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SE Asia should boost resilience efforts: Experts
Sharing experience: Indonesian and Japanese experts present their views and their countriesâ experiences in Jakarta on April 2 at the ASEAN-Japan Symposium on Disaster Management 2015, Building National Resilience in ASEAN Countries: Initiatives of Risk Control through International Cooperation and Technologies
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span class="inline inline-center">Sharing experience: Indonesian and Japanese experts present their views and their countries' experiences in Jakarta on April 2 at the ASEAN-Japan Symposium on Disaster Management 2015, Building National Resilience in ASEAN Countries: Initiatives of Risk Control through International Cooperation and Technologies. Alex Bue
As statistical data shows natural disasters becoming more frequent in East and Southeast Asia, efforts in disaster resilience need to be bolstered to better cope with the situation, experts have warned.
Participants at the ASEAN-Japan Symposium on Disaster Mitigation ' hosted by the Indonesian and Japanese governments and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) ' discussed best practices in disaster mitigation.
The forum was held following the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction earlier this month in Sendai, Japan, during which The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted.
The framework reviewed earlier international efforts in disaster resilience, and proposed changes and improvements, setting a precedent for future practices in Asia and around the world. Japan's Ambassador to ASEAN Koichi Aiboshi, alluded to the framework's importance.
'Japan is a country which has accumulated original technology for disaster reduction. [The framework] clearly states that Japan's experiences should be shared with the international community.'
Speakers at the event emphasized Asia's shared circumstances, its geographical precariousness with the proximity to the Ring of Fire that causes a disproportionate number of disasters in the region.
Statistics from the Central Disaster Prevention Council in Japan show that during the decade of 1994-2003, 20 percent of earthquakes of over 6.0 on the Richter scale occurred in Japan and its surrounding areas.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency's (BNPB) deputy chief for prevention and preparedness B. Wisnu Widjaja, said between 2007 and 2012 Indonesia accrued Rp 68.4 trillion (US$5.2 billion) in 'potential losses' as a result of natural disasters
The need to boost efforts in Southeast Asia's preparedness is increasingly important as the region is due to become a single economic community later this year.
'Past investment in disaster risk reduction has obviously contributed to a decrease in fatalities in Japan,' said Takahiro Konami of Japan's Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism Ministry.
Such investments include 'structural' developments, like architectural reinforcement against earthquakes, and 'non-structural' ones, which involve capacity-building and collaboration among the public, private and academic sectors.
Said Faisal of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre For Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) underlined the importance of 'non-structural' investments.
'Innovation is not only about technology. The difficulty is changing the way we do things. This is where the private sector comes in. The private sector has the luxury of innovation. We need to move this to disaster management.'
Private investment was imperative as part of a 'holistic approach' that included public and academic participation, he said.
Wisnu added that collaboration between communities and private industry had begun, including the necessity of raising local awareness.
