ASEAN-UN-WORLD BANK COLLABORATE TO REDUCE DISASTER RISK

BY MOHD NASIR BIN YUSOFF

JAKARTA, May 19 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN Secretariat, United Nations
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the World Bank
announced Monday in Bali a cooperation programme to strengthen disaster risk
reduction and disaster management in Southeast Asia.

The programme aims to help ASEAN reduce its vulnerability to natural
hazards, thus protecting its citizens from the impact of extreme weather events
in the future.

"The programme is the focus of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on
Disaster Risk Reduction, a tripartite agreement between the ASEAN Secretariat,
the UNISDR and the World Bank," the ASEAN Secretariat said in a statement here,
Monday.

The programme lays a framework for technical support from the UN and the
World Bank to help ASEAN formulate and implement strategies and action plans for
disaster risk reduction and management.

It said the objectives of the program included building ASEAN's capacity in
the areas of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation; mobilising
resources for the implementation of disaster risk reduction initiatives in
ASEAN; and helping ASEAN policy-makers gain knowledge of effective and
practical ways to reduce disaster risks.

"ASEAN has been addressing disasters, natural or otherwise, as and when they
happen. The region where ASEAN is located geographically is one that is prone
to disasters," said Dr Surin Pitsuwan, the Secretary-General of ASEAN.

ASEAN sits between several tectonic plates causing earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions and tsunamis and the region is also located in between huge oceans
namely the Pacific and the Indian oceans causing seasonal typhoons and in some
areas, tsunamis.

Surin said with 570 million people in the region, it was time for ASEAN to
be better prepared for future disasters by empowering itself with better
techniques and coordinating mechanisms involving the governments and civil
societies of ASEAN.

"Our tripartite programme with the UN and the World Bank is innovative as we
would capitalise the expertise and strengths of the three organisations to help
achieve our common vision of a disaster-resilient and safer community," he
added.

Recent natural disasters in Asia like the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the
Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006 and the cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008
highlight the region's vulnerability.
-- BERNAMA