The Fourteenth Meeting of The High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) was held on Friday, November 8th, 2019 in the Conference Room of the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Korea to the OECD (Délégation Permanente de la Corée Auprès de l’OCDE).
The meeting was attended by about 30 participants from HELP member organizations representing national governments, international organizations, academia, civil society and private sectors.
I. Opening Plenary (9:00 am-11:00 am)
1. Opening
- Opening Remarks by Dr. Han Seung-soo, Chair of HELP
- the Republic of Korea to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
2. Special Speech
H.E. Dr. Danilo Türk, former President of the Republic of Slovenia, Chair of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace and Lead Political Advisor of the Geneva Water Hub
3. Approval of Agenda
4. Discussion on HELP matters
- Membership issue
- Report on collaboration between the UN and HELP
5. Keynote remarks and presentations
- Remarks by Hon. Norbert Emmanuel Tony Ondo Mba, Minister of Water, Energy and Mines, Republic of Gabon and President, African Ministerial Council on Water
- Remarks by H.E. Mr. Kunihiro Yamada, Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan
- Remarks by Mr. Loic Fauchon, President of World Water Council
- Presentation by Ms. Ms. Kirsi Madi, Director, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
- Presentation by Mr. Woochong Um, Director General concurrenlty Chief Compliance Officer, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Asian Development Bank
Coffee break (11:00 a.m.-11:20 a.m.)
II. Plenary Discussion (11:20 a.m.-1:00 p.m.)
- Discussion on collaboration with Water for Peace
- Discussion on the disasters caused by Typhoon Hagibis in October 2019 in Japan
- Focused discussion on following-up discussion in the UN on Hurricane Idai in March 2019 – How HELP can contribute to “Build Back Better” of affected countries (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi)-
- Discussion on HELP Flagship Actions
- Preparation for the next conference and opportunities to raise awareness and promote discussion on water and disasters including Regional Platforms for DRR in 2020, the Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028”, the 4th Asia Pacific Water Summit in October 2020 and the 9th World Water Forum in 2021
Lunch break (1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.)
III. Breakout Discussion (2:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)
- Breakout and Plenary Discussion on HELP Flagship Initiatives
- Session 1 (2:00-3:15): Financing and Investment chaired by Japan
- Session 2 (2:00-3:15): Science and Technology chaired by AoA
- Session 3 (3:15-4:30): HELP Global Report and Flagship Documents chaired by GWP and Secretariat
- Session 4 (3:15-4:30): Climate Change chaired by the Netherlands
IV. Plenary Discussion (4:30 am – 5:30 pm)
- Report by Breakout Session Chairs and discussion
- Other business including HELP15 and wrap up by Chair
