Ban urges recognition of communities reducing disaster risk

In his message for the International Day for Disaster Reduction, 13 October 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon maintained this year’s observance of the Day is dedicated to the “power of traditional, indigenous and local knowledge.”

He referred to the devastating storm which hit Vanuatu in March 2015, noting how the force of the storm led to expectations that there would be great loss of life, but “thankfully, this was not the case.”

“One reason was that cyclone shelters built in the traditional style from local materials, saved many lives,” said Ban, adding traditional and indigenous knowledge is the indispensable information base for many societies seeking to live in harmony with nature and adapt to disruptive weather events, a warming globe and rising seas.

He further mentioned Cameroon where “low-tech local knowledge passed down from generation to generation helps farmers to cope with drought by soaking maize and bean seeds before planting.”

He highlighted the significance of resilience as the sum of many such acts of disaster risk reduction at the local level.

The UN chief then referred to the impacts of climate change in the Arctic region, saying “changes that affect the availability of traditional food sources highlight the challenge that climate change presents for all of humanity, not just people living in the Arctic."

According to Ban, local knowledge of the impacts of urbanization, population growth, eco-system decline and greenhouse gas emissions is especially important in an era when more and more disasters are climate- and weather-related.

“The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction recognizes the importance of community-level engagement in disaster risk reduction. It also underlines how traditional knowledge can complement scientific knowledge in disaster risk management.  Building resilience to disasters is also a key feature of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, the framework that will guide our efforts to end poverty and promote shared prosperity on a healthy planet by 2030,” Ban said in the message.

MS/PR