The Government of Turkey hosted the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) Open Forum in Istanbul from 26 to 28 March 2017. EFDDR is Europe’s regional platform for disaster risk reduction and brings together multiple stakeholders across all sectors through its Open Forum meetings to discuss and advance on disaster risk reduction issues and to shape the implementation and monitoring of the Sendai Framework in Europe. In the form of the Istanbul Outcomes, it formulated a perspective on disaster risk reduction in Europe in preparation for and as a contribution to the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The Istanbul Outcomes call for an inclusive approach to disaster risk reduction which recognizes vulnerable people as vital participants in the formulation of national and local strategies. It recalls the severe earthquake in Central Italy in 2016 and commits national institutions to ensuring that strategies are implemented adequately through the determination of specific roles and responsibilities and met with appropriate incentives, training and exercises on the ground. As a part of strengthening local policies, the 17-points action plan suggests to promote disaster risk reduction through financial regulation, fiscal policies, public procurement and investments in critical infrastructure, amongst other. It also stresses the importance of an ecosystem-based approach to disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change adaptation and calls for pursuing the development of multi-hazard early warning systems.
