On behalf of Campinas, mayor receives the "Resilience Hub" title in celebratory event

On December 21, 2021 Campinas (SP, Brazil) became one of the first cities in the Americas and the Caribbean to be recognized as a "Resilience Hub" of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative. After this announcement, on January 12, 2022, Mayor Dario Saadi received the certificate, on behalf of the city, from the captain of the hands of Military Police, Felipe Zaupa, in representation of Colonel PM Romanek, chief secretary of the Military House and state coordinator of Protection and Civil Defense. 

Resilience Hubs are cities, municipalities, or other local entities that have demonstrated leadership and commitment in incorporating risk and resilience into municipal policies and approaches. Furthermore, they commit to take action to address disaster and climate risks and to develop and implement Disaster Risk Reduction strategies and plans in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and contributing to the achievement of the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

After ten years of continuous commitment as a Role Model City of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, numerous implementations of DRR projects and of the Public Health System Resilience Scorecard, Campinas became an example of urban resilience and climate adaptation in the region. The city's local resilience plan, formulated with the assistance of UNDRR, demonstrates good practices in each of the Ten Essentials. Now, Campinas will serve as Resilience Hub for three years, committing to continue developing their urban resilience and integrating disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation actions while inspiring other cities to do the same. 

At the certification ceremony, mayor Saadi highlighted that the certification received by Campinas is the result of more than ten years of ongoing work and commitment by the Civil Defense, Secretary of Environmental Affairs and Sustainable Development and other municipal agencies of the city.

"This award is a pride for the capacity that the city had in these last years to build public policies for Campinas to become a resilient city, recognized by the UN in the prevention of natural disasters. I want to extend this award to all servers of the technical bodies and other agencies that have been doing concrete work in the city of Campinas", said Saadi. 

Captain Zaupa of the State Civil Defense also congratulated the team’s commitment and stated that "Campinas is being, deservedly, decorated as a Resilience Hub. This represents proactivity, preparing the city for risk situations". 

A video was presented at the ceremony, with a statement by the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean (UNDRR-ROAMC), Raul Salazar, who exalted the trajectory of Campinas to become a resilient city and recognized the city’s engagement with building resilience.

Salazar further noted “As a Resilience Hub, Campinas not only positions itself as a reference for the MCR2030 initiative at the regional and global level, but also commits to act as a mentor for other local governments, mainly in three areas: Acting as a Hub of relationships, partnerships and advocacy; a Hub of knowledge and learning; and a Hub of services and technical assistance”. 

The National Secretary of Civil Defense of the Ministry of Regional Development, Colonel Alexandre Lucas, also in video, congratulated Campinas for the achievement and stressed that the city will serve as an example to other municipalities in Brazil which is one of the key roles expected from the MCR2030 Resilient Hubs.  

Other participants in the ceremony were the Secretary of Environmental Affairs and Sustainable Development, Rogério Menezes; the councilor Débora Palermo, representing the Mayor, Zé Carlos; Colonel Eglis Chiachirini, commander of the 7th Military Police Fire Brigade; the executive director of the Metropolitan Agency of Campinas (Agemcamp), Odair Dias; the coordinator of the Centre for Disaster Studies and Research (CEPED) of Unicamp, Professor André Ferrão and the assistant secretary of ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) for South America, Rodrigo Corradi. 

Campinas joined other cities recognized as Resilience Hub for demonstrating their commitment as well as progressive policy and advocacy work to address disaster and climate risks. However, each Resilience Hub also focuses on distinctive objectives following each city's strategic potential and capacity. The director of the Civil Defense of Campinas, Sidnei Furtado, explained that as a Resilience Hub Campinas offers a unique opportunity for mentoring other cities: "With our integration strategy, especially with the Secretariats of Environmental and Health Affairs, we have an enormous possibility of advancing in projects and partnerships to help the UN (MCR2030) in the adhesion of other municipalities", said Sidnei. 

"Campinas is recognized as an international leader in building resilience and is committed to working to integrate various municipal agencies, the community, and the private sector to implement public policies for disaster risk reduction. and, especially at this time, seeking to develop coping mechanisms with inclusion policies in post-covid recovery", Saadi, 2021. 

Over the years, Campinas has demonstrated efforts to integrate ecological approaches to disaster risk reduction through Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Vegetation Cover Recovery Program. Also, their implementation of an Early-Warning System, an Emergency Operations Center and an Integrated Monitoring Center has improved Campinas's resilience and has supported the emergency management operations in other cities at the metropolitan level. Campinas's governance systems has proved their commitment to improving resilience beyond the municipal boundaries. For example, the Resilient City Committee has up-to-date risk data and financial support from the metropolitan and state levels. As a Resilience Hub, Campinas is committed to continuing these efforts by fostering partnerships and collaborations for disaster risk reduction through activities and city-to-city knowledge exchanges with other cities in the region.  

Cities interested in becoming Resilience Hubs or taking the first steps to build their resilience along the MCR2030 roadmap can sign up here.