Fifth Meeting of the ADPC Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management

The 5th Meeting of the ADPC Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on 18-20 May 2005, in collaboration with the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The meeting was inaugurated by the Honorable Deputy President of the People’s Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr Vu Khoan, and was graced by an overwhelming audience of 250 people comprising of Ambassadors and Counselors from embassies in Hanoi, Senior Officials from the Ministries of the Government of Vietnam and the National Media. The meeting itself was attended by 64 representatives from 18 RCC Member Countries and observers from regional organizations, UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral funding agencies and ADPC partners.

The main objectives of the 5th meeting were to enlist inputs from the members and observers on the RCC Project on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development; and their expectations on the implementation of the HFA. The three days of deliberations covered seven substantive sessions and included sessions showcasing Vietnam’s achievements on disaster management, presentations from the member countries on their responses to the tsunami disaster, ADPC initiatives in responding to the challenges of post-tsunami response and recovery and improvements to early warning systems etc. Highlights of the meeting were, a special session on the progress of the RCC Initiative on MDRD, including the showcasing of MDRD in RCC Member Countries and a special consultative session for the Asian Region in on the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). The meeting concluded with an evaluation of the meeting, drawing up actions for the coming year and the signing of a statement on mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Development (MDRD) in Asian Countries and ADPC plans to support the implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action. 

ADPC to Support the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA)

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center is committed to play its role as a regional organization to support implementation of HFA. A plan was presented to the ISDR Secretariat during the 11th meeting of the UN Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) of Disaster Reduction, held on 25-26 May 2005 in Geneva. ADPC's support arises from its responsibility towards the implementation of HFA as a regional member of the IATF, a founder member of the ISDR Asia Partnership (IAP) and the secretariat on one of the first post WCDR partnerships, the RCC programs on mainstreaming disaster reduction into development. 

The support ADPC plans to extend in the implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action are:

Support to countries in the region involving planning and implementation of HFA
This would involve supporting National Governments in convening national workshops of all key stakeholders, namely, concerned Government ministries and departments, scientific and technical institutions, NGOs, UN Agencies, donors and the private sector, especially those who have a keen interest in disaster management. Anticipated outcomes from the national workshop are harmonization of identified priorities with ongoing programs and projects, and establishing a task force to meet periodically to review progress.

Support to establishment of national platforms for disaster reduction in interested countries
Based on the concept of national platforms in the HFA and other ISDR documents, support would be given to those countries requesting it, to take steps to set up such platforms. Where such a platform or committee already exists, support would be given in making them functional and result oriented. This is envisaged as an activity where ADPC will work closely with UNDP country offices in their capacity as head of the UN System country teams, ISDR Regional Advisers, UNDP-BCPR regional advisors and others who are interested. A major partner would be the members of the ISDR Asia Partnership, and the Partnership itself.

RCC program on Mainstreaming DRM into Development policy, planning and implementation (MDRD)
The RCC program on MDRD has already been registered prior to the Kobe conference as a post WCDR partnership with the UN Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD). The activity is under way with Priority Implementation Projects (PIPs) planned in several RCC member countries. The PIPs cover mainstreaming disaster risk management into both national development processes, as well as specific initiatives by NDMOs to work with partner ministries on mainstreaming DRM into specific sectors (Agriculture, Infrastructure and Housing, Health, Education, and Financial Services). This work will also include mainstreaming into country Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), country Assistance Strategies of the World Bank and ADB, and the UN System Common Country Assessment and UN Development Assistance Framework (UN CCA and UNDAF). In this part of the RCC program, active partnerships are being built with the Banks, and UN Agencies - particularly UNDP and ISDR.

Joining with other regional agencies and regional offices of UN Agencies to develop a system of structured cooperation and technical assistance to countries of the region on HFA implementation as well a system of monitoring progress and creating platforms for sharing of lessons learned
In this, ADPC sees great potential for the role of the ISDR Asia Partnership, the ISDR Asia Informs newsletter, and a possible institutional convening of the Regional IATF. This will build on past efforts to develop coordination among these regional partners, such as the first three meetings of Regional Organizations and Regional Offices of UN Agencies held in Kathmandu (July 2001), Bangkok (June 2002) and Manila (February 2004); co-organized by ADRC, ADPC, UN-OCHA and WHO.

For more information on the different activities under the RCC contact Mr Loy Rego, Director and Team Leader, Disaster Management Systems Team of ADPC at  ajrego@adpc.net or Dr Kai Kim Chiang, Program Coordinator at kaikim@adpc.net