UNDRR ROECA Chief met HE Ambassador of Portugal to discuss EFDRR updates

Mr. Octavian Bivol, UNDRR ROECA Chief, met with HE Rui Manuppella Tereno, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Portugal to Belgium. During the meeting, Mr. Bivol updated HE Ambassador Tereno on the preparations for the 2021 European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) and passed the gavel to Portugal, the host country of the Forum. The 2021 EFDRR comes at a critical moment for all nations as an unprecedented opportunity to build back better and foster green and resilient recovery. In this regard, the Forum will reflect on critical lessons learned and good practices identified to better address and manage systemic risks, especially in the face of severe climate change impacts.

The EFDRR brings together 55 Member States, stakeholders and partners from Europe and Central Asia committed to explore how to think and act differently to reduce disaster risk and the underlying vulnerability and exposure. The Forum builds on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the global roadmap to manage risk, to examine key priority areas of direct relevance to Europe and Central Asia, including in the context of the mid-term review of the Sendai Framework. Recognizing disaster risk reduction (DRR) as a central component to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advancing the ongoing Decade of Action commitments, the EFDRR will discuss and showcase how the Sendai Framework implementation concretely contributes to reducing disaster risk in Europe and Central Asia and to securing greater resilience in the region.