Bishkek steps up action on disaster resilience

Bishkek, 12 February 2021 - Bishkek, the capital city of the Kyrgyz Republic, confirmed commitment to the principles of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 global initiative (MCR2030) in strengthening resilience at the local level and embarked on the resilience assessment and development of the local strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The move marks an important step forward for accelerating urban resilience in the capital city at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and increasing climate change impacts have made clear the need for ensuring disaster resilience.

“The city of Bishkek gives high importance to the joining to the Making Cities Resilient 2030 Initiative. Urbanization is accelerating, and population of cities grows fast. We as the capital city municipal team should ensure safety of each resident of Bishkek”, stated vice-mayor of Bishkek, Ruslanbek Akylbekov.

The Technical Working Group was established by the Mayor’s Office to undertake with the support of UNDRRR resilience assessment and development of the local strategy. It encompasses over 40 representatives of the Mayor’s Office, relevant Ministries and other State Agencies, Risk Assessment and Early Warning institutions. Involvement of the local NGOs and consultations with the private sector are also envisaged.

The introductory meeting of the Technical Working Group, which was conducted in the hybrid mode due to the global pandemic, brought together nearly 60 participants. The city of Bishkek was also joined in the meeting by the city of Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova, to share experiences in building urban resilience to disasters. Both Bishkek and Chisinau are among the first major cities to have joined the global Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative.

“The EU welcomes the commitment of the city of Bishkek to the principles of Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative. As losses associated with natural events continue to increase, the decisions that the city is making now about investments, infrastructure and land use are vital for increasing disaster and climate resilience in the long run”, said Charlotte Adriaen, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Kyrgyzstan.

"The city of Bishkek's membership to the global Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative marks an important commitment made by the Mayor of Bishkek to ensure resilient development and safety of the city and its population. The presence and contribution at today's workshop of the city of Chisinau, capital of Moldova, is a perfect illustration of the city-to-city peer learning central to the MCR2030 initiative,” said Andrew Bower, Programme Officer at UNDRR Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.

Mr. Almabek Aidakeev, on behalf of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction of the Kyrgyz Republic, congratulated residents of Bishkek for joining the global initiative Making Cities Resilient 2030 and highlighted the importance of the local disaster risk reduction strategy development in the face of expected and rapidly increasing resilience challenges. He added: “Bishkek has been a leader in setting the pace in the country in different fields…Through the implementation of this initiative, indirectly we will help enhancing resilience of all other cities in the republic.”

Background information

The EU-funded project “Strengthening disaster resilience and accelerating implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Central Asia”, implemented by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), aims to support countries of the region in implementing Sendai Framework priorities. The project includes support for developing resilience strategies in the capital cities of the countries of the region, through building the capacity of city administration to assess, analyze, and identify priority needs in reducing the risk of disasters on city level.