Overview
The World Bank, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), together with other partners, organized the World Reconstruction Conference (WRC), on May 10-13, 2011. The conference was held within the Third Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland.
WRC was first large-scale global conference focused on natural disaster recovery and reconstruction. The WRC and the Global Platform brought together over 2,500 leaders, experts, policy makers, and practitioners, from government, international organizations, NGOs, academia, and the private sector from both developing and developed countries. Together they collected, assessed, and shared disaster reconstruction and recovery experiences and to put forth a policy dialogue for an effective international disaster recovery and reconstruction framework.
Rationale
Disasters are increasing worldwide with more devastating effects than ever before. According to preliminary analysis by Swiss Re, natural and man-made disasters in 2010 caused economic losses of US$222 billion, up from US$36 billion a year earlier. These disasters also claimed significantly more lives with nearly 260,000 killed in 2010 compared with 15,000 in 2009. The earthquake in Haiti alone claimed more than 222,000 lives, and the floods in Pakistan affected more than 20 million – startling figures of a trend that is only anticipated to intensify with future climate change.
Major public interventions for reconstruction and recovery often follow after disasters, diverting scarce resources originally intended for development programs. It is vital, therefore, to rebuild and recover in a manner that is sustainable, contributing towards the development agendas and programs of disaster-affected countries. When there is a lack of institutional capacity, coherent planning, and coordination between stakeholders, the chance for development is lost, funds are wasted, and the affected population is left additionally burdened. This phenomenon can be observed across the globe from reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina, haphazard recovery efforts after the earthquake in Haiti, and the lack of preventative measures even after the numerous floods that occur every year in Sub-Saharan Africa.
WRC Outcomes
- Provided a platform for recovery stakeholders from across the globe to share knowledge, experiences, and know-how for the first time on a number of complex issues in disaster recovery and reconstruction with the aim of ensuring that local communities receive what they need in reconstruction;
- Catalyzed processes to review and reflect on current reconstruction practices and to develop new thought leadership for more effective disaster reconstruction and recovery; and
- Developed proposals and recommendations for a global policy framework and key international standards for effective cooperation and coordination of recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Recommendations from the World Reconstruction Conference will be leveraged by the Global Platform’s consultative process and included into the Chair’s Summary. In addition, material from the conference as well as Conference Background Notes will be key input for the World Reconstruction Report (WRR) to be finalized about 10 months after the conference.
GFDRR, UNISDR, and other partners are committed to carrying forward the recommendations of the Conference as a part of the continued effort towards disaster risk reduction.
Format
These challenging issues of disaster recovery and reconstruction were addressed in diverse ways at the conference including:
High-Level Policy Panel: A high-level policy panel set the stage for the conference with key challenges of reconstruction debated with a selected group of prominent thought-leaders from government, international organizations, media, academia, and civil society.
Innovation Competition: WRC hosted an Innovation Competition that showcased new approaches, services, and products that were implemented in disaster recovery and reconstruction experiences around the world.
Thematic Sessions: Vulnerable Groups, Local Economy, Urban Housing, Environment, Health and Education, Infrastructure, Risk Financing, Needs Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation, Institutional Arrangements, IT Innovations, Fragile States, and Large-Scale Reconstruction.
Round Table Discussions: Rebuilding and Protecting Critical Infrastructure - Lessons from Japan and Other Countries; Strengthening Local Recovery - The Key to Building Back Better; and Way Forward Session - Moving Towards a Sustainable Reconstruction and Recovery Framework.
