The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) launched The Asia Pacific Disaster Report 2015 – Disasters without Borders last week. The publication provides an overview of the state of disaster resilience in the region, and places disaster risk reduction at the heart of sustainable development. It identifies emerging new risks in Asia and the Pacific and the sectors that are most at risk.

The report focuses on cross-border disasters and highlights that only by coming together in the spirit of cooperation can the Asia-Pacific region hope to become truly disaster resilient. Several neglected areas of disaster risk reduction need to be addressed urgently. Drought, for example, is a disaster in the Asia-Pacific that pushes vast numbers of people into debt and poverty. Yet, the negative impacts are rarely reported.

The report shows how the impact can be mitigated by treating drought as a long-term, recurring risk, analyzing the value of early warning systems and mapping out how to provide right information to right people at the right time. While investing in disaster risk reduction is proven cost-effective, the political commitment has not yet adequately transformed into actions on the ground.

The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2015 can be downloaded here.