As the Millennium Development Goals come to a close, a new, universal development agenda is expected to be adopted at a global UN summit in September, as well as a new climate agreement in Paris in December. In addition, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) is facilitating the development of a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction. This process will culminate at the 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR-III), scheduled to take place in March 2015 in Sendai, Japan.
WMO will be actively engaged in all three segments of WCDRR-III: intergovernmental, a multi-stakeholder and a public forum. The Secretary-General will participate in the different components of the intergovernmental segment where a WMO statement will be delivered. In the multi-stakeholder segment, WMO is the main organizing partner for sessions on early warning systems, integrated water resources management and on applying science and technology to disaster risk reduction decision-making. WMO will also support a number of other sessions in that segment. In the public forum, WMO will organize a symposium on multi-hazard early warning systems and service delivery and will issue a statement on its outcomes. In addition, WMO will contribute to the One-UN Booth and hold a joint WMO-Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) special exhibition focusing on forecasting and early warning systems.
The year presents an unprecedented opportunity for bringing the people of the world together to decide and embark on new pathways to meet the challenges of sustainable development and climate change. “2015: Time for Global Action” is a call to the UN System to unite together with key partners to build and sustain momentum for action using a common approach over the course of the year.
