Parallel session
Building resilience in societies after COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all segments of society, highlighting the interconnected nature of the pandemic and broader sustainability challenges as it sweeps across sectors and boundaries. Its impacts are widespread in both economic and non-economic sectors, from agriculture and fisheries, manufacturing and service, to disaster preparedness and response to health emergencies. This session will review and highlight the vulnerability of societies from the perspectives of 1) the urban environment, 2) local communities and biodiversity, and 3) the disaster risks revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and discuss the innovative solutions to build and support the resilience of societies.

Collaborators

Session convened by UNU-IAS

Ken Fukushi | Chair & Presenter

Kensuke Fukushi is an Academic Programme Officer at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability. He is also Professor and Vice Director of the Institute for Future Initiatives (formerly Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science, IR3S), The University of Tokyo (UTokyo). Kensuke is a civil-environmental engineer and holds appointments at the UTokyo Graduate Schools of Engineering and Frontier Sciences, where he organizes the Urban Sustainability Science Laboratory. 

Maiko NishiMaiko Nishi | Presenter

Maiko Nishi is a research fellow at United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). Her area of research interest includes social-ecological system governance, local and regional planning and agricultural land policy. In particular, her interest lies in multi-level governance, land tenure and use, and subjectivities of institutional actors in governing natural resources.

Zita Sebesvari | Presenter

Zita SebesvariZita Sebesvari is Deputy Director of UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security. Concurrently, she heads UNU-EHS academic section Environmental Vulnerability and Ecosystem Services. She is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of social-ecological risk assessments, ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, and ecosystem-based adaptation, with a focus on low-lying coastal areas, such as river deltas.