Shaping the Sendai Framework

The Czech Republic was one of ten countries directly engaged in drafting the Sendai Framework. Its primary contribution was to emphasize the transition from disaster management to risk management, highlighting the importance of linking prevention with resilience building. Together with Japan, it also pioneered the development of indicators for DRR, which were later piloted at the global level. Today, these Sendai indicators are being considered for use in measuring the impacts of climate adaptation.

 

Financial and Programmatic Contributions

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regularly provides financial contributions to UNDRR to support the implementation of the Sendai Framework and its resulting programs, such as the UN GT initiative Early Warning for All – EW4A. Czechia also contributes to the IFRC-DREF Disaster Prevention Fund, and since 2022 has worked to connect relevant data holders like ITU and WMO with humanitarian project implementers (UNICEF, WFP, NGOs)— especially in cooperation with a group of African countries.

Since 2018, a dedicated bilateral grant program has targeted DRR, especially in the priority Least Developed Countries of Czechia’s bilateral development cooperation (Ethiopia, Cambodia, Zambia) and also in fragile states such as Indonesia or Nepal. These projects often focus on drought adaptation and early warning systems. A notable success is Cambodia, where Czech funding helped build a nationwide early warning system, now being expanded to Laos by Czech NGO People in Need.

Within bilateral development cooperation, The General Directorate of Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic supports civil protection capacities and integrated rescue system abroad, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Afghanistan, Jordan, and in the past Nigeria. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic supports further resilience initiatives within the framework of the joint resilience program with UNDP in the Sahel, with WFP in Libya, and also supports the innovative WFP LARA program in Africa, focused on the restoration of arid soils, including building local capacities.

 

European and International Leadership

During its EU Council Presidency (July–December 2022), the Czech Republic placed DRR at the heart of development and humanitarian policy. The outcome was internationally acclaimed Council Conclusions on DRR in the EU's external action, coupled with awareness-raising events in cooperation with UNDRR in Brussels (COHAFA and CODEV-PI working groups, I. European Humanitarian Forum), Prague (visit of UNDRR head Mami Mizutori at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Czechia for Climate week, conferences and seminars) and Geneva (workshop on the involvement of modern technologies and innovations in DRR) and also the involvement of the Czech Republic in the Team Europe Climate Adaptation and Resilience in Africa Initiative.

Workshops on practical solutions in DRR, mainly for fragile countries, are held annually within the European Humanitarian Forum and also in Geneva within the cooperation with the African group.

 

Long-Term Vision

The long-term goal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in international DRR is to support the real implementation of sustainable early warning systems in fragile countries (Africa, Indo-Pacific) and to create and replicate functional models at the local and national levels.

At the same time, we strive to link climate and DRR financing, solutions, and political support, including the appropriate utilization of the Loss and Damage Fund.

 

National priorities for the implementation of the Sendai Framework:

• Update strategic documents (most are valid until 2030)

• Address the solution of combined/multiple risks, their prevention, preparedness, and response

• Further develop the national early warning system and share experiences internationally

• Support the creation of platforms for disaster risk reduction at the regional and global levels to further improve disaster risk communication with citizens

• Address the possibilities of strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability

• Support the formulation of research topics in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate security

• In international cooperation, support the implementation of sustainable early warning systems in fragile countries and politically support the implementation of the Council Conclusions on DRR.

 

Priorities within UNDRR:

• Implementation of the UN GT initiative Early Warnings for All at the national, regional, and continental levels.

• Further linking the disaster risk reduction agenda with climate adaptation and security, including the use of Sendai Framework indicators to measure the impacts of adaptation measures.

• Strengthening cooperation with global environmental and climate funds (GEF, GCF, Loss and Damage Fund). In this context, the possibility of hosting the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage Secretariat within UNDRR and UNOPS to strengthen the coherence of their activities is being considered.

• Enhanced involvement of the private sector – development banks, international financial institutions, and companies – in the DRR agenda and its financing, from data creation and transfer, through telecommunications applications for end-users to insurance products and investments in the resilience of critical infrastructure.

• Strengthening the governance of prevention and DRR systems, including strengthening capacities for rapid response (early warning – early action).

• Improving coordination at the national and international levels between UNDRR, other UN agencies, specialized organizations, donors – states and financial institutions – and the private and non-profit sectors.

• Greater involvement of youth and women, a participatory approach to "last mile" DRR and resilience.

• Listening to the experiences and suggestions of all continents and diverse initiatives in the field of DRR.

• Expanding the donor base of UNDRR and also convincing donors to finance DRR across humanitarian, development, and peace and stabilization agendas.