A global consultative conference on disaster risks reduction and
post-2015 development agenda was held in Indonesia on February 19 by
the host government in coordination with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
Participants, who were Indonesian and
UN officials, foreign ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic
corps in Jakarta, discussed challenges to post-2015 development and
shared their viewpoints and experiences in implementing Millennium
Development Goals relating to natural disasters and conflicts.
The delegates stressed the important role of Asia-Pacific countries in
this field, as the nations are becoming a key driving force for global
economic growth while the region will suffer the most impacts of the
climate change in the future.
The conference discussed
several specific proposals on minimising natural disaster consequences,
including the goals of reducing the fatality of natural disasters by 50
percent by 2030 and economic losses caused by such disasters by 20
percent.
Addressing the gathering, Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono highlighted the importance of the UN’s
post-2015 development agenda as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will
be reviewed and assessed in 2015 and the world will continue facing a
lot of global challenges, particularly natural disasters as a
consequence of climate change.
According to the president,
during the 2000-2009 period, more than 2.2 billion people in the world
suffered from the impacts of natural disasters, nearly 840,000 of them
died. Besides, economic damages caused by natural disasters have
increased by 200 percent over the past 25 years.-VNA