A

SEAN will encourage more non-state actors from its member countries to participate in its disaster-management program after the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) comes into being on Dec. 31, 2015, an official has said.

ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) executive director Said Faisal, said that at the moment, disaster management was largely shouldered by the governments of ASEAN'€™s 10 member states.

He said that after the AEC took effect, both governments and non-state actors, such as civil society, military personnel and NGOs, should have equal responsibility in handling disasters.

'€œOur motto is One ASEAN, One Response. Therefore, all actors should have a joint response,'€ Faisal told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday at his office.

He said that the participation of non-state actors was needed because governments could not handle natural disasters alone.

Up to September this year, the ASEAN region faced 161 natural disasters, comprising 90 floods, 31 volcanic eruptions, seven landslides and five earthquakes.

Said said that his institution had established the 91-member ASEAN Emergency Response and Assessment Team (ASEAN-ERAT) whose duty was to provide immediate help when disasters occurred.

 Of the 91 members, 72 are from ASEAN member states: 15 from Indonesia, 11 from Singapore, nine from Brunei Darussalam, eight from the Philippines, seven from Thailand, six from Malaysia, five from Vietnam, four from Cambodia, four from Myanmar and three from Laos, he revealed.

'€œNext year, we will make a serious effort to increase the number of ERAT members. Each country should contribute at least 30 residents to join ERAT,'€ he said.

'€œWe are currently conducting the ERAT transformation plan to improve ERAT'€™s performance in the upcoming five years, not only in terms of the quantity of its members but also their quality.'€

Said said that for example, ERAT deployed large numbers to the Philippines last year when Typhoon Haiyan struck the country on Nov. 8. The disaster killed 6,109 people, injured 28,626, and left 1,779 missing.

'€œIn the Philippines, we distributed necessary items to victims, such as medicine, blankets, towels, school kits, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and water-purification tablets,'€ he said.

Said said that the AHA Centre was continuing to inform non-state actors about the AEC so that they would be ready and willing to participate in the disaster-management program.

The AHA Centre was established on Nov. 17, 2011, during the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali, through the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management by ASEAN foreign ministers, witnessed by all ASEAN heads of state.

The AHA Centre aims to facilitate joint emergency response; to consolidate, update and disseminate data on available resources, earmarked assets and capacities for regional standby arrangements; and to facilitate regional cooperation for disaster management. (alz)