CANCUN, Mexico, May 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- An updated
Disaster Resilience Scorecard to help cities and local government
agencies improve their preparedness and reduce risks from disasters
was launched today at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction. Developed for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
by AECOM (NYSE: ACM), IBM (NYSE: IBM) with support from USAID
and the European Commission, the Scorecard gives better access to
information, knowledge resources, and tools to effectively reduce
risks from the impacts of natural hazards and climate change.
Globally, 200 cities have already planned its deployment in the
next few months. They are all members of UNISDR's 3,500-strong
Making Cities Resilient Campaign.
Losses due to disasters from natural and man made hazards
including floods, storms and the impacts of climate change are
mounting and on average cost governments over $300 billion USD globally each year. The
Scorecard provides a set of assessments that cover the policy and
planning, engineering, organisational, financial, social and
environmental aspects of disaster resilience. Designed to be led by
local government authorities, the Scorecard aims to assist in
monitoring and reviewing progress in the implementation of the
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: 2015-2030, the global
plan to reduce disaster losses.
Robert Glasser, the
Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk
Reduction, said: "National governments have the primary
responsibility of implementing the Sendai Framework working with
many stakeholders, and the Scorecard is a valuable support."
"Disaster resilience is a broad and complex endeavor that
involves far more than just emergency response. It entails
thinking, planning and collaborating between agencies, governments,
private sector and communities in advance, during and after the
event," said Peter Williams, chief
technology officer, IBM Big Green Innovations. "The Disaster
Resilience Scorecard for Cities is a highly effective way to bring
city stakeholders together to anticipate, mitigate, prepare
for and recover from the effects of a hazard in a
timely and efficient manner."
Ben Smith, Director – Sustainable
Development, AECOM, and co-author of the scorecard, said, "Applying
the new scorecard can be an important first step towards building
resilience to disasters. Based on the feedback we've received so
far, we are confident the new Scorecard is pitched at an
appropriate level to facilitate productive conversation – most
likely through a short workshop – in cities. It can help
capture what works well and what needs to be improved and can
support cities in establishing action plans and prioritizing
investment to improve their resilience. We've also developed
supporting tools to make using the scorecard easier for
cities."
Greater Manchester in the UK
participated in a EU funded pilot project to implement the
Scorecard along with four other European cities, including Stoke on
Trent, Amadora, Arvika and Jonkoping.
Kathy Oldham, Head of Civil
Contingencies and Resilience Unit, Association of Greater
Manchester Authorities (AGMA), commented: "Using the Disaster
Resilience Scorecard gave us the opportunity to broaden and deepen
our understanding of resilience, bringing together partners from
across the city region in conversations to explore the different
issues the Scorecard highlights. Using the framework of indicators
and standards enabled us to create a snapshot of our current
resilience, to build new relationships between organizations who
have a role in mitigating the risks of emergencies and to draw on
ideas and innovation from across the globe."
The Scorecard is structured around the United Nation's Ten
Essentials of Disaster Resilience to enable cities to identify
priorities for investment and to track progress over time.
The goal is to guide cities towards optimal resilience, while
challenging complacency and reminding authorities and stakeholders
that there is always more to be done to ensure lasting resilience.
The new scorecard replaces UNISDR's Local Government
Self-Assessment Tool, with local governments now encouraged to use
the scorecard to set baselines, identify gaps and develop action
plans.
The Scorecard is a free self-assessment tool to be used by
cities or local government agencies. The full scorecard can be
accessed via the UNISDR website here.
Media contact:
AECOM
Catherine Llewellyn
Telephone: +44 (0)7388 948206
catherine.llewellyn@aecom.com
IBM
Jeannine Kilbride
+1 860 9972 6277
jkilbri@us.ibm.com
About AECOM
AECOM is built to deliver a better
world. We design, build, finance and operate infrastructure assets
for governments, businesses and organisations in more than 150
countries. As a fully integrated firm, we connect knowledge and
experience across our global network of experts to help clients
solve their most complex challenges. From high-performance
buildings and infrastructure, to resilient communities and
environments, to stable and secure nations, our work is
transformative, differentiated and vital. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM
had revenue of approximately $17.4
billion during fiscal year 2016. See how we deliver what
others can only imagine at aecom.com and @AECOM.
About IBM
For more information, visit
https://www-935.ibm.com/industries/energy/
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SOURCE IBM