The Fifth UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters (STSWD5) was held online on June 25, 2021, to raise awareness and promote actions globally regarding building back better towards a more resilient and sustainable society in the post-COVID-19 era by addressing issues on water and disasters. The UN Special Thematic Sessions on Water and Disasters have been held biennially since 2013.
Prior to the plenary session of STSWD5, ICHARM organized the Science and Technology Panel (S&T Panel), which was jointly facilitated by ICHARM Executive Director KOIKE Toshio and Prof. Gretchen Kalonji, the dean of Sichuan University. The opening remark was given by Prof. TANAKA Akihiko, the president of GRIPS, and the keynote speech was delivered by Prof. Xu Weilin, the executive vice-president of Sichuan University. Presentations followed by panelists representing global and regional key organizations such as UNESCO, WMO, UNDRR, the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) of Mexico, and the Southeast Asia Disaster Prevention Research Initiative (SEADPRI-UKM) of Malaysia. In the panel discussion, each panelist presented ideas on the concrete actions and their implementation. Attracting more than 160 viewers worldwide, the S&T Panel summarized the concrete actions: open science policy, systemic solutions, integrated and science-based actions, and tripartite cooperation among science, policy and operation. The summary was reported to STSWD5, convened soon after the S&T Panel.
The outcomes of STSWD5 are expected to be used as input to future global milestone events, including the future mid-term review processes on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the UN High-Level Political Forums, and the 4th Asia Pacific Water Summit in 2022.
(*) HELP website:
URL: https://www.wateranddisaster.org/fifth-un-special-thematic-session-on-water-and-disasters/
 |