Minister of Municipality Stresses Importance of Understanding Disaster Threats in the Arab World

HE Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi stressed on Sunday the importance of being aware of the threats of disasters and the factors that could increase their risk.
HE the Minister added that understanding such threats can be done by evaluating the current condition in the Arab World and reviewing the experiences of Arab countries in the field. His Excellency was speaking at the opening ceremony of the third preparatory Arab conference on disaster risk reduction. The event is hosted by the State of Qatar and organized by the Arab League in cooperation with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) Regional Office for Arab States. 
The conference is an important platform for Arab countries to hold a dialogue and reach a unified Arab position they can present during the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will take place in Cancun in Mexico. 
HE the Minister noted that holding the conference reflected the commitment of Arab countries to the field of disaster-risk reduction. This year's meeting, His Excellency added, builds on the previous two which saw Arab countries adopt the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The previous two meetings also yielded the Aqaba and Sharm el Sheikh declarations on disaster risk reduction. 
HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment highlighted that adopting the Sendai Framework was one of the key outcomes of the previous meetings, as it helped merge international frameworks with regional and national strategies in the Arab World. 
His Excellency also noted the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Sendai Framework must all be linked when developing a disaster risk-reduction plan. HE the Minister said that the main pillar for enhancing Arab efforts in that field will be by enhancing governance through the placement of national strategies. The setup of early warning system and swift response to disasters is also an important factor, His Excellency added. 
For her part, head of the Arab League delegation HE Ambassador Shahira Hassan Wahbi reviewed the disasters that the Arab world is subjected to and focused in her speech on the efforts of Arab countries to face that challenge. She noted that there was a political will to limit the threat of disasters in the region, but maintained that it requires activation by establishing the necessary institutions and national system. 
The ambassador highlighted that drought was the biggest disaster facing the Arab world. She noted that drought could have severe implications on food and water security of Arab countries, which requires placing comprehensive strategies to deal with such a danger. She added that Arab countries suffer from weak investment in scientific research, particularly in the field of risk reduction. She stressed on the importance of enhancing scientific research in the field by improving the technologies used and by updating databases to help scientists and decision makers in their efforts of reducing disaster risk. 
Another challenge Wahby alluded to was the population and urban growth in the Arab world. She noted that much of that growth was not planned and so carries a risk with it. She said that one of the solutions to this problem would be to establish strong partnerships between the public sector, private sector, and civil society. 
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Wahby praised the State of Qatar's hosting of the event. She added that the conference was an important step in dealing with disaster risks. She stressed that Qatar took a brave step in hosting the event as it will allow Arab countries to have a unified position in the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Cancun. 
This year's conference discusses will discuss the efforts in limiting disaster risks ahead of the international conference in Cancun. A host of Arab and UN delegations participate in this year's event. It also represents an important opportunity for Arab countries to discuss the progress they made in applying the Sendai framework regionally. 
The first preparatory Arab conference on disaster risk reduction was held in Aqaba in Jordan back in March 2013. The second conference took place more than a year later in September 2014, it was held in Sharm el Sheikh.

Source: QNA