The UN General Assembly in May 2023 adopted a political declaration to accelerate action to strengthen disaster resilience.

The International Day’s for Disaster Risk Reduction 2023 theme aligns with the Sendai Framework, the international agreement to prevent and reduce losses in lives, livelihoods, economies and basic infrastructure. It has seven global targets and 38 indicators for measuring progress.

The Sendai Framework complements the Paris Agreement on climate change, with both frameworks interlinked to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2023, the International Day will look at the reciprocal relationship between disasters and inequality. Inequality and disaster vulnerability are two sides of the same coin: unequal access to services, such as finance and insurance, leaves the most at risk exposed to the danger of disasters; while disaster impacts exacerbate inequalities and push the most at risk further into poverty.

These ideas are core principals in the operation and activities of the UNESCO Global Geoparks and the initiatives insiped by the Global Geoparks Network from the very beginning!

Build a global network of cooperation, sharing knowledge, best practice and experiences, protect our geological heritage sites and use recorded indicators of the past disasters as key elements for understanding of our natural environment and hazards, support sustainable local development and fight inequalities in our communities at all levels, build capacity through educational activities and inform the society at large on geohazards and disaster mitigation.

Many UNESCO Global Geoparks work together with the local people and the local authorities in order to promote awareness of geological hazards, like volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis and to help preparing disaster mitigation strategies. They also emerge as educators on current climate change and work for adaptation of best practice approach to prevent climate-related events like floods, droughts, storms. This day is a good opportunity to start developing risk reduction strategies.

The Moroccan Earthquake and Nature-Induced Disasters

Report of the GGN Working Group on Geohazards

We would like to thank the Global Geoparks Network Working Group on Geohazards which prepared a note to be distributed to all UNESCO Global Geoparks on the occasion of this year’s International Day – October 13th 2023!

Please download from the LINK

The Global Geoparks Network encourages all UNESCO Global Geoparks to organize events and to use this International Day as an opportunity to strengthen their work on the main principles of Geoparks to protect and manage geological heritage and support sustainable local development in order to prevent hazards to become disasters.

UNESCO Global Geoparks – learning territories on Earth processes, geohazards understanding and disaster risk reduction!