UR Floripa – Towards Safer Built Environment: Risk-Informed Policy Making

Organized by UNESCO’s Unit of Disaster Risk Reduction, Natural Sciences Sector

More than 50% of people live in urban areas and that proportion is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. In low- and middle-income countries, rapid urbanization has not always kept pace with improvements institutional capacity for building control and the application of up-to-date risk information and engineering knowledge for a safer and more resilient built environment. A strong building regulatory framework such as this is one of the most cost-effective ways a country can reduce disaster risks in the built environment. In fact, in 2019, an exhaustive benefit-cost analysis from the National Institute of Building Sciences found that adopting and implementing the latest hazard-risk informed building codes improves the disaster resilience of society’s while yielding a USD $13 national benefit for every USD $1 invested. In addition to disaster risk reduction and cost-effectiveness benefits, building regulations are also used to address broader societal needs such as accessibility in the built environment and facilitating the resource efficiency of buildings, which helps households save on energy and costs as well as contributes to the Paris Agreement’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Description

This session is jointly organized by UNESCO and GFDRR’s Building Regulation for Resilience Program and will focus on practical ways to improve the resilience and sustainability of the built environment through regulatory and institutional reforms, providing examples from Zanzibar, the Maldives, and Malawi. The session will share different approaches to enhancing building regulatory frameworks and strengthening institutional capacity building to increase compliance with risk-informed building codes.

Fernando Castanaza: Consultant / UNESCO

Muchi Juma Ameir: Director of the Development Control Unit & Director of Planning / Commission of Land, Zanzibar

Fathimath Shaufa: Director, Construction Regulations and Standards Section / Construction Industry Development Department, The Maldives