Ming Zhang, World Bank Global Director, Global Practice for Urban, Land, Resilience and Disaster Risk Management, spoke at the Mayors' Leadership Forum on nature-based solutions and cities' role in protecting biodiversity.

Planning for resilient, inclusive and sustainable infrastructure is crucial — but what does this look like in practice? In this panel, GFDRR Head Niels Holm-Nielsen shared how GFDRR ensures that recovery and risk management efforts are responsive and sustainable by integrating community voices and adapting to on-the-ground realities. 

This Knowledge Café event on extreme heat at the World Bank Annual Meetings — with Ming Zhang, World Bank Global Director for Urban, Disaster Risk Management and Land, Maria Marcela Silva World Bank Regional Director for Infrastructure, Latin America and Caribbean, and Niels Holm-Nielsen, GFDRR Head as speakers — highlighted potential solutions to the pressing challenge of extreme urban heat. 

The EU-funded program, Strengthening Financial Resilience and Risk Reduction Program in Central Asia, implemented by the GFDRR and the World Bank, held a final regional forum in Almaty. This two-day event will bring together representatives of national government ministries and agencies responsible for disaster management, health, social protection, and finance and insurance, alongside research institutions, academia, international organizations, and development partners. 

The Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Nature-Based Solutions in Mountainous Regions, organized by the GFDRR in partnership with the governments of Austria and Switzerland, was held from September 9 to 13, 2024, in Innsbruck, Austria. This four-day event gathered government representatives from Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, alongside World Bank experts and international specialists, to explore innovative solutions for resilient development in mountainous areas of Central Asia and the Caucasus. The TDD featured presentations of success stories, nature-based solutions practices, and their implementation potential in the region, along with participatory workshops and field visits.

09:00-12.30 | Location: Room 403 

Speakers: Sadi Samadzod, Director, State Unitary Enterprise “Smart City” under Dushanbe administration (Tajikistan); Zhanar Gabdullina, Deputy Chairman, “Almaty Development Centre” JSC (Kazakhstan); Ricardo Ochoa Sosa (CAPSUS S.C.) Charles Antoyne Mari Catherine Hurstel, City Resilience Program; Rui Su, City Resilience Program   

Moderators: Chyi-Yun Huang, Senior DRM Specialist, World Bank; Ross Eisenberg, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, City Resilience Program   

11:30-12.30 | Location: Room 401+402+403 

Speakers: James Myazoe, Republic of the Marshall Islands; Ahmed Aiman Shareef, Republic of Maldives; Naomichi Murooka, Japan International Cooperation Agency; Jessica Schmidt, World Bank; Rui Su, City Resilience Program  

Moderator: Jian Vun, World Bank 

09:30-10:30‎ | Location: Room 401+402+403  

Speakers: Seyi Makinde, Governor, Oyo State, Nigeria; Ross Eisenberg, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, City Resilience Program; Philip Ward, Senior Climate Adaptation and DRM Specialist, Professor of Global Water Risk Dynamics; Blair Splendelow, Technical Director, JBA Consulting; Karel Keijnert, Senior Water Management Consultant, Royal Haskoning, DHV