination body for disaster risk reduction.[13][14].
2011-2011-2020 Action Program for Least Developed Countries.
This program, called Istanbul, reflects the vision and strategy of the international community for the sustainable development of the least developed countries (LDC) for the decade 2011-2020, with great emphasis on developing their productive capacities. The Istanbul program recognized that the magnitude and impact of natural disasters have increased in recent decades, thereby threatening costly development gains in LDCs. It therefore encourages these countries to implement and integrate disaster risk reduction into their long-term national policies and plans.[15].
2012-United Nations Sustainable Development Conference.
This conference, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 20 to 22, 2012, also known as Rio 2012, produced the document "The Future We Want." Chapter V-A of this text deals with disaster risk reduction and establishes a firm foundation for discussions on a post-2015 framework to continue guiding nations after the Hyogo Framework expires that year.[16]
2014-Third international conference on small island states.
These developing countries, known by the acronym SID, suffer from specific problems regarding their development and disasters. For them, the Path of S.A.M.O.A. was created at this conference. (Intentional acronym: Samoa is a small island country, but the acronym, in English, is expedited action modalities for SID). It recognizes a critical need to increase the resilience of SIDs, strengthen monitoring of variables that may indicate a disaster (e.g. meteorological or seismic) and prevention, reduce vulnerability, increase awareness and increase preparedness to respond to and recover from disasters.[17].
2015-Third UN conference on disaster risk reduction and the Sendai Framework 2015-2030.
This conference was held in Sendai, Japan, from March 14 to 18, 2015. It brought together 6,500 delegates to the conference itself and 50,000 people to the associated public forum.[18] The conference adopted the Sendai Framework 2015-2030 for Disaster Risk Reduction as the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda.
The Sendai Framework contains 7 global objectives and 4 priorities for action. It succeeds the Hyogo Framework 2005-2015.[19] The Sendai Framework is a 15-year non-binding agreement that recognizes that the State has the lead role in disaster risk reduction (DDR), but that responsibility must be shared with other actors, such as local governments and the private sector. Its objective is:
''The substantial reduction of disaster risk and loss of life, health and economic, social, cultural and environmental assets of people, businesses, populations and countries.''[19].