New Zealand to offer disaster expertise at UN conference

New Zealand disaster management officials will be explaining how the country dealt with the deadly Canterbury earthquake of 2011 at a United Nations conference in Japan this month.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said Friday he would lead a delegation to the World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai from March 14 to 18.

"New Zealand's expertise in reducing disaster risk is internationally recognized," Brownlee said in a statement.

"This conference will advance global thinking on how countries can reduce the risks of disasters through innovative and best practice initiatives," he said.

"It is an opportunity to showcase our expertise, technology, and innovative approach with a global audience."

More than 6,000 delegates were expected to attend the conference, where more than 190 countries would negotiate a new Framework for Action on Disaster Risk Reduction.

"This new global framework will represent a collective commitment from countries to invest in initiatives that will reduce risks and create safer communities for people at risk of natural disasters," Brownlee said.

"Given New Zealand and our Pacific neighbors' own vulnerability to natural disasters, this is an area of great importance to us."

Brownlee would deliver the official New Zealand Statement at the conference, and he had been invited to be a keynote speaker at a high-level ministerial roundtable on the topic of Reconstruction After Disasters.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel would join the New Zealand delegation and speak on three occasions about Christchurch's post- quake experience and lessons learned from the rebuild and recovery.

Christchurch and the surround Canterbury region suffered a series of major earthquakes from September 2010, including a 6.3- magnitude quake that killed 185 people in February 2011. Endi