A global consultative conference on disaster risks reduction and post-2015 development agenda was held in Indonesia on February 19 by the host government in coordination with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Participants, who were Indonesian and UN officials, foreign ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Jakarta, discussed challenges to post-2015 development and shared their viewpoints and experiences in implementing Millennium Development Goals relating to natural disasters and conflicts.

The delegates stressed the important role of Asia-Pacific countries in this field, as the nations are becoming a key driving force for global economic growth while the region will suffer the most impacts of the climate change in the future.

The conference discussed several specific proposals on minimising natural disaster consequences, including the goals of reducing the fatality of natural disasters by 50 percent by 2030 and economic losses caused by such disasters by 20 percent.

Addressing the gathering, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono highlighted the importance of the UN’s post-2015 development agenda as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be reviewed and assessed in 2015 and the world will continue facing a lot of global challenges, particularly natural disasters as a consequence of climate change.

According to the president, during the 2000-2009 period, more than 2.2 billion people in the world suffered from the impacts of natural disasters, nearly 840,000 of them died. Besides, economic damages caused by natural disasters have increased by 200 percent over the past 25 years.-VNA