Perspectives on Resilience (Building)

Presentation Outline

• How UNDP Conceptualizes resilience

• Resilience in practice – Examples of resilience related initiatives

• Trends and Statistics

• Focus on disaster, conflict, economic and financial and environmental risks

• Proposes a development perspective

• Include a set of guiding principles (for building resilience)

• Focus is building resilience for sustainable human development. Resilience that is human centred

The Concept

• UNDP works in places that are prone shocks and stresses - worldwide

• UNDP has a history of resilience building

Where does this thinking originate?

UNDP’s Biodiversity and Ecosystems Global Framework (2012-2020)

• To enhance resilience to both economic shocks and natural disasters (intensified by climate change)

• By using natural ecosystems, such as wetlands or forests, to buffer extreme weather events and provide a safety net for rural communities

Examples of UNDP’s efforts in resilience building:

National and local level systems

Disaster Risk Reduction:

• Implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action/Sendai Outcomes by focusing on building the capacity of local and national institutions,

• Supporting early warning systems, • Reducing the drivers of vulnerability through disaster preparedness;• Mainstreaming preparedness and recovery programmes in development

programmes

UNDP, OCHA and other UN agencies, funds, and programmes collaborated to develop a Sahel Resilience Strategic Framework and Action Plan aimed at building long term resilience in the Sahel to break the vicious cycle of protracted food crises, conflict, chronic hunger, income and human poverty

UNDP is also contributing to the conceptualization of resilience building in poverty reduction, economic recovery, disaster risk reduction, conflict prevention, rule of law, and governance.

• Undertook a study and produced a report titled, Towards Human Resilience: Sustaining MDG Progress in an Age of Economic Uncertainty, which discussed the interaction between economic vulnerability and resilience

• Reports: Governance for Peace (G4P): Securing the Social Contract and Post-conflict economic Recovery: enabling Local Ingenuity.

At the global level, UNDP is co-chairing a number of international resilience building networks• collaborating with the Stockholm Resilience Centre to produce a Resilience Investment

Toolkit that can be used to design development cooperation initiatives to promote social-ecological resilience and to measure its effectiveness

Building resilience is a transformative process of strengthening the capacity of men, women communities, institutions, and countries to anticipate, prevent, (absorb and adapt) recover from, and transform in the aftermath of shocks, stresses, and change

Working definition

• harnessing and unleashing capabilities• transformational change rather than maintaining equilibrium• Managing for Results• Develop and maintain partnerships

The eradication of poverty is not just about ‘getting to zero’—it is also about staying there

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable . . .” - Martin Luther King, Jr

(UNDP HDR 2014)

EndThank you

Bonus Slide

Principles of resilience building in UNDP• Context specific• Local and national ownership• Comprehensive and holistic responses• Commitment to long term engagement• Innovation and learning• Gender equality