09 Mar 2015

Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, 11–13 February 2015

by GIDRM

Representatives of GIDRM and the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) engaged in a dialogue and forged partnerships to identify implementable and innovative solutions at the First Asia-Pacific Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaption in Bangkok. More than 280 experts have registered for the Congress, GIDRM and GIZ were among the main supporting partners.

Olaf Handloegten, Head of Management Unit GIDRM/GIZ, joined the Opening Plenary to discuss the challenges of cities to enhance their climate and disaster resilience in the region and contributed to the Panel of the Official Launch of the OECD Report on “Green Growth and Climate Change Resilience in Bangkok”. Sasank Vemuri, Climate Change Specialist of CDIA/GIZ, shared the programme’s experiences on financing urban resilience with the audience during a Plenary Session. The prominent placement of GIZ representatives in the various sessions, facilitated by a joint exhibition booth, underlined GIZ’s commitment and the variety of expertise in the region, and attracted interest of city governments, international organisations, scholars and NGOs. The outcomes of the congress were captured by the Bangkok Call for Action that provides recommendations to national governments and the global community to ensure the recognition, engagement and empowerment of local and subnational governments to strengthen urban resilience.