Kenya
1
TALKING POINTS
HON. AMOS M. KIMUNYA, M.P.,
MINISTER FOR LANDS AND HOUSING
DURING THE INTERACTIVE SESSION
ON
HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT OF THE
13TH SESSION OF THE
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
FOCUSING
ON THE
?IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON WATER,
SANITATION AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS ? PREVENTION
AND RESPONSE?
20TH APRIL 2005 - NEW YORK (5:00 P.M.)
2
Mr. Chairman,
Recent statistics indicate that developing countries in general, and
Africa in particular, experience disasters with increasing frequency and
complexity. These have caused extensive human suffering, loss of life
and livelihoods in the continent. Many African States have
experienced, among others, hydro meteorological (drought, floods,
lightening) and geological (earthquakes and volcanic eruptions),
disasters. Others have been dodged with insecurity resulting to a huge
population of internally displaced persons and refugees, most of whom
are women and children. African countries are also facing a
systematic environmental degradation that is raising their vulnerability
and lowering the natural resilience to disaster impacts, delaying
recovery and reconstruction time and generally weakening the resource
base on which all human activity in the continent is ultimately
dependent.
An estimated 80% of the population in the poorest African states lives
below the poverty line. Poverty contributes to rural urban migration
that fuels mushrooming of slums in major cities and towns. The
people living in the slums have insecure shelter, lack access to
adequate and safe water and sanitation and other basic social services.
The low Gross Domestic Product of African states coupled with the
high debt burden leaves many of the states without resources for
investment in development and disaster risk reduction programmes.
Mr. Chairman,
The most frequent natural disasters in Kenya have resulted from
droughts, floods, landslides, lightening and fires. Human-induced
disasters including internal and regional conflicts within and across the
national boundaries have also had a toll on the national coping
capacity.
My delegation recognizes that reducing peoples? vulnerability to
disaster risks requires building their resilience and coping mechanisms
to current and future disasters through development planning and
3
budgeting programmes, building of partnerships at all levels, peaceful
resolution of conflicts and tackling refugees and internally displaced
persons in a holistic and integrated manner. We further recognize that
proactive disaster risk reduction strategies can minimize injury, human
suffering, loss of life and livelihoods, damage of infrastructure and
ecosystems. When strategies are well coordinated, mitigation plan is
applied in a timely manner reducing relief and restoration costs. For
example, the Government of Kenya and the international community
spent over US$300 million during the 1999/2001 drought in Kenya
whereas the combined cost for mitigation strategies could have been
half of the amount. This illustrates a high imbalance between
accessing resources for disaster risk reduction activities and
the emergency response operations from national budgets and external
sources thereby hindering implementation of proactive strategies and
mechanisms to minimize adverse impacts of disasters.
Mr. Chairman,
Kenya has formulated a draft National Disaster Management Policy
whose thrust is to mainstream disaster risk management into poverty
reduction and sustainable development initiatives. This is congruent
with the principles and guidelines of the Yokohama Strategy and Plan
of Action for a Safe World (1994), the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (September 2002), the Kobe-Hyogo Framework of
Action 2005-2015 on Building the Resilience of Nations and
Communities to Disasters (January 2005) and the achievement of
Millennium Development Goals (2000).
Priority areas that require immediate action for most of our countries
include: establishing a focal point for addressing disaster risk
reduction; establishment of a Disaster Trust Fund, increasing
awareness of risk preparedness, promotion of public leadership and
commitment to disaster reduction; building multidisciplinary and
intersectoral partnerships and networks in disaster risk initiatives;
improving scientific knowledge on causes of natural disasters and their
resultant effects; and, strengthening of regional and international
partnerships in disaster risk reduction.
Mr. Chairman,
Finally, my delegation recognizes that it is the primary responsibility
of Governments to implement disaster risk reduction strategies and
programmes. We however, note that challenges to disaster risk
reduction in many developing countries include governance systems,
risk identification and assessment capacities, knowledge management
and limited linkages between relief and reconstruction programmes
with long term sustainable development. We therefore, urge the
international community and the UN system to honour their
commitments towards assisting developing countries to strengthen
their governance institutions; risk identification and assessment
capacities, bridge knowledge management and best practices gaps, and
exiting from the emergency relief response cycle to sustainable
development initiatives in disaster risk reduction.
Thank you
TALKING POINTS
HON. AMOS M. KIMUNYA, M.P.,
MINISTER FOR LANDS AND HOUSING
DURING THE INTERACTIVE SESSION
ON
HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT OF THE
13TH SESSION OF THE
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
FOCUSING
ON THE
?IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS ON WATER,
SANITATION AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS ? PREVENTION
AND RESPONSE?
20TH APRIL 2005 - NEW YORK (5:00 P.M.)
2
Mr. Chairman,
Recent statistics indicate that developing countries in general, and
Africa in particular, experience disasters with increasing frequency and
complexity. These have caused extensive human suffering, loss of life
and livelihoods in the continent. Many African States have
experienced, among others, hydro meteorological (drought, floods,
lightening) and geological (earthquakes and volcanic eruptions),
disasters. Others have been dodged with insecurity resulting to a huge
population of internally displaced persons and refugees, most of whom
are women and children. African countries are also facing a
systematic environmental degradation that is raising their vulnerability
and lowering the natural resilience to disaster impacts, delaying
recovery and reconstruction time and generally weakening the resource
base on which all human activity in the continent is ultimately
dependent.
An estimated 80% of the population in the poorest African states lives
below the poverty line. Poverty contributes to rural urban migration
that fuels mushrooming of slums in major cities and towns. The
people living in the slums have insecure shelter, lack access to
adequate and safe water and sanitation and other basic social services.
The low Gross Domestic Product of African states coupled with the
high debt burden leaves many of the states without resources for
investment in development and disaster risk reduction programmes.
Mr. Chairman,
The most frequent natural disasters in Kenya have resulted from
droughts, floods, landslides, lightening and fires. Human-induced
disasters including internal and regional conflicts within and across the
national boundaries have also had a toll on the national coping
capacity.
My delegation recognizes that reducing peoples? vulnerability to
disaster risks requires building their resilience and coping mechanisms
to current and future disasters through development planning and
3
budgeting programmes, building of partnerships at all levels, peaceful
resolution of conflicts and tackling refugees and internally displaced
persons in a holistic and integrated manner. We further recognize that
proactive disaster risk reduction strategies can minimize injury, human
suffering, loss of life and livelihoods, damage of infrastructure and
ecosystems. When strategies are well coordinated, mitigation plan is
applied in a timely manner reducing relief and restoration costs. For
example, the Government of Kenya and the international community
spent over US$300 million during the 1999/2001 drought in Kenya
whereas the combined cost for mitigation strategies could have been
half of the amount. This illustrates a high imbalance between
accessing resources for disaster risk reduction activities and
the emergency response operations from national budgets and external
sources thereby hindering implementation of proactive strategies and
mechanisms to minimize adverse impacts of disasters.
Mr. Chairman,
Kenya has formulated a draft National Disaster Management Policy
whose thrust is to mainstream disaster risk management into poverty
reduction and sustainable development initiatives. This is congruent
with the principles and guidelines of the Yokohama Strategy and Plan
of Action for a Safe World (1994), the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (September 2002), the Kobe-Hyogo Framework of
Action 2005-2015 on Building the Resilience of Nations and
Communities to Disasters (January 2005) and the achievement of
Millennium Development Goals (2000).
Priority areas that require immediate action for most of our countries
include: establishing a focal point for addressing disaster risk
reduction; establishment of a Disaster Trust Fund, increasing
awareness of risk preparedness, promotion of public leadership and
commitment to disaster reduction; building multidisciplinary and
intersectoral partnerships and networks in disaster risk initiatives;
improving scientific knowledge on causes of natural disasters and their
resultant effects; and, strengthening of regional and international
partnerships in disaster risk reduction.
Mr. Chairman,
Finally, my delegation recognizes that it is the primary responsibility
of Governments to implement disaster risk reduction strategies and
programmes. We however, note that challenges to disaster risk
reduction in many developing countries include governance systems,
risk identification and assessment capacities, knowledge management
and limited linkages between relief and reconstruction programmes
with long term sustainable development. We therefore, urge the
international community and the UN system to honour their
commitments towards assisting developing countries to strengthen
their governance institutions; risk identification and assessment
capacities, bridge knowledge management and best practices gaps, and
exiting from the emergency relief response cycle to sustainable
development initiatives in disaster risk reduction.
Thank you
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