1,000 cities commit to disaster resilience

Source(s): Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030)

The Bangladeshi municipality of Pangsha has become the 1,000th member of a global partnership of local governments committed to strengthening their disaster resilience.

The district authority near Rajbari City, in the Greater Dhaka area, joined Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) to support the scale up of its effort to protect lives, livelihoods, and its local development in an era of escalating disaster risk.

Pangsha, with a population of 37,000, is situated close to the Padma River (Padma means Lotus Flower in Sanskrit). The district is highly exposed to cyclones and floods as well as contending with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and global Climate Emergency.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Ms. Mami Mizutori heralded MCR2030’s 1,000-city milestone.

“Our future is urban, and such settlements are the drivers of economic development and social progress,” Ms Mizutori said.

“Pangsha along with all the local governments that have joined MCR2030 recognize the urgency to prevent and reduce their disaster risk. They also acknowledge how international partnership and collaboration can support these efforts.

“The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and all MCR2030 core partners will continue to strive to leave no municipality behind on their pathway to inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development.”

MCR2030 is a United Nations-convened global network of local governments which currently covers more than 360 million people. Twelve core partners have committed to supporting MCR2030: C40 Cities; Resilient Cities Network; ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability; IFRC; JICA; UCLG; UN HABITAT; UNDP; UNDRR; UNOPS; World Bank; & World Council on City Data.

MCR2030 also has almost 200 service providers registered on its online platform that offer a variety of services and tools to support local governments to strengthen their disaster resilience.