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John Rees of the British Geological Survey and GEM Governing Board member presented GEM at the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Cancun, Mexico from May 22-26. GEM’s work on earthquake hazard and risk assessment was presented during the Sendai Framework Priority 1: Understanding Disaster Risk session.

The participation was aimed to contribute to the discussions on practical examples regarding the use of open data platforms that present geo-referenced earthquake risk information and exposure data in open source and interoperable formats. In particular, GEM shared the cost effectiveness and the multiple sustainable development benefits of such open risk data platforms for the public and private sector.

GEM reaffirmed its commitment to continue developing tools and products, promoting open access and open source risk assessment applications, and advancing earthquake science to help achieve disaster risk reduction globally.

The Fifth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction took place from 24 to 26 May 2017 in Cancun Mexico. With the Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs) as backdrop, the program and deliberations of the Global Platform reflected the priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The 2017 Global Platform marks the first event after the adoption of the Sendai Framework in 2015.