CA C Doc 4c COUNCIL OF ADMINISTRATION. Committee 4 (Cooperation and Development)

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1 CA C Doc 4c COUNCIL OF ADMINISTRATION Committee 4 (Cooperation and Development) Work of the Sustainable Development Project Group Results of the work carried out on disaster risk management during the cycle and prospects for the next cycle, : draft Congress document Report by the International Bureau (Agenda item 4c) 1 Subject Presentation to Committee 4 of the results of the work on disaster risk management in the cycle and the way forward for and submission of the related draft proposal of a general nature. References/paragraphs 1 to 31 and Annex 1 2 Decision expected Committee 4 is invited to approve the document and authorize its updating to June 2016, and to approve the draft proposal of a general nature. 31 I. The UPU and disaster risk management 2013 to 2016 Background 1 In recent years, numerous significant natural disasters have taken place around the world. According to the third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in March 2015, more than 1.5 billion people have been affected by disasters in various ways, and the total economic loss in the period was more than 1.3 trillion USD. 2 The postal sector has also been severely affected by disasters, which have caused destruction and interrupted services; however, some examples emerging from these events have shown that the Post can be a key player in disaster response, for example by serving as a distribution point for emergency supplies and money transfers in the affected areas, and by providing a basic means of communication when no other system is available. 3 In this context, the Doha Congress, held in October 2012, adopted recommendation C 64/2012, "Initiatives for the study of sustainable development and development cooperation measures to make postal organizations more resistant to major disasters". This recommendation led to a feasibility study on establishing a UPU policy on risk reduction and management and emergency assistance activities to enable the International Bureau and Union member countries and their designated operators to take initiatives to make postal organizations more resistant to disasters. These measures included: providing assistance for the restoration of basic postal services in times of disaster; establishing disaster management and infrastructure resilience and reconstruction plans; DCDEV Ws

2 2 establishing postal service contingency and business continuity plans and enhancing risk management skills, building on the experience of the Japan earthquake; evaluating and mitigating the impact of postal activities on the environment; providing crisis management training to postal employees; closely monitoring data losses, including monitoring on a small scale and for localized disasters. 4 Following the adoption of the Congress recommendation, the establishment of an ad hoc group responsible for implementing this recommendation was approved at the April 2013 session of the Council of Administration. The Ad Hoc Group on Disaster Risk Management (AHG DRM) was established in the summer of 2013 and 22 member countries joined this group as members/observers (as of June 2015). The Ad Hoc Group elected Mr Patrick Mendonca (USPS) as Chair. II. Mandate and objectives of the AHG DRM 5 At its first meeting (October 2013), the AHG DRM approved its mandate and work plan, including the following main areas of work: delivering a UPU-level policy and guidelines based on studies conducted on disaster risk management (DRM); the policy/guidelines would include mapping current UPU activities in relation to emergency response, disaster risk and resilience, disaster management and infrastructure resilience and reconstruction plans, and postal service contingency and business continuity plans; acting as a platform for exchanges of best practices and joint projects between postal operators; promoting implementation of concrete actions and projects that include providing crisis management training to postal staff and any other elements of a disaster risk reduction and resilience strategy; providing assistance for the restoration of basic postal services. 6 To fulfil this mandate, the AHG DRM set the following objectives: i ii iii iv Conduct research on disaster risk reduction and resilience; Propose a draft UPU-level policy on disaster risk reduction and resilience for member countries; Set up a platform for the exchange of best practices; Propose guidelines on disaster risk reduction and resilience for designated operators, potentially including a toolkit and training material for staff. 7 Between 2013 and 2015, Japan provided financial support in the form of a voluntary contribution totalling 1,042,965 CHF for the work of the AHG DRM, and also for the necessary expertise and human resources for the International Bureau. These resources were used for activities relating to disaster risk management, including staff costs for running the programme, regional seminars, a study on disaster risk management and the preparation of guidelines and training projects and activities. III. Achievements of the AHG DRM, The AHG DRM completed many activities, as shown in the table below: Objective 1 Conduct research on disaster risk reduction and resilience Achievement Conducted a survey (2013) to analyze: which types of natural disasters member countries and postal operators are facing what kind of DRM policies were already in place at country level the status of postal operators' relations with local and national authorities

3 3 Objective 1 Conduct research on disaster risk reduction and resilience (cont.) 2 Proposal of a draft UPUlevel policy on disaster risk reduction and resilience for member countries 3 Set up a platform for the exchange of best practices and awareness-raising Achievement the needs and expectations of members countries in this field in terms of UPU activities and assistance Provided the members with an analysis on DRM: concepts, definitions, typology, phases and actors (2013). Adopted the UPU DRM Framework with eight priorities: (2014) i ii iii iv v vi vii viii Promote disaster risk management framework in the postal sector Establish disaster risk reduction as a part of the UPU development agenda Advocacy/integration into the international disaster risk reduction agenda Encourage and support disaster risk reduction as a priority Encourage member countries to determine risk by analyzing potential hazards/vulnerability Disseminate risk-related knowledge and information and prepare training programme Encourage awareness-raising on the environmental impact of postal activities and development of resilience in the postal network Encourage and support development of contingency plans Revision of UPU DRM Framework following the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Case studies and best practices covered varying types of hazards and risks (typhoons, floods, volcanos, earthquakes), their impact on the postal networks, structures and actions put in place by the Posts to prepare for, respond to and recover from such disasters (United States, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Morocco, Italy and Malawi) ( ) Designed the DRM web page on the UPU website to provide member countries and other stakeholders with relevant information on UPU activities, postal operators' DRM activities, key documents, training, best practices and case studies (2015) Conducted regional activities: Seminar on DRM in Latin America Region (Chile, 2014): adopted some key principles and concrete objectives Sustainable Development Workshop in Caribbean Region (Barbados, 2014): Table-top exercise on hurricanes DRM seminar in Asia-Pacific region (Thailand, to be completed in 2016) Developed international activities and partners: Invited international partners to the AHG DRM meeting or consulted with them to provide the UPU community with their expertise and experiences (World Meteorological Organization (WMO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank Group, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)) ( )

4 4 Objective 3 Set up a platform for the exchange of best practices and awareness-raising (cont.) 4 Propose guidelines on disaster risk reduction and resilience for designated operators, potentially including a toolkit and training material for staff Achievement Preparation of a memorandum of understanding with WMO to enhance the role of the postal network in pre-disaster situations, especially in terms of early-warning actions, in cooperation with the meteorological authorities and development of exchanges of meteorological data to improve delivery time predictability Participated in the 2nd World Conference for Reconstruction organized by the World Bank, United States (2014) Participated in the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Japan and adopted Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015): the UPU IB has participated since its preparatory process as a member of the UN Senior Management Group on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience Guide on DRM to provide member countries and their designated operators with a comprehensive operational tool covering the various aspects of DRM with a view to assisting them in implementing and improving DRM frameworks, practices and mechanisms. A first version of the guide will be presented during the 2015 CA (To be updated accordingly in 2016) The e-training tool based on the guide to disaster risk management will be provided through the Trainpost platform for designated operators and authorities (to be updated in 2016) IV. Emergency assistance projects The emergency assistance provided to UPU member countries falls under the technical assistance set out in article 1 of the UPU constitution. Set up in 2012 by a decision of the UPU Council of Administration, the Emergency and Solidarity Fund (ESF) is the main financial mechanism designed to support emergency assistance projects for UPU member countries. 10 During the cycle, the number and intensity of large-scale disasters has increased, resulting in more human casualties and economic damage, also affecting the postal sector. The trends observed in the past years have been confirmed and even amplified. 11 Economic losses are now reaching an average of 250 billion USD to 300 billion USD each year (UNISDR). Trends in economic losses (insured) due to natural disasters (Source: Swiss Re).

5 5 12 Global average annual loss is estimated to increase to 415 billion USD by 2030, owing to investment requirements for urban infrastructure alone. 13 For the year 2013, the largest economic impact was from the Central European floods in May and June, with an estimated total economic loss of 22 billion USD, an earthquake in China in April, with losses of 14 billion USD, and Typhoon Haiyan in November, which causes losses of 13 billion USD (UNISDR/GAR15). 14 The economic impact of natural disasters on national economies varies from one country to another. However, developing economies suffer from natural disasters to a much greater extent than those that are developed. Economic losses relative to size of economy UNISDR GAR Low income lower middle income Upper middle income High income % of GDP 15 According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) global climate change is already changing hazard levels and exacerbating disaster risks. By 2050, it is estimated that 40% of the global population will be living in river basins that experience severe water stress, particularly in Africa and Asia. In the Caribbean basin, climate change will contribute an additional 1.4 billion USD to the expected annual losses from cyclone wind damage alone. 16 There are no precise figures available on global economic losses for the postal sector alone. Direct economic loss figures are available on a case-by-case basis when communicated to the UPU in the context of the required post-disaster impact assessment (damaged or destroyed postal infrastructures and equipment). Indirect economic losses for the postal sector due to damaged or destroyed transport or telecommunications infrastructures, adversely affected business activities, etc. should also be considered. 17 For example, the estimated direct impact on the postal network in Nepal after the 2015 earthquake is 2.5 million USD. 18 Under the ESF, the UPU has designed and implemented the following emergency assistance projects during the 2013/2016 period, in the context of natural disasters: Country Type of hazard ESF project Philippines Tropical storm (Super Typhoon Haiyan) November 2013 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Poste Srpske) Flood May 2014 Reconstruction of the destroyed main post office in Tacloban Replacement of destroyed IT equipment Nepal Earthquake April 2015 and May 2015 Replacement of postal equipment and vehicle

6 6 Country Type of hazard ESF project Malawi Flood January 2015 Reconstruction of four damaged post offices Vanuatu Tropical storm (Cyclone Pam) March 2015 In progress (to be updated) 19 The total ESF budget spent on these emergency assistance projects is 320,000 CHF. 20 The ESF is currently funded through voluntary contributions from member countries. The fund collected for the ESF can be broken down as follows per donation for the period of Donor Amount (in CHF) Aruba 1,000 Belgium 12,026 China (People's Rep.) 28,950 France 1 28,795 Italy 22,693 Japan 1 65,458 Macao (Post) 539 Montenegro 589 Slovakia 1,786 Switzerland 35, As of 27 July 2015, the total amount of contributions to the ESF during the cycle was 196,839 CHF. It should also be noted that the UPU received an in-kind contribution from the United States Postal Service (USPS) (equipment, expertise and human resources) within the framework of the Philippines ESF project. 22 The growing demand for ESF assistance following natural disasters in recent years, combined with the gap between the financial needs of the member countries affected and the available resources in the ESF, show that the current financing mechanism cannot sustain an adequate level of resources. As of July 2015, the current balance of the ESF is 80,000 CHF. In the light of experiences during the Doha cycle, it is clear that the funds collected and available will not be sufficient to cover future needs. 23 Given the fact that the 2012 Congress decision to allocate 1% of the UPU regular budget to the ESF could not be implemented because of financial constraints, there is an urgent need to explore new mechanisms to ensure more regular and sustainable minimum financing of the ESF and a more effective response to the needs of member countries. In this context, and in order to guarantee a minimum level of resources for the ESF, a de minimis transfer mechanism from the regular budget could be considered as an option, taking into account the UPU budget situation. 24 Other sources of funding could also be explored, for example more efficient and effective access to a country's QSF resources in order to respond to the financing challenges for ESF projects which have a positive impact on the quality of postal services. Finally, there should be stronger coordination with the restricted unions for fundraising purposes to enhance the role and impact of efforts at regional level. V. Way forward for disaster risk management and emergency assistance activities for the next cycle, Including transfers from tied contributions.

7 7 25 Building resilience to natural disasters is a key concern and objective for the international community and is an integral component of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. During the cycle, and under the leadership and guidance of the AHG DRM, the UPU has made numerous efforts to raise awareness, set a framework for the UPU DRM activities and provide its member countries and their designated operators with tools and training material. 26 Based on the achievements of the DRM activities during the Doha cycle, and given the importance to postal networks of building their resilience to natural disasters, as well as the benefits of enhancing the role postal operators can play in pre- and post-disaster situations, it is important for the cycle to: continue efforts to promote disaster risk management in the postal sector by integrating DRM principles and objectives into UPU development cooperation frameworks and projects, especially at regional level; in this context, the role of the restricted unions should be strengthened through joint projects and programmes within the framework of the regional development plans (RDPs); develop DRM capacity-building activities, especially for Posts of developing and least-developed countries, through dedicated training modules, technical cooperation activities based on a specific methodology to be developed and disseminating the UPU DRM guide at country level; continue developing international DRM partnerships, especially within the framework of the United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sendai Framework; continue sharing best practices among Posts, focusing on the aftermath of any recent natural disasters; ensure during the cycle a minimum level of resources for ESF in order to better respond to the needs of member countries facing natural disasters through a transfer mechanism from the UPU regular budget and through a specific fundraising strategy, and develop better synergies with existing resources and at the regional level (see Section VI below). 27 Furthermore, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted by 187 countries at the WCDRR as a new international framework on disaster risk reduction. In its existing DRM commitment, the UPU will also need to adapt relevant goals and targets within this framework, based on the following four priorities for action: i ii iii iv Understanding disaster risk; Strengthening disaster risk governance; Investing for resilience; Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to "build back better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction. VI. Conclusion 28 DRM and emergency assistance have become important activities under the UPU development cooperation agenda during the cycle. These two activities are closely interlinked. DRM has become a key element in postal development and business continuity. To guarantee the quality and sustainability of postal operations, designated operators and the relevant authorities of all member countries need to integrate disaster risk management efforts into their own strategies and measures in order to build the resilience of postal networks to natural disasters. The work on DRM must be carried forward with a view to implementing and enhancing the important steps taken during the Doha cycle. 29 Furthermore, appropriate decisions must be taken to ensure a minimum level of financing for the ESF, which is the main financial mechanism for supporting member countries affected by natural disasters. / 30 To implement activities in the area of disaster risk management for the period , the draft proposal of a general nature contained in Annex 1 will be submitted to Congress for approval. VII. Updating of document

8 8 31 The International Bureau will take account of the comments and proposed amendments in finalizing the draft Congress document reporting on disaster risk management between 2013 and 2016 and detailing the achievements during that period. The draft Congress document will be presented for approval in February 2016 and updated to June 2016 to reflect the achievements as accurately as possible.

9 CA C Doc 4c.Annexe 1 26th CONGRESS Proposal of a general nature 00 COUNCIL OF ADMINISTRATION Resolution Work on disaster risk management and emergency assistance Congress, In view of the positive results of the work of the Ad Hoc Group on Disaster Risk Management between 2013 and 2016, especially in the implementation of Doha Congress recommendation C 64/2012, Aware that integrating disaster risk management into postal sector strategies, frameworks, business models and practices is an essential element for ensuring service continuity, as well as increasing business resilience and protecting livelihoods and productive assets, Also aware that as a communication and logistics infrastructure in daily contact with populations and communities, local and national authorities, the postal sector can play an important role both during disasters and in pre- and post-disaster situations, Further aware that member countries can reduce risks by sharing invaluable lessons, experiences and best practices on disaster risk reduction and management, Recognizing the importance for the UPU, as a United Nations Specialized Agency, of the four priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in March 2015: 1) Understanding disaster risk; 2) Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk; 3) Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience; 4) Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to "Build Back Better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction, Recalling the United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience adopted in 2013 by the United Nations System Chief Executive Board for Coordination (CEB) which calls upon UN organizations to make disaster risk reduction a priority, to adopt policies and strategies and to allocate resources to increase the level of commitment of each organization to Disaster Risk Reduction for resilience, Further recalling the importance of building partnerships with the other UN-system organizations to share DRM-related resources and knowledge to benefit UPU member countries, Ws

10 2 Also recognizing that climate-related events and major natural disasters are causing important disturbances or interruptions in the postal chain and affecting the provision of international postal services, Also recalling that since 2013, the UPU International Bureau, especially through its Emergency and Solidarity Fund (ESF) has supported the rehabilitation of postal services in countries which were affected by major natural disasters such as Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, floods in Malawi and in the Balkan region, the tropical storm in Vanuatu and the earthquake in Nepal, Noting that the ESF is mostly financed through voluntary contributions from member countries, Also noting that the Doha Congress decision to allocate 1% of the regular Union budget could not be implemented, owing to budget constraints (resolution C 65/2012 "Financing of the UPU Emergency and Solidarity Fund"), Concerned by the fact that the lack of available resources in the ESF strongly reduces the capability of the UPU to respond to the growing demands from its member countries affected by natural disasters, Recognizing lastly that disaster risk reduction is an integral part of social and economic development, and an important component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Considering that it is important to continue the efforts to promote disaster risk management in the postal sector by keeping pace with international frameworks, enhancing training tools and/or conducting regional seminars and campaigns to raise awareness of disaster risk reduction, Instructs the relevant UPU bodies to take the necessary measures to achieve the above-mentioned objectives through the implementation of the following activities: promote disaster risk management in the postal sector by integrating DRM principles and objectives into UPU development cooperation frameworks and projects, especially at regional level; develop DRM capacity-building activities especially for Posts of developing and least-developed countries through dedicated training modules, technical cooperation activities based on a specific methodology to be developed and dissemination of the UPU DRM guide at country level; develop international DRM partnerships, especially within the framework of the United Nations Plan of Action on DRR and the Sendai Framework, with a view to bringing expertise, resources and support to UPU activities in this field; share best practices among Posts, focusing on the aftermath of natural disasters; ensure during the cycle a minimum level of resources for the Emergency and Solidarity Fund (ESF) in order to better respond to the needs of member countries facing natural disasters through a "de minimis" transfer mechanism from the UPU regular budget and through a specific fundraising strategy, Also instructs the International Bureau to implement the decisions taken in this area by the UPU bodies.