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Friday, September 25, 2009

Disaster Management in South East Asia


Disaster Management in South East Asia - An Overview

The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) promotes disaster preparedness as part of an overall Commission Disaster Prevention and Preparedness approach to reduce vulnerability and exposure of people to risks  and disasters as well as the economic costs of  such disasters.

The DIPECHO (Disaster Preparedness ECHO) program initiated in 1996 provides a framework for this approach. Interventions are short-term in nature, and projects focus on reducing the vulnerability of the most exposed groups in high-risk natural disaster-prone areas. The interventions should be as such that encourage coordination and have a multiplier effect in the region.

The DIPECHO Second Action Plan (2000-2001) for Southeast Asia targeted intervention at the regional, national and local levels and the strengthening of links between these levels. The intervention at the regional level aimed to encourage cooperation and coordination of disaster preparedness activities throughout the region through the exchange and dissemination of knowledge and experience.

The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) implemented this regional project, namely the Partnerships for Disaster Reduction – South East Asia (PDR-SEA). During its implementation (February 2001 – April 2002), the project created avenues for the sharing of knowledge and experiences among non-government organizations (NGOs) and national disaster management offices (NDMOs).

It also created awareness amongst NGO and NDMO partners for the need to network at the national level to improve coordination and facilitate the sharing of information. It provided key support to the Association of Southeast Asian Nation’s (ASEAN) Expert Group on Disaster Management (AEGDM) in the development of the ASEAN Regional Program on Disaster Management.

It helped to build the capacities of NGO partners in community-based disaster management (CBDM) through the regional training of trainers and the adaptation of the CBDM curriculum.

Part of the PDR-SEA project’s information exchange strategy is the dissemination of information through publications. This booklet on the Overview of Disaster Management in Selected Southeast Asian Countries shares with key stakeholders the current state of disaster management in the DIPECHO target countries of Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines and Vietnam.

Examples of good practice from these countries are cited. Selected innovative community-based initiatives are also presented to demonstrate the benefits of mitigation and preparedness to development.

The country section presents a broad overview of the hazards that threaten these countries, their vulnerabilities, and their capacities to reduce these vulnerabilities.


This publication is based on review and summary of information from documents roduced/collected by the PDR-SEA project, literature from the varied collection of books,  reports and monographs in the ADPC library, internet resources, presentations made and discussions held at the 1st and 2nd meetings of the ADPC Consultative Committee on Regional Cooperation in Disaster Management (November 2000 and 2001), the Working Group Meeting  in Regional Cooperation in Disaster Management (October 2001), Regional Workshop for the  Development of the ASEAN Regional Program on Disaster Management (March 2002), and the
Asian Regional Workshop on Policy, Legal and Institutional Arrangements and Planning for  Disaster Management (April 2002).

This information was analysed in the regional context to draw recommendations for action at the regional level.

It is hoped that this booklet will be a tool for advocacy in promoting disaster preparedness as a necessary component of development policy.


You may please click here to download full document.
 Power point presentations and mind map of this document are also available for download. 
Source : Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) www.adpc.net


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