Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Workshop on Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM)

Project summary:

The Asia-Pacific is one of the most disaster prone region in the world. Therefore, it is essential to further promote sustainable disaster management, in which community based disaster management (CBDRM) is a critical element. In response to the instruction by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders, which is to further strengthen APEC’s efforts to build community resilience and preparedness for emergencies and natural disasters, Viet Nam proposes to organize a workshop on community based disaster management. The workshop aims at: (i) Identify the gaps and capacity building needs related to CBDRM; (ii) Suggesting an action plan and various policy recommendations on CBDRM; (iii) Creating a network of relevant focal points within APEC and enhancing APEC’s cooperation with international organizations for community resilience to disasters.

The workshop will focus on sharing best practices, lessons learnt, application of new solutions and tools to support the local authority in implementing the CBDRM at community level among APEC members. Participants may also suggest recommendations for APEC to enhance APEC member economies’ capability to manage disasters. A field trip to the local Committee for Disaster Management will be included.

Relevance:

A person living in the region is almost twice as likely to be affected by a disaster as a person living in Africa, almost six times as likely compared with Latin America and the Caribbean, and 30 times more likely than a person living in North America or Europe. In 2013 alone, natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific affected more than 57 million people and caused US $128 billion in damages. In 2010 APEC Leaders’ declaration and APEC Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Asia-Pacific Region during the period 2009-2015 stressed to create a secure community where economies should strengthen their resilience and capacity to manage emergencies and natural disasters. As climate change becomes more and more severe and disasters happen more often, it is more urgent than ever that we pay close attention to disaster-risk management, including community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM). The proposed project will be an excellent opportunity for APEC members and other relevant international organizations such as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Oxfam, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), CARE…to share information and best practice on community based disasters management, to identify the gap and discuss relevant and new measures for communities on how to most effectively prepare and response to disasters.

Objectives:

• To raise awareness of the growing importance of CBDRM.
• To identify gaps/capacity building needs among the economies with regard to CBDRM
• To develop a long term action plan for EPWG’s consideration and building a network among experts supporting CBDRM
• To develop an useful compendium (new solutions, tools, integrated approaches, multi-stakeholders involvement, etc.)
• To promote cooperation in community resilience to disasters among APEC and between APEC and other international organizations andto support local authorities and citizen of APEC member economies to implement CBDRM more effectively.