An upcoming United Nations conference in Sendai aims to raise awareness and galvanize political will to reduce risks posed by natural disasters, a visiting high-ranking official with the world body said Wednesday.
"We have a big aspiration that more political weight and attention will be given to the importance of prevention for sustainable development and for safety" at the Third U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, said Margareta Wahlstrom, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for disaster risk reduction.
Pointing out economic losses from disasters in the world keep rising as the world becomes richer, Wahlstrom said the international community needs to stop the increase through enhanced efforts for disaster risk reduction.