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over 50% of the total world disasters, the Asia and
Pacific Islands region represents the widest and most
disaster prone continent in the world, beyond Africa,
with a regular
and increased frequency of typhoons, tsunamis, floods,
droughts, fires and other natural hazards. Despite the
wealth of expertise, knowledge and know-how in disaster
risk reduction, the increasing population growth, widespread
poverty, environmental degradation, rising pollution
and wild human settlements keep increasing the vulnerabilities
of most communities in Asia and the Pacific Islands,
thereby creating a favorable terrain to allow the above
natural
hazards to transform invariably into devastating disasters
wiping out all human lives and economic lifelines on
their way, and setting back years of continued development
efforts.
In December 2004, the tragic tsunami in the Indian
Ocean has heightened the level of awareness of the
communities in Asia and the Pacific about the importance
of integrating disaster risk reduction into national
development planning and reminded them of the need
to work together in a coordinated manner to respond
to the threat of disasters.
In that spirit,
as a direct follow-up to the World Conference on Disaster
Reduction (January 2005, Kobe,
Japan) and at the request of the 168 UN Member States
grouped together on the occasion, the UN/ISDR established
a regional presence to cover the whole Asia and Pacific
Islands region.
The UN/ISDR regional Unit for Asia and the Pacific
was set up in June 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand,
hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
The UN/ISDR
Asia & Pacific is currently divided
into two separate bodies:
- A
regional unit, based in Bangkok, Thailand, which
covers the whole Asia and Pacific Islands region.
It includes a Senior Regional Coordinator and
a Regional Programme
Officer, as well as two local support staff
- A sub-regional liaison office for Central Asia, based
in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and covering Uzbekistan,
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, is coordinated
by a Junior Professional Officer
Our mandate
The core mandate
of the UN/ISDR Asia & Pacific
includes awareness-raising activities in disaster
risk reduction, including the promotion of the World
Disaster
Reduction Campaign and the annual UN Sasakawa Award
for Disaster Reduction, advocacy through policy formulation,
the dissemination of guidelines to assist in the
implementation of the Hyogo
Framework for Action (HFA),
promote the establishment of national
platforms for
disaster risk reduction,
enhance networking and partnership-building to contribute
to an effective culture of safety and protection
of all communities in the Asia and Pacific Islands region.
Three specific areas of focus have been identified
to guide the work of the UN/ISDR Asia and the Pacific.
They include:
- The
promotion of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)
throughout the whole Asia and Pacific Islands
region and the forging of partnerships at the regional
level to facilitate
its implementation, with the effective operational
support and expertise of members of the ISDR
Asian Partnership on Disaster Reduction (IAP) and
other
relevant players.
- The follow-up and strengthening of the projects carried
out under the United Nations Flash Appeal for the Indian
Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System (IOTWS), including
an increased cooperation and coordination with relevant
technical partners and the donor community.
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The development of an effective information management
system with comprehensive databases, the
maintenance of a regional website, the production
of a bi-annual
publication “Disaster
Reduction in Asia and the Pacific - ISDR
Informs”,
the dissemination of regional
highlights promoting regional partners’ initiatives
and relevant events among other.
The UN/ISDR
Asia and Pacific Islands will work through a growing
network of national platforms to mobilize
governmental
actions in disaster risk reduction as well as directly
with the governments in the region, as mandated though
the HFA, to assist them in identifying their priorities
and in formulating their national action plan on
disaster risk reduction towards its integration in
national
development plans. It will also make an effective
use of regional partners’ networks at the national
level, in particular the UN Country Team members,
to facilitate the effective implementation of DRR
strategies.
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