The development of a coherent policy and framework for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation at the regional, national and local levels, the integration of disaster risk reduction into development planning and programmes, as well as the increase in national investment in disaster risk reduction within existing development budgets were among the topics debated during the discussion on the roles and responsibilties of parliamentarians within the framework of the International Roundtable of Parliamentarians meeting in Malta.
The international roundtable is a result of ongoing collaboration between the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), following from bilateral meetings between Mrs. Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Dr. Sergio Piazzi, PAM Secretary General.
Parliamentarians from the Mediterranean, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America convened on the invitation of the UNISDR and PAM with the objective to reach a common position and draft a joint document for the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as the Cop 15 - Copenhagen Conference to be held in December.
The primary aim of the organisers is to propose concrete actions that can be implemented at a national, regional and local level in disaster risk reduction and Climate Change Adaptation. Climate change is not only a question of changing temperatures and rising sea levels, but there are also a number of collateral consequences that impinge on the quality of the daily lives of mankind in all continents. The parliamentarians participating in the debate highlighted the specific vulnerabilities of their regions and how governments must act in order to prevent and manage disasters and how to contain related risks to the populations.
The Roundtable also delved into the immediate and long term benefits that can be achieved through a coherent policy and an integrated approach of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in the context of social, economic, environmental and human development.
‘Parliamentarians are the voice of their respective populations and their role is to work towards the implementation of tangible actions in view of the ever increasing climate risks the world is facing’, one parliamentarian commented.
The conference will draw to an end with the presentation of a draft common position to be shared at the COP 15, containing ways and actions to secure a coherent International Framework to use disaster risk reduction for immediate climate change adaptation at the COP 15.