At its 58th session, the United Nations General Assembly decided
to convene the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Kobe, Hyogo,
Japan, 18-22 January 2005). Based on resolution A/RES/58/214 of
the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and resolution
A/RES/58/215 on Natural Disasters and Vulnerabilities, the involvement
of national authorities was highlighted as crucial for making the
Conference relevant for future disaster risk reduction policies.
National authorities and platforms on disaster reduction were
therefore invited to provide information to identify needs and
develop future policy recommendations for consideration at the
The preparation of the national information provided an opportunity
to bring together stakeholders from governments, academic and other
sectors dealing with disaster risk reduction. In many cases consultations
were held with institutions specializing in disaster management
including environmental planning and education departments, meteorological
services, NGOs and other key domains.
To facilitate the preparation of the national information, guidelines
were provided by the secretariat of the International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) through various channels: permanent
missions, United Nations resident coordinators’ network,
national platforms, regional offices, and official focal points.
The guidelines were also posted on the ISDR website in three
languages (English, Spanish and French) and later translated
The guidelines provided a reporting structure based on the components
and priority areas specified in the ISDR/UNDP “Framework
for disaster risk reduction for guidance and monitoring” .
The following themes serve as a core set of principles to understand,
guide and monitor current status of disaster risk reduction and
therefore provide a common basis for consolidated observations: