The World Bank Tokyo DRM Hub was a key actor during the World Bosai Forum held in Sendai from November 25-28, 2017 and organized by Tohoku University in partnership with the International Disaster and Risk Conference (IDRC) in Davos, Switzerland.
Mr. Masato Miyazaki, Special Representative of the World Bank in Japan participated in the World Bosai Forum’s Opening Ceremony in a panel discussion on the implementation progress of the Sendai Framework in World Bank projects. In his remarks, Mr. Miyazaki highlighted how the Bank is investing in analytics and research to make disaster risk information open, accessible, understandable, and usable by developing countries. Moreover, Mr. Miyazaki emphasized how the World Bank is scaling up disaster risk reduction efforts advancing investments through innovative thematic initiatives on resilient transport infrastructure and safer schools.
Ms. Jolanta Kryspin-Watson, World Bank Lead DRM Specialist for Asia and Pacific Region, participated in a panel discussion hosted by JICA entitled, “Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development.” The objective of the session was to discuss practical solutions which can be applied globally at the national, regional and local level for increasing investments in disaster risk reduction by sharing experiences and discussion among panelists.
Mr. Hideaki Hamada, Senior Financial Sector Specialist of the World Bank Disaster Risk Insurance and Financing Program (DRFIP), presented the recent World Bank activities to assist in the development of regional catastrophe risk insurance pools such as Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (PCRAFI) and Southeast Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF), at the session “A Disaster-resilient Community in the Asia-Pacific: The Power of Science and Insurance,” co-organized by Tokio Marine & Nichido, Asia Pacific Financial Forum (APFF), and International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University. Mr. Hamada contributed operational perspectives and experiences of the WB’s engagement in managing sovereign risks through developing and implementing insurance mechanisms that are backed up by parametric models built upon scientific analysis.
Finally, the World Bank Tokyo DRM Hub organized a session titled: “Engineering a Solution for Disasters: The Promise of Resilient Infrastructure.” Through this session, Mr. Francis Ghesquiere, Manager of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction & Recovery (GFDRR), Ms. Jolanta Kryspin-Watson, WB Lead DRM Specialist, and Mr. Kiyoshi Murakami, Deputy Mayor of Rikuzentakata City discussed why mainstreaming disaster risk management was important in strengthening resilience and what were some of the good practices and lessons learned from efforts they have been engaged.
During the Forum, World Bank Tokyo DRM Hub staff met with senior officials from Sendai city, JICA, and other World Bank Japanese partner delegations attending the Forum. developing and implementing insurance mechanisms that are backed up by parametric models built upon scientific analysis.