The workshop brought more than 54 participants from the government, governmental and non-governmental organizations, DRR stakeholders, UN agencies, and international organizations in Palestine to collect information on the implementation of the Sendai Global Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and to put forward recommended measures to accelerate progress towards achieving its objectives by 2030.

The MOU focuses on creating two national strategic plans for disaster risk reduction and raising disaster risk awareness among the general public. The University’s Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Center participated in the workshop as a member of the technical team of the National Center for Disaster Risk Management.

The workshop focused on the retrospective review of what has been accomplished during 2015-2022 and the prospective review of 2023-2030, seeking to gain new perspectives and insights through working group discussions and public discussions. The workshop came to facilitate stocktaking on progress, identifying changes in context, and developing recommendations for prioritized, accelerated, and integrated cooperation and action in Palestine.

The consultation results will support the preparation of the voluntary national report for Palestine by its Government and the regional report for the midterm review of the Sendai Framework in the Arab Region prepared by the UNDRR.

During the opening session of the workshop, Prof. Jalal Al-Debik briefed the attendees about the “Integrating Resilience in Local Governance in West Bank and Gaza” project, funded by the World Bank, and managed by the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF), for the benefit of the National Disaster Risk Management Center in Palestine (PALDRM) in cooperation with the Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Center at An- University, which is responsible for coordination and implementation of all the project’s phases.

He noted that the project’s mail goal is the formulation of resilience plans for local governments. He added that it aims to reach out to a target of around 20 local governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to facilitate a resilience planning process.

Furthermore, he explained that the project will include several activities including conduct of a multi-hazard risk assessment and mapping, development of guidelines on local resilience planning, formulation of resilience plans for pilot local governments, formulation of resilience standards for critical infrastructure, and capacity building of the National Disaster Risk Management Center (NDRMC).

The attendees were briefed on the project’s studies’ results, development and maps that have been completed so far, as well as about the other activities of the project.