Hands Across the Continent

The DIPECHO Action Plans for South East Asia

In 1997, a diagnostic study was commissioned by the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) to identify the risks, hazards and vulnerability of communities in South East Asia. On the basis of this study, ECHO drew up a project intended to prevent and prepare for natural hazards in the South East Asian region. This regional project was attached to the Disaster Preparedness program of ECHO, and known by the acronym DIPECHO. DIPECHO aims to improve the way in which ECHO-financed activities are matched to priority needs, within a framework which is more consistent with existing disaster prevention and response systems.

The first DIPECHO action plan for South East Asia was approved by the European member states, and was implemented in 1998. It comprised 10 projects around the region, and took a year to complete. Using a regional approach, the action plan aimed at targeting needs identified in each country. The following implementation strategy for the program was defined: strengthening local response capacity through training, evaluation, and allocation of resources; development and implementation of emergency plans at the regional, national and local levels; development of efficient and effective early warning systems, specifically targeting flooding, tropical storms and large scale forest fires; dissemination and exchange of information to strengthen disaster management capacities at different levels in the region; and activities and measures aiming to mitigate and prepare for disasters related to the El Nino phenomenon.

An evaluation of the program made near its completion confirmed that the strategy was rational and pragmatic in seeking to promote a new regional approach to advance the coordination of disaster mitigation and preparedness. The evaluation report also pointed out that changing the traditional outlook towards approaching disaster situations will take time. The bottom line is that success depends on the active involvement of those facing disaster situations.

In formulating the second DIPECHO action plan for Southeast Asia, for implementation in 2001, ECHO called for papers from stakeholders. The resultant second plan defines updated strategies through the integration of experience into the first action plan. The ECHO-financed project implemented by ADPC has come to be known as the Partnerships for Disaster Reduction for South East Asia (PDR-SEA), responding to regional information needs, capacity building, and networking and coordination among regional stakeholder groups and ECHO partners.