Asia-Pacific countries see the need to cooperate to reduce risk of disasters

UNESCAP press release No.G/24/2009

Regional Arm of the UN convenes a new Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction

With Asia and the Pacific being the most disaster-prone region in the world, cooperation among governments in the region for disaster risk reduction (DRR) is of paramount importance. This was the key message from the first session today of a new committee on DRR formed by the regional arm of the United Nations, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The three-day meeting of the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (CDRR) began on Wednesday, gathering more than 200 delegates including ministers and senior officials from 25 countries, the Director of United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and senior officials from over 28 international organizations. Participants will look at ways Asia-Pacific countries can collaborate to create DRR strategies for the region.

“Natural disasters pose a significant challenge to development in our region,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, in her address to the opening session, “A person living in our region is four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than someone living in Africa and 25 times more likely then someone living in Europe or North America.”

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 42 per cent of the world’s natural disasters, and a disproportionate 65 per cent of their victims. In 2008, almost a quarter of a million people died as a result of natural disasters in the region, representing a staggering 97 per cent of fatalities worldwide. Since 1990, one in every twenty people in the region was affected by disasters in any given year.

“This first session of the Committee is indeed vey significant,” said Thailand’s Minister of Interior, Mr. Chavarat Charnirakul, in his keynote address, “We have the responsibility of looking at the directions and mechanisms for enhancing cooperation among multi-stakeholders and guiding the mission of ESCAP towards a better function of disaster risk reduction in the region.”

Mr. Chamirakul also praised ESCAP for “being a tireless advocate” for the importance of information and knowledge in supporting disaster management activities, and for its efforts in promoting regional cooperation on disaster management for many decades.

As part of the CDRR session, a high-level round table was held Wednesday for participants to exchange knowledge and experiences with DRR. They also discussed the implications of including DRR as an integrated part of economic and social development.

The roundtable concluded that, as a cross-cutting issue of great complexity, DDR requires knowledge and information on hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities. However, such knowledge is usually dispersed throughout the region and out of reach of those who need to make decisions and take actions. Thus, regional cooperation is fundamental for effectively reducing the losses of lives and the social, economic and environmental impacts of disasters.

At the round table, Dr. Heyzer said that ESCAP would establish a regional platform for sharing information among disaster risk management authorities. It would also produce the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report which would synthesize information from member states, provide socio-economic analysis of DRR trends, identify good practice, evaluate the state of DRR in the region and identify future priorities and trends, among others.

Participants at the round table included ministers and senior officials responsible for disaster management from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Pakistan, Republic of Korea and Thailand.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Zengpei Xuan
Director
Information and Communication Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction, ESCAP
Tel: (66) 2288 1466
Email: [email protected]

Ms. Ying Qiu
Associate Economic Affairs Officer
Information and Communication Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction, ESCAP
Tel: (66) 2288 2431
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Mr. Bentley Jenson
UN Information Services (UNIS), ESCAP
Tel: (66) 2 288 1869
Mobile: (66) 84 080 5025
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]