The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) approved on Wednesday its first-ever disaster risk reduction framework in an effort to build resilient communities in the face of more frequent and unpredictable disasters, reports The Philippine Star.
Alexander Pama, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director, said the framework would lead to the creation of action plans that seek to mitigate the effects of both natural and man-made calamities. The framework is the first document on disaster preparedness adopted by APEC since the economic bloc was formed in 1989.
“Adopting this framework is our move to help translate into concrete actions what our leaders and ministers have agreed on and repeatedly articulated over the years” Pama said to The Philippine Star.