2020•06•12     Bonn, Germany

© UNICEF / G.M.B. Akash

UNU-EHS congratulates Senior Scientist Dr. Michael Hagenlocher on being appointed to the Steering Group of the Global Risk Assessment Framework (GRAF).

The GRAF is an initiative, concept, framework, community and platform coordinated by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and chaired by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG). The goal of the GRAF is to offer actionable solutions for the realization of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as risk-informed sustainable development, through improved management of current and future disaster risks at all scales. At its core is the awareness that reducing risk and building resilience requires a much better understanding of the systemic nature of risk and of how the increasing complexity and interconnectedness of humanity and nature across systems, sectors and scales can further amplify them. GRAF started as a network of decision-makers, finance professionals, social scientists and risk specialists in 2017, and was officially launched at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2019. In addition to the broader GRAF community, dedicated thematic working groups and national pilots are important pillars towards the operationalization of GRAF.

The Steering Group serves as an advisory group to support GRAF, UNDRR and Member States to meet the goal and objectives of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, an international agenda adopted by UN Member States for the years 2015-2030 that aims to better understand and manage disaster risk, build resilience and improve recovery after a disaster strikes.

Steering Group members will provide advice to the Chair of the GRAF and strategic guidance on the design, development and priorities of GRAF working groups, national pilots and other GRAF activities. Further, the group has the specific mandate to align GRAF to the needs of a post-COVID-19 world.

Steering Group members were appointed by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG), Mami Mizutori, based on their merits as experts in respective domains, and will serve for the period from 2020 to 2022. The first meeting of the Steering Group took place virtually from 9-10 June 2020.