Background
The 2nd World Cities Scientific Development Forum and the First Mayors? Summit on Disaster Risk Reduction were held in Chengdu, China, from 11 to 13 August 2011. Organized jointly by the Government of Chengdu, the World Cities Scientific Development Alliance (WCSDA), the Secretariat of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and Sister Cities International (SCI), the two events were attended by more than 200 participants from 33 countries of Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe, including mayors, councillors, parliamentarians, ambassadors, civil society representatives, scientists and experts, as well as from UN agencies and other organizations.
The five-point strategy of the Chengdu Declaration of Action includes enhancing cooperation between cities, e.g. sister-city model, strengthening local capacity and national-local cooperation; incorporating disaster resilient initiatives into urban development planning; raising more awareness in cities about disaster risk reduction. Other points of the Declaration look at tapping into and influencing international debates, such as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20 in 2012), as well as improving disaster preparedness and emergency management of cities.
This Declaration is an outcome of both the 2011 World Cities Scientific Development Forum, held in Chengdu, China, on August 11-13, and the Mayors' Summit for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was part of the Forum.