APEC: Joint efforts to reduce disaster risks

The Brunei Times/Asia News Network

Sunday, Nov 13, 2011

The public and private sectors signed a joint statement of intent at Apec to strengthen regional disaster risk reduction and resilience, following US Secretary of State's High-Level Policy Dialogue on Disaster Resiliency yesterday.

The Asia-Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilient Collaboration joint statement, which was signed by nine organisations at the Sheraton Waikiki, intends to use public private partnership as means to help save lives, ensure economic vitality, and enhance human well-being across the region.

The members also urged more organisations from Apec members to get on-board with their effort to reduce disaster risks and increase resilience in the the Asia-Pacific region.

MRC Greenwood, System President of the University of Hawaii (UH), said that UH has offered to host this initiative, and believed that with its strong connections (and location) throughout the region, will be able to make it as home of the initiative.

"In Japan, regardless of how prepared or how strong, the importance there is the ability to sustain and recover after a disaster," she said.

The US Agency for International Development's (USAID) Assistant Administrator Nancy Lindborg said that the initiative was important especially because of disasters happening more frequently in this densely populated world, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

"This won't eliminate disaster, but it helps continuous progress on how to address them," she said, adding, "We have also launched an online tool on how to map and respond to disasters."

Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce, said with the private sector on board, they bring along a unique capability and resource to the table.

He said that with a 24-7 news cycle, more disasters are being seen, so the greater question is whether more disasters are happening, and why.

Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, said that yesterday, she chaired two high-level policy dialogues on critical issues, disaster resilience and open governance, and held bi-lateral meetings with several countries including China, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

"We discussed a full range of issues from our economic partnerships to our security challenges to our shared humanitarian concerns.

In particular, I expressed solidarity with our ally and friend, Thailand, as it contends with the worse flooding in the nation's history," she said.

A release from Apec ministers and senior government officials on the High Level Policy Dialogue on Disaster Resiliency, said that bearing the earthquake and tsunami on March 11 in Japan; the wildfires, typhoons and tornadoes in the region; and recent floods in Thailand, is a reminder that the region is highly prone to impacts of natural disasters.

The statement added that Apec, through its strong networks in the business sector, has a comparative advantage in encouraging greater private sector participation in disaster preparedness and resiliency efforts.