UN secy-general appoints top NDMA official as special representative for disaster risk reduction
UN secy-general appoints top NDMA official as special representative for disaster risk reduction The Indian Express
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A Top Official at India’s National Disaster Management Authority Appointed as UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction
A top official at India’s National Disaster Management Authority has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as his special representative for disaster risk reduction.
Appointment of Kamal Kishore
Kamal Kishore (55) has been appointed as assistant secretary-general and special representative of the secretary-general for disaster risk reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), said Stéphane Dujarric, the secretary-general’s spokesperson, at the daily press briefing on Wednesday.
Kishore, in his current position at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), holds the rank of secretary to the government of India. He succeeds Mami Mizutori of Japan at UNDRR.
Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals
As part of India’s G20 presidency, Kishore led the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction. He also contributed to the development of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Climate Action Summit in 2019.
Kishore “brings to the position nearly three decades of experience in disaster risk reduction, climate action and sustainable development at the global, regional, national and local levels, having worked in government, the United Nations (UN) and civil society organisations”, Dujarric said.
Experience and Achievements
Before joining the NDMA, Kishore spent nearly 13 years with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Geneva, New Delhi and New York. During this time, he led global advocacy to integrate disaster resilience concerns in the Sustainable Development Goals and a global team of disaster risk reduction advisors to support UNDP-programme countries, a UN statement said.
As programme advisor, he also led the development of disaster and climate risk management related elements of the UNDP Strategic Plan (2014-17).
Prior to the UNDP, he served as director of information and research and manager of the Extreme Climate Events Programme, covering Indonesia, The Philippines and Vietnam at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok from 1996 to 2002, and as an architect at The Action Research Unit for Development from 1992 to 1994 in New Delhi, where he worked on post-earthquake reconstruction projects.
According to his profile on the NDMA website, Kishore has worked on disaster risk reduction and recovery issues for more than 22 years at the local, national, regional and global levels.
As UNDP’s regional advisor for South and South-West Asia, he supported more than 10 countries on a range of public policy and institutional development issues, while also advising them on the use of appropriate risk reduction tools and methodologies, it said.
Educational Background
Kishore holds a Master of Science in Urban Planning, Land and Housing Development from the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.
About UNDRR
Geneva-headquartered UNDRR is the UN’s focal point for disaster risk reduction and coordinates the UN-wide implementation of the Sendai Framework, which was the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and provides member states with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disaster.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- SDG 13: Climate Action
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
The article mentions the appointment of Kamal Kishore as the special representative for disaster risk reduction, which is directly related to SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities. Additionally, Kishore’s involvement in the development of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and his work on climate action and sustainable development connect to SDG 13 – Climate Action. The mention of Kishore’s role in the G20 Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction also highlights the importance of partnerships for achieving these goals, aligning with SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals.
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.
- SDG 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
- SDG 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries.
Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified are reducing the number of deaths, people affected, and economic losses caused by disasters (SDG 11.5), strengthening resilience to climate-related hazards and natural disasters (SDG 13.1), and enhancing the global partnership for sustainable development (SDG 17.16).
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
- Number of deaths caused by disasters
- Number of people affected by disasters
- Economic losses caused by disasters relative to global gross domestic product
- Resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
- Extent of multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development
The article does not explicitly mention specific indicators, but it implies that progress towards the identified targets can be measured through indicators such as the number of deaths caused by disasters, the number of people affected by disasters, economic losses caused by disasters relative to global gross domestic product, resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, and the extent of multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development.
4. Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations. | – Number of deaths caused by disasters – Number of people affected by disasters – Economic losses caused by disasters relative to global gross domestic product |
| SDG 13: Climate Action | 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries. | – Resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters |
| SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals | 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology, and financial resources to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries. | – Extent of multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development |
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Source: indianexpress.com
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