The document Cities and Resilience, while not directly speaking to the topic of disaster risk reduction (DRR), does acknowledge that the consequences of climate change can be best addressed through proper adaptation and implementation of DRR policies and practices. Like many DRR experts, those within the Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) field have also recognized that in order to counteract the negative effects of climate change, there needs to be an integrated effort made by actors at the local, national, and international levels. The document also acknowledges the need to increase support for local government and community-based CCA programs through partnerships with civic organizations, the establishment of roles for all relevant actors, and more research on the direct impact of climate change within specific cities. Nationally, it is argued that there needs to be a decentralization of power between national and local levels of government. The belief is that such sharing of authority should lead to the implementation of more contextually appropriate CCA measures. By extension, there is also a growing call to integrate CCA initiatives into development and urban planning practices. At the international level, international donor organizations are increasingly expected to recognize the role of local actors in the CCA process, and thus to increase funding for locally-oriented CCA projects while ensuring the transfer of new technologies needed to combat the consequences of climate change to local governments and communities. And lastly, the document discusses how cities can improve their capacity to analyze climate change risks in order to build urban resilience. It outlines how best to build partnerships, acquire technologies, and strengthen policy. The document proves beneficial because not only does it provide an overview on how to improve the resilience of cities, it also provides information on additional resources for those in search of a deeper understanding of this process, as well as instructions on carrying out resilience-building.
General Disaster Risk Reduction
Climate Change