Desktop Study on - Regional Climate Change Adaptation ...

Assessment of Capacity Gaps and Needs of South East Asia Countries
in Addressing Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Variability and Climate Change
the committees and working groups (ADPC, 2009).
The ADPC suggests several key activities for filling
the gaps, including disaster management legislation
or law, training and capacity building, awareness
generation, better coordination and information
exchange and regular updates of disaster
preparedness plans. The following are the steps to
be taken for each suggested activity (ibid):
Legislation and implementation of standing
order on disaster management
Creation of Disaster Management Law:
such legislation would assist Ministries
and Departments to smoothly and quickly
discharge their duties on disaster management
and also allow for enhanced inter-ministerial/
departmental coordination.
Identification of disaster risk reduction
mandates of each ministry: there is a need to
link ministerial and departmental disaster
management roles and responsibilities with
the ‘Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction,
Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation’ and
facilitate a common approach to disaster risk
reduction.
Implementation of the standing orders: along
with the capacity building of government
officers at all the levels, the operationalisation
of SO needs to be carried out at the nation to
village tract levels.
Assessment of hazard and vulnerability at the
national and sub-national levels: this should be
undertaken through identification of people,
resources and assets potentially exposed to
the hazard prone areas investigated in the
SO, followed by the detailed vulnerability and
capacity assessment including demographic
characteristics and means of livelihood.
Standardisation of the disaster management
terminology: as encouraged by the United
Nations International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction, standardised terms for disaster
preparedness plans and committees need to
be generated and consistently used at different
administrative levels, which would promote
better coordination and information sharing.
Capacity Building and training
Training and capacity building for disaster
preparedness and mitigation: strategies and
approaches toward disaster risk reduction are
required to be shared among governmental
officers of committees, sub-committees and
working groups to respond to disasters properly,
for example, through experience sharing
workshops organised by a ministry. Also, the
good practices on disaster risk reduction from
neighbouring countries should be shared with
committee members. The training and capacity
building would allow governmental officers
to integrate risk reduction into development
planning.
Mobilisation of agencies and resources: there is
a need to enhance the capacity of the respective
ministerial or departmental focal points within
disaster preparedness committees at the
national and division/state levels, for example
by conducting technical trainings and inter- and
cross- departmental visits. This could facilitate
implementation of roles and responsibilities
identified by disaster preparedness
committees within the respective ministries
and departments.
Review of training course curriculum for a
trainer: the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief
and Rehabilitation have carried out disaster
management trainings since 1977. These
training courses need to be reviewed and
consolidated to the international standard as
participants of the courses receive updated
information and approaches and provide as a
trainer training programmes at township and
village tract levels.
Improvement of disaster management training
resource kit: participants of the training courses
are provided with the kit that introduces
basic terminologies and types of disasters.
This resource kit should entail lesson learned
from past disaster events in other countries,
mainstreaming disaster management in
development planning.
Better coordination and information exchange
Involvement of civil society: although several
institutions, including the Myanmar Red
Cross Society, Auxiliary Fire Services, Union
Solidarity and Development Association,
Myanmar Women Affairs Federation, Myanmar
Fishermen Federation and Maternal and Child
Care Association, have been included in some
of disaster preparedness committees, subcommittees
and working group at various
levels. Though more local Non-Governmental
Organisations should be involved.
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