Makati and Incheon city-to-city learning on climate resilience and heatwave management

Source(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Office in Incheon for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction Incheon Metropolitan City City Government of Makati Asian Institute of Management Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030)

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Global Education and Training Institute (GETI) and Incheon Metropolitan City welcomed a delegation from Makati City in the Philippines for a study visit organized by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) on 20 August 2024.

The half-day visit is part of a customized leadership program on legislation for climate action and sustainability for Makati City councilors. 13 participants including city councilors, officials from Makati City as well as an AIM professor engaged in interactive discussions on urban resilience, climate change adaptation and heatwave management.

UNDRR GETI introduced the concept of urban resilience and the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative and commended Makati City, the first MCR2030 Resilience Hub in the Philippines, for being one of the first cities to engage in urban disaster risk reduction, adopting the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities as a tool for city planning, and institutionalizing various mechanism supporting continuous enhancement of disaster and climate risk governance. The delegation was also introduced to the new addenda of the Scorecard focusing on climate resilience and discussed some sample indicators in the context of Makati City.

During the visit, participants also had an opportunity to learn from the direct experience and good practices of Incheon Metropolitan City, the first MCR2030 Resilience Hubs in Asia-Pacific.

Ms. Sung-Ah An, Deputy Director of Incheon Metropolitan City, introduced the city’s comprehensive organizational and financial structures for disaster resilience, its safety management plans, and institutional and community capacity building efforts. She also introduced Incheon’s heatwave management policy, including the installation of heatwave mitigation facilities such as shade screens, cooling fogs and the provision of heatwave shelters. Incheon actively fulfills its role as an MCR2030 Resilience Hub by fostering city-to-city exchanges, hosting study tours of Incheon and actively publishing its best practices. It also hosts the annual International Disaster Resilience Leaders Forum.

“The city operates an emergency system that coordinates the efforts of various departments, counties and districts to guide their responses based on the severity of the heatwave warning level. Big data analysis is used to target the provision of heatwave reduction facilities and heatwave shelters towards the most vulnerable populations. For instance, we use big data to identify areas with the highest surface temperatures, a high number of vulnerable families, or a lack of nearby heat shelters.”
Ms. Sung-Ah An, Deputy Director, Incheon Metropolitan City

Incheon manages disasters, traffic, fire and environmental pollution 24 hours a day through intelligent CCTVs and IoT sensors. The delegation also visited the IFEZ Smart City Operation Center to see the system in action. They were impressed by the use of the city’s CCTV networks to detect crime and alert law enforcement units for timely intervention.

“We appreciate Incheon Metropolitan city’s use of AI, IoT and other technology for urban resilience and climate adaptation. The new Climate Resilience Scorecard has also emphasized the need to efficiently mobilize financial resources for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. We would need to gather various stakeholders to evaluate our city with the full Scorecard and identify our strengths and areas for improvement.”
Jimwel Honrejas, Administrative Officer, City Government of Makati.

Mr. Alf Blikberg, Programme Management Officer at UNDRR ONEA & GETI, noted, "All cities can do more and do better in disaster risk reduction, and it is very important to stay updated. This study visit is a great opportunity for Makati to share its success stories and good practices with cities around the world, and to learn from Incheon. We look forward to more exchanges between cities.”

MCR2030 is a United Nations-led global partnership that has mobilized more than 1,700 local governments from 86 countries and territories, representing 556 million people, committed to strengthening their disaster and climate resilience. Thirty-two MCR2030 municipalities have been recognized as Resilience Hubs and global leaders in disaster and climate risk reduction. This recognition is accorded to a select few cities that possess a track record of reducing their own disaster and climate risk and who also commit to helping other municipalities do the same. This study visit resonates the importance of city-to-city learning and exchange and the role of Resilience Hubs in fostering collaboration and network among cities on disaster risk reduction and climate resilience.