All-woman panel of mayors allied with MCR2030 shares climate adaptation and risk management practices in the II National Summit of ICLEI Brazil
On 6 June 2023, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) participated in the II National Summit of ICLEI Brazil, in virtue of the two organisations’ co-presidency of the MCR2030 initiative.
Adriana Campelo, MCR2030 Coordinator for the Americas and the Caribbean, presented the main findings of the mid-term review of the Sendai Framework and MCR2030’s support services available for local governments at the Dialogues for Resilience with Mayors - Adaptation actions combined with risk management. The roundtable, composed entirely of female political leaders, aimed to exchange learning on the challenges and opportunities of adaptation and disaster risk management at the local level.
Inamara Melo, in representation of the Resilience Directorate of Brazil’s Ministry of Environment, noted the imperative to integrate climate adaptation goals in a transversal way to all priority sectors of urban policy (infrastructure, housing, etc.).
Cintia Ribeiro, Mayor of Palmas (TO), the only Brazilian capital run by a woman, established the need to enmark resilience public policies in municipal legislation, so that climate action does not suffer discontinuity and setbacks according to the passing of mayors.
Renata Sena, Mayor of Francisco Morato (SP) and President of the Permanent Commission on Cities Affected or Subject to Disasters of the National Front of Mayors, presented, among other actions, the city’s Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan based on UNDRR's 10 principles for making cities resilient.
Cristina Vilaça, Vice Mayor of Barcarena (PA, candidate to MCR2030 Resilience Hub) mentioned the actions carried out in Barcarena with the MCR2030 initiative, including the structuring of the Municipal Resilience Committee and the elaboration of the Resilience and Risk Reduction Plan.
All speakers emphasized the benefits of adopting a gender perspective to better understand climate change and its disproportionate impact on women, but also in strengthening the leadership role that women can occupy, both in communities and in the local and national political arena.
Despite making up more than half of the Brazilian population, only 37 of the 497 cities in Brazil are run by women. In contrast, municipal managers agree to note the predominance of female leaders in community-led resilience actions – i.e., risk prevention, public education, and post-disaster recovery.
"In the face of increasingly intense climate disaster impacts, we need to ensure social inclusion in risk reduction, including issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, anti-racism, protection of indigenous peoples' rights, and socio-economic justice. MCR2030 provides municipalities with tools, such as the Scorecard’s Addenda, to strengthen this inclusive management of resilience and risks."
Adriana Campelo, MCR2030 Coordinator in the Americas and the Caribbean, UNDRR
Speakers at the table:
Michelle Ferreti, Cofounder and Director of Alziras Institute.
Cinthia Ribeiro, Mayor of Palmas
Renata Sene, Mayor of Francisco Morato
Fátima Daudt, Mayor of Novo Hamburgo
Ana Paula Matos, Vice-Mayor of Salvador (participation by recorded statement)
Cristina Vilaça, Vice Mayor of Barcarena (participation by recorded statement)
Adriana Campelo, Regional Coordinator of the MCR2030 Initiative for the Americas and the the Caribbean, UNDRR
Suelma Rosa - Head of Reputation and Corporate Affairs Brazil, Latin America and the Caribbean at Unilever
Inamara Melo - Resilience Director at the Ministry of Environment
Ana Wernke, Institutional Relations Coordinator of ICLEI Brazil