40 Arab Cities Participate in the Training Program on DRR and Urban Resilience for Arab Cities: Strengthening the Capacities of Local Governments
Dibba Al-Fujairah, UAE, 1-2 November 2022, The United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia (UCLG MEWA) organized a 2-day training on Disaster Risk Reduction and urban resilience for Arab Cities, in collaboration with the UNDRR Regional Office for Arab States, UCLG Learning, and Arab Towns Organization.
80 participants from 40 Arab cities joined the training, which aimed at increasing the awareness level of municipalities and local administrations on disaster risk reduction strategies; helping cities integrate disaster risk reduction and resilience building into development policies and strategies; helping local administrations to realize their shortcomings in managing and reducing disaster risks at both the theoretical and practical levels; providing city context and region-specific knowledge and tools on disaster risk reduction and urban resilience; expanding capacity building work in disaster risk reduction and resilience across the Middle East and West Asia; encouraging cities to participate in the Make Cities Resilient 2030 campaign; and following up with municipalities to help them build resilience strategies for their cities.
"The cooperation of Dibba Municipality in organizing this training comes as an affirmation of exerting further efforts to strengthen institutional capacities in order to reduce disaster risks and to emphasize the importance of benefiting from global experiences,” said Mr. Hassan Al Yamahi, Mayor of Dibba Al Fujairah opening the training programme.
This training has been developed to support all relevant local and regional stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction and resilience building in Arab cities, such as political leaders, technical staff from various municipal departments, and representatives of local administration associations.
In his turn, Mehmet Duman, UCLG-Middle East and West Asia Secretary General, highlighted the role of local governments in reducing disaster risks, “climate change has increased risk of disasters, the unprecedented crises must be addressed with innovative strategies incorporating local and regional governments.”
In recent years, losses associated with disasters have increased considerably. These trends are expected to become more pronounced with global population growth and rapid urbanization. People and assets in cities are increasingly exposed to hazards. The MENA region is prone to a multitude of hazards, some of which are amplified and affected by climate variability and climate change.
“As cities are the drivers of economic development and social progress, we need to be prepared and get them resilient,” said Sujit Mohanty, Chief of UNDRR ROAS in his opening remarks. “Here comes the importance of such training programs to increase the capacities of local governments as they are among the main ones responsible for making cities resilient.”
“We affirm our endeavor to achieve the goals of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 programme and we stress the importance of cooperation and concerted efforts to achieve our common goals." Ahmad Al Subeih, Arab Towns Organization Secretary General, added.
The Making Cities Resilient 2030 programme was presented during the training days, highlighting the MCR2030 dashboard and how to sign up and join the programme. Furthermore, the training manual “Fundamentals of Governance and Resilient Development,” which was previously developed by UNDRR, UN-Habitat, and UCLG, was utilized in this training programme.