A global review of disaster reduction initiatives - Welcome to the ...

3Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives126The 11th ASEAN meeting was held in ChiangRai, Thailand, in August 2000 and endorsed theurgent development of an ASEAN Regional Programmeon Disaster Management (ARPDM).With technical assistance extended by ADPCand financial support provided by the EuropeanUnion, the ASEAN secretariat andmember countries have reached an advancedstage of planning. This new regional programmewill guide cooperative action inASEAN member countries in the followingcore areas of activity:• Planning and conducting joint projects.• Collaborating on research and encouragingnetworks among member countries.• Building capacities and developinghuman resources in areas of priority concern.• Sharing information, best practices, anddisaster management resources.• Promoting partnerships among variousstakeholders including governmentauthorities, NGOs, community and internationalorganizations.• Promoting advocacy, public awarenessand education programmes related to disastermanagement.The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is anotherregional platform composed of the ASEANcountries and 13 additional dialogue partners(Australia, Canada, China, Eu, India, JapanKorea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua NewGuinea, Russian Federation and USA). It isconvened to develop mutual confidence-buildingmeasures and to promote dialogue onregional security concerns. Under its umbrella,several groups have been established to promotecooperation in specific areas includingdisaster relief and marine search and rescue.Four inter-sessional meetings on disaster reliefhave taken place in Wellington (1997),Bangkok (1998), Moscow (1999), and Hanoi(2000). These meetings have included delegationsfrom ministries of foreign affairs, defence,and disaster management from all ARF membercountries and have thus provided a uniqueplatform for discussions at high levels focussedon multiple aspects of disaster management. Inaddition to these meetings, some specificachievements of ARF include a series of trainingactivities, developing a matrix of past cooperationin disaster relief among member countries,conducting an inventory of early warningsystems and drafting guidelines for post-disasterresponsibilities.Among the seven countries which belong tothe South Asia Association for Regional CooperationSAARC (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) issuesof disaster risk management have been periodicallytouched upon by the SAARC TechnicalCommittee on Environment, Meteorology andForestry. A regional study was conducted onthe Consequences of Natural Disaster, and Protectionand Preservation of the Environment in 1992.Most recently at a meeting of the TechnicalCommittee in January 2002 reference wasmade to “the need for mechanisms to promotecapacity building and technology transfer tosupport natural disaster management”. It wasfurther stressed that together with concernsabout the negative impacts which climatechange exerts in the region, a common SouthAsian position should be developed on theseissues in international forums.There have also been regular and continuedendorsements of inter-state cooperation in naturaldisaster management and resulting declarationsat SAARC Summit Meetings, even ifthey have seldom occupied primary attentionamong the many regional issues, typically onthe agendas. However, at the most recent 11thSummit Meeting of SAARC held in January2002 in Kathmandu, the view was more explicitlyexpressed as, “the Heads of State or Governmentfelt a strong need to devise a mechanismfor cooperation in the field of early warning,as well as preparedness and managementof natural disasters, along with programmes topromote the conservation of land and waterresources”.As all SAARC member countries are exposedto similar hazards, they have much operationalexperience in disaster risk management thatcould be exchanged to a considerably greaterextent than is currently the case. Importantareas that could benefit from cooperationinclude training, the exchange of both operationaland technical professional information,the exchange of government officials, and coordinationin policy formulation and implementation,especially in the case of disasters affectingneighbouring countries. The reduction of risksassociated with transboundary hazards is a particularlyurgent area in which to expand formal