The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has committed to further strengthen its disaster risk reduction measures to help insulate member states from socio-economic shocks and vulnerabilities, as well as preserve the development gains of the bloc.
In a joint statement issued at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction currently being held in Japan, the Asean pointed out that while the region was considered a major global hub for manufacturing and trade, and is currently one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world, it was also one of the “most at-risk regions.”
“Around 100 million people have been adversely affected by catastrophic events since year 2000. And every year during this period, Asean has incurred losses of a staggering $4.4 billion on average due to disasters. The increasing severity of disasters, as further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change, intensify the vulnerabilities of the peoples of Asean, especially the poor and marginalized,” the Asean noted.
“We are at the crossroads of deepening our understanding of the changes in our world where responding to disasters is no longer sufficient as demands for building safer and resilient communities are becoming imperative,” the bloc added.
Asean, as a region, has already been able to strengthen its institutions, legal and policy frameworks to put in place a stable foundation for disaster risk management; mainstream disaster risk reduction in policies governance, in relevant sectors as well as in practice; and enhance capacities in terms of preparedness for effective response, mitigation and resilient recovery.
“Asean will continue building on this foundation. For instance, the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance or AHA Centre was established in November 2011 and the Asean disaster emergency stockpile in Subang, Malaysia in December 2012. Both mechanisms were tested and deployed in actual disaster operations with the Myanmar earthquake and Typhoon Bopha in 2012, and more recently, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013 and Malaysian floods in January this year,” the Asean noted.
“The AHA Centre and Asean stockpile and other regional mechanisms will be further strengthened and enhanced. The Asean also helps beyond disaster response to save lives and protect assets during a disaster and also engaged in recovery and rehabilitation,” it added.
Asean is likewise implementing a program to assist super typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda-affected communities in the Philippines. One of the components now being undertaken is the Adopt-a-Municipality for Resilient Recovery Planning in which Asean has “adopted” four affected municipalities in the provinces of Leyte and Iloilo to assist them to build back better and smarter, embed risk reduction in recovery and rehabilitation.