Other mechanisms

There are other, less explicit institutional mechanisms within UNDP that provide specific inputs for achieving disaster reduction in support of sustainable development.

Within the Bureau for Development Policy is the Environmentally Sustainable Development Group (ESDG), which regroups all of UNDP’s global environment policy advisors, as well as the UNDP Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the most important financial instrument for global environmental policy. ESDG has constituted a team that works at the national, regional and global levels, providing policy advice and collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders on environment and development issues. Natural resource management is a primary area of focus, with particular emphasis placed on land, water, biological resources, and sustainable energy. Also central to ESDG’s work is the integration of environmental dimensions into national development policies and planning processes.

The DRU has been working closely with UNDP’s BDP/ESDG to foster interaction between Environment & Energy and Crisis Prevention and Recovery practice areas on issues related climate change adaptation.

The DRU staff have been working closely with the ESDG Climate Change Policy Advisor and participating in the Environment & Energy practice area workshop to explore tangible opportunities for collaboration. In Central America, a regional climate change adaptation project is being jointly planned by the ESDG and DRU.

The Caribbean Risk Management Initiative will also address issues related to Adaptation to Climate Change. In Asia, a pilot project on linking adaptation to climate change and disaster reduction is being designed in Orissa, India. The ESDG and DRU are exploring possibilities for collaboration on water sector project in Vietnam.

Additionally, UNDP has established the Drylands Development Centre, in Nairobi that was previously called UNSO. Outposted advisors in Ouagadougou, Beirut and San Jose support the work of the centre in their regions. They specialise in assisting countries to fight poverty and encourage development in the drier parts of the world. Specifically, they provide support to reducing risk in drought prone areas by offering programme development support, policy advice, assistance in strengthening institutional capacities, help in building partnerships and the promotion of global awareness of drylands issues.

Since 1998, BDP has been initiating a long process aimed at restructuring its global outreach. One of the key expressions of this change is the SURFs. The SURFs are geared to engage in global advocacy and analysis to generate knowledge, alliance building and promotion of enabling frameworks on key issues, policy advice and support for national capacity building, and knowledge networking and sharing of good practices.

One of the important services provided by the SURF system is referral, responding to requests from country office and headquarters programme staff with advice or information. BCPR has recently placed disaster reduction advisors in SURFs for regional advice to the Country Offices.