UNDRR and the National Secretary for Protection and Civil Defense discuss enhancing urban resilience in Brazil with MCR2030 cities

UNDRR Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean participated on Thursday 29th, September 2022 in the latest edition of the “Bate Papo com Defesa Civil” (Chat with the Civil Defence), which aimed to address the importance of local governments in the implementation of the National Policy on Protection and Civil Defence and the Sendai Framework.  

Starting in June this year, the "Chat with the Civil Defence” is a space created to foster reflection and contribution on the actions of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery covered in the National Policy for Protection and Civil Defence. The event takes place once a month and is an opportunity to establish debates with experts from various fields on relevant topics, in addition to expanding social participation and the culture of risk and disaster management.  

The event was moderated by Lucas Alexandre, National Secretary for Protection and Civil Defence, with the special participation of Nahuel Arenas, Deputy Head of the UNDRR Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean, and Adriana Campelo, Regional Coordinator for the Americas and the Caribbean of the Making Resilient Cities 2030 (MCR2030) initiative.  

Nahuel Arenas insisted on the relevance of the subnational level and territories in achieving the Sendai Framework's disaster risk reduction targets and referred to the importance of combining in the local resilience agenda political commitment, creativity in public action, and the formation of partnerships with all sectors of society. Adriana Campelo followed him and emphasized the importance of the early institutionalization of the local resilience agenda and the integration of the Municipal Resilience Plan with the rest of the urban planning and climate adaptation policies.  

Sidnei Furtado invited Brazilian municipalities to make a transition towards implementing concrete risk reduction actions, in alignment with the new focus of MCR2030. To achieve this, he urged for enhanced support at the national and local level governments to continuously build urban resilience.  

Fernanda Jucá concluded the event by noting the benefits of adopting a systemic approach in planning climate and disaster resilience actions in Natal and recognizing the need for Brazilian municipalities to increase their capacities in surveying damage and financing risk mitigation and prevention actions.   

Watch the full recording of the event: