Press and Dissemination Office of SELA

Caracas, 25 September 2015.- Corporate social responsibility in risk management will be the central topic of the “IV Regional Meeting on partnerships between the public and private sectors for disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean”, organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), with the support of the Central American Coordination Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN/ISDR).

This meeting will take place in the City of Knowledge, Panama, on 7 and 8 October and will be attended by representatives of the Member States of SELA, regional and subregional agencies, international organizations, representatives of the private sector, and other authorities involved. This event represents an opportunity to discuss, identify and analyze successful experiences on Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) in risk management.

Among the objectives of the meeting are the following: continue to promote the creation of public-private partnerships for disaster risk reduction; further promote the continuity of Government and continuity of business and operations during disasters, from a regional, comprehensive and forward-looking perspective; support coordination and cooperation of the work performed by the UN/ISDR and OCHA in the field of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors; adjust public-private partnership models to the principles, objectives and scope set forth in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) at the local, national and regional levels; and promote its implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The creation of strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors for building resilience of nations and communities in disaster risk situations is a priority on the agenda of Latin American and Caribbean institutions specialized in risk management, gaining in relevance following the recent adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR) by the Member States of the United Nations. This agreement is the global benchmark in the field of comprehensive risk management.

The Sendai Framework stresses the need for the public and private sectors to work more closely, create opportunities and promote the incorporation of disaster risk to management practices of companies. In this connection, SELA has conducted five regional meetings that have evidenced the need to continue strengthening the complementary relationship between the public and private sectors, thus allowing for enhancing the capacity of society and its institutions to prevent natural disasters and respond to them.