Introductory Speakers

H.E. Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance,Thailand
Mr. Bert. Hoffman, Chief Economist, East Asia and Pacific, The World Bank
Prof. Dr. Krasae Changawonse, Executive Director of ADPC
Panel: Facilitator - Mr. Abhas Jha, Sector Manager, East Asia and Pacific, The World Bank

Panelists:

Dr. Khamlien Pholsena, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Lao PDR
Dr. Shamika Sirimanne, Director of Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Reduction Division, UNESCAP
Mr. Larry Maramis, Director for Cross-Sectoral Cooperation at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Mr. Olivier Mahul, Program Coordinator of the World Bank Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program
Dr. Bichit Rattakul, former Govenor of Bangkok, former Executive Director of ADPC, Special Advisor to ADPC
BANGKOK, Thailand. In collaboration with the World Bank, ADPC recently hosted the launch of the World Banks new publication: Strong, Safe and Resilient: A Strategic Policy Guide for Disaster Risk Management in East Asia and the Pacific. National and regional politicians, representatives from international embassies and members of the UN and other disaster management agencies gathered in Bangkok on the 3rd of June for the presentation of the publication and to take part in a panel led discussion.

The launch was introduced by His Excellency Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance for Thailand; Prof. Dr. Krasae Changawongse, Exectutive Director of ADPC; and Mr. Bert Hoffman, Chief Economist of the East Asia and Pacific branch of the World Bank.

The initial speakers introduced the book and its themes, and were followed by a panel discussion featuring prominent members of the DRM community presenting on the concepts and implications of the study. Participants spoke of the key importance of land use planning and how being able to effectively act following unexpected events, such as the 2011 Thoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, is crucial.

Dr. Shamika Sirimanne said that "the book does a tremendous job of presenting a policy guide, not only for East Asia and the Pacific, but for the rest of the Asia as well"

"As a policy guide it is certainly timely. Disaster management has gone through a transformation to issues that are much more inter-connected, and that is a key feature of disaster management today; I feel that this publication has captured all the facets of these developments" Dr Sirimanne continued. "It outlines where we are, and what needs to be done to get to where we need to be."Opening Speakers from left: Mr. Bert Hoffman; H.E. Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong; Prof. Dr. Krasae Changawongse

Speaking of the growing importance of Risk Financing, Mr. Olivier Mahul spoke of the average of 4.4 billion dollars spent every year in ASEAN Countries every year as a result of natural hazards (equivalent to greater than 0.2 per cent of regional GDP), and how earmarking a part of the budget for disaster preparedness every year needs more capacity across the region; "Disaster risk financing goes well beyond insurance it is any kind of financial measures to increase the resilience and strength of a country in a disaster"

"Disaster should be one of the risks to be considered in a countries overall fiscal risk assessment"

"The public financial management of disaster can explore how best to ensure that the key assets of each country can be protected from disaster. This can force a government to better understand their risk and identify weaknesses within their fiscal systems." Mr. Mahul explained

The World Bank's publication addresses policy makers directly, not just practitioners already converted to the importance of DRM. Dr. Sirimanne spoke of the importance to work with government officials and people making decisions on budgets and policy.

"Avoiding risk has no political game; if you avoid a risk, nobody will give you credit, as its something that never happened. It's only when you start looking at figures, that $1 spent on preparation is worth $4 spent on recovery, that this work gains desirability. With these sort of simple messages, the chance of influencing policy makers increases" Dr. Sirimanne commented.

Dr. Bhichit Rattakul was asked by the facilitator of the panel, Mr. Abhas Jha, why as a politician you would invest in disaster resilience measures when you don't know whether a disaster will hit or not in a five year term.

"For the city of Bangkok, it's a local government administration, and we have control over the tax that we collect. The budget was much lower than we would have liked, but we had budget for disasters hitting. However, as the risk maps change and are updated, it is vital to update the amount of money given to the disaster budget accordingly, especially in the sectors of housing, transport and energy."

When the floor was opened up for discussion, Ms. Ulrika kesson, First Secretary of the Embassy of Sweden and Senior Project Manager of the Environment and Climate Change Development Cooperation Regional Section, spoke of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agencys (Sida) findings: in Africa the main sectors to develop for disaster resilience are water and agriculture, rather than housing, transport and energy as Dr. Bhitchit identified as the key needs for Bangkok. This highlights the need to assess and prepare for the individual risk needs of each region.It is a critical time for disaster preparedness in East Asia. The region is urbanizing rapidly, with cities increasingly becoming disaster prone. The population of Asia's cities increased by one billion between 1980 and 2010 with many people living in unplanned or poorly planned habitations. With projections estimating that another billion people will live in Asia's cities by 2040, World Bank recognizes the importance of strong and resilient preparedness and planning systems to Asia, both in terms of preventing disasters and diminishing their effects.

Dr. Bhichit drew on his experience in his presentation from the panel: "The most important factor is the budget; not only in national governments but in local governments too. How can we motivate local governments to make sure that they have sufficient budget? In Thailand, after many years of campaigning, there is now a law that every local government must earmark funds for a budget to be used in the case of an emergency."

"Sharing the lesson learned from country to country is vital. Right now, what ADPC has been discussing with World Bank how to make sure the climate change adaption in the Mekong delta that has been successfully implemented by Viet Nam, can be shared with countries with similar deltas, such as the Ganges in Bangladesh."

The World Bank Group has increasingly focused on disaster risk management in recent years, seeing the field as a priority in their mission to end poverty. Each disaster that affects a country has the potential to destroy decades of progress, and disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, women and children.

"Strong, Safe and Resilient: A Strategic Policy Guide for Disaster Risk Management in East Asia and the Pacific does a tremendous job of presenting a policy guide, not only for East Asia and the Pacific, but for the rest of the Asia as well said Dr. Shamika Sirimanne,

The publication has been made available online by the World Bank and can be read here - https://www.gfdrr.org/node/1947

For more information, visit www.worldbank.org/eapdisasters

For more information please contact Ms. Suree Sungcharoen at suree@adpc.net