5-3. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries,
International Organizations and NGOs
ADRC places high priority on the development of institutional and human networks to sharedisaster information in Asia. Developing networks between professionals and their counterparts inmember countries, adviser countries, and observer organizations is vital to promoting cooperation
on disaster reduction efforts in Asia. Therefore, ADRC invites high level and management level
officials, including deputy directors, directors, and managers, to its annual ADRC International
meeting to encourage interpersonal exchanges.

(1) Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Orientation Workshop
Upon request of the Manila Observatory, and in collaboration with the SM Prime Property
Company and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), the International
Recovery Platform/Asian Disaster Reduction Center (IRP/ADRC) facilitated an orientation
workshop on pre-disaster recovery planning (PDRP), 29 April 2016 at the Asian Institute ofManagement, Makati City, Philippines. The event gathered about 90 recovery decision-makers,planners, and implementers from public and private sectors, including civil society, scientificcommunity, academe, media, and representatives of local communities to learn the essence ofpre-disaster recovery planning. The composition of participants was diverse to effectively
simulate the PDRP exercise and to facilitate complementarity of recovery support functions.
The workshop explored various approaches of formulating a PDRP based on existing tools
and experiences, including strategies, actions, and case studies from global experiences andhighlighting Japan's pre-disaster recovery agreements as observed during the recovery from theGreat Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake 1995, the Great East Japan Earthquake 2011, and the
Kumamoto Earthquake 2016. The importance of the PDRP was emphasized by prominent
speakers, namely: Ms. Antonia Loyzaga of the Manila Observatory, Ms. Liza Silerio of the SM
Prime, Mr. Guillermo Luz of the PDRF, Gen. Alexander Pama of the Office of Civil Defense,and Ms. Remedios Endencia of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). The
speakers generally recognized that PDRP is essential because all governments and communities
face similar organizational and policy issues in a disaster recovery (e.g. governance, financial
management, effective operations, redevelopment standards, infrastructure, transportation,
health, and livelihoods), so it pays to plan in advance. Firstly, it increases the "speed" ofrecovery

when

all

stakeholders(i.e.

multi-sectoral,

multi-disciplinary,andinter-ministerial/departmental) plan in advance. It facilitates coordinated planning andimplementation that minimizes uncertainties, overlaps, and bottlenecks. Secondly, it builds
stronger relationship among all stakeholders that limits poor decision taken under post-disasterstress. It prepares stakeholders' full participation in recovery - making it easy to engage andreach a risk-informed decision. Finally, it establishes beforehand the modalities for financing
recovery process, including pre-agreements and contracting services.
Using the Metro Manila earthquake scenario shared by Dr. Renato Solidum of the Philippine54

5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology(Phivolcs), the workshop came up with two
main outputs. One was a Checklist for
Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning and the otherwas a Template on Pre-Agreement for
Disaster Recovery. As way forward, theparticipants agreed to scale up discussions on
PDRP with National Disaster Risk Reduction
Management

Council(NDRRMC)andFig. 5-3-1 Workshop

explore the options for pre-agreements in
disaster recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.

(2) Build-Back-Better through Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning: An
Orientation Workshop
The academic network comprising the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), the Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), the Universiti Tenaga
Nasional (UNITEN), the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and the Universiti Sains Islam
Malaysia (USIM) requested the orientation-workshop to: (i) gain greater understanding ofbuild-back-better through pre-disaster recovery planning for flood as well as the possibility ofintegrating this concept in the academic courses; (ii) enhance the capacities of faculty members
to train other lecturers, students, and practitioners on build back better through pre-disasterrecovery planning, and (iii) explore the application of PDRP to achieve a more effective flood
management.
About 35 academic professors, lecturers, and officials from the National Government
participated the workshop - including representation from all members of the academic network,
the Malaysia Civil Defence Department (JPAM), the Ministry of Education (KPM), Fire andRescue Department (JBP), District of Kemaman, and Mercy Malaysia. Two keynote speeches
were delivered to set the tone of the workshop. The first speech was delivered by Mr. Rosman
Roslan, District of Officer of Kemaman, Terengganu, highlighting the district's initiative on
pre-disaster recovery planning for flood. In particular, the district officer described how
Kemaman facilitated the pre-arrangements with hotels and hospitals in case of floods. The
second speech was delivered by Mr. Saiful Effendi of the Ministry of Education, where hedescribed the proposed guidelines on disaster risk reduction for public schools. The groupexercises of participants came up with two outputs. One was a checklist for pre-disasterrecovery planning for Malaysia and the other was a set of strategies and actions for livelihoods
recovery.
As for the next steps, the participants agreed to continue the discussions, either physically or
virtually. Among the recommended follow-up actions were: (i) documentation of Kemaman
flood recovery case and share the report to IRP/ADRC; (ii) review the IRP/ADRC materials on
pre-disaster recovery planning and proposed possible module/syllabus for inclusion in academic

55

course; and (iii) production of knowledge products on disaster recovery for flood, including
handbooks designed for practitioners and policymakers. The academic network for flood
management research in Malaysia is closely working with the Majlis Keselamatan Negara(National Security Council), the Meteorological Department and Department of Irrigation andDrainage (DID), the Kemaman Land and District Office, and the Ministry of Higher Education.

(3) The 11th Meeting of Typhoon Committee Working Group on
Disaster Risk Reduction
ADRC participated in the 11th Meeting of Typhoon Committee (TC) Working Group on
Disaster Risk Reduction (WGDRR) which was jointly organized by the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) TC Secretariat and the National Disaster Management
Research Institute (NDMI) of the Republic of Korea in Ulsan on 24-27 May 2016.
The meeting was attended by 40 persons including representatives of China, Malaysia,
Vietnam, Laos, Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions of China, as well asadvisors of the Working Group of Meteorology (WGM) and the Working Group of
Hydrology(WGH); and was held four days as follows;First day: 24th May
Keynote presentations were delivered by the TC secretariat and the experts from WMO
and UNESCAP, who have served as advisors for many years on the ongoing implementation(SSOP-II) of Synergized Standard Operating Procedure (SSOP) for Coastal Multi-Hazard
Early Warning System and the Strategic Plans of TC, followed by discussion.
Second day: 25th May
Two parallel meetings took place; a country report meeting by the member countries of TC,
and another meeting of Advisory Working Group (AWG) by advisors of WMO, UNESCAP,
WGM and WGH. In the country report meeting, participant countries presented the reports
on recent disasters that occurred in each country, and the initiatives to build disaster
information system that facilitates information collection, reporting and provision. ADRC
made a presentation about recent disasters in Japan by focusing on the efforts in Hyogo
prefecture on the evacuation warning of sediment disaster caused by typhoon and heavy rain.
ADRC reported also about the Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 2016, and basic
information of the Kumamoto Earthquake that had occurred in April 2016.
Third day: 26th May
In the morning, Chair, NDMI first briefed about reconsideration of 7 Key Result Areas(KRAs), and explained the future Annual Operating Plans (AOPs) and its budget in WGDRR
based on the recognition that DRR is the Cross-Cutting Issue, followed by discussion. In theafternoon, a site visit was organized and conference participants visited a shipyard and an
automobile manufacturing plant of the Hyundai Group based in this venue, Ulsan, which is
carrying on business worldwide.

56

5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs
Fourth day: 27th May
TC Secretariat summarized this WGDRR and participants agreed to continue discussion
intensively on the reconsideration of AOPs, and so on, preparing for the Integrated Workshop,
which will be held in the Philippines in October 2016.

(4) The 7th UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices (RSO) Meeting
In accordance with the cooperation agreement between the United Nations Office for Outer
Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and ADRC signed on June 2009 on the establishment of the ADRC
UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office (RSO), said RSO has been established on the ADRC
premises and is being operated by ADRC staff members as coordinators of the ADRC
UN-SPIDER RSO. There are currently 20 regional support offices worldwide.
In its capacity as an RSO, ADRC participated in the 7th UN Platform for Space-based
Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response RSO Meeting, which was heldin conjunction with the UN-SPIDER+10 Anniversary Conference. Held from 6 June, themeeting was attended by more than 20 participants from RSOs around the world. During themeeting, the following topics were discussed:
1. Reports on activities of each RSO in 2015
2. Planning activities of each RSO in 2016
3. Discussion of the implementation of TAM
recommendations
4. Regional breakout groups: work planning
2016-17
5. Feedback from breakout groups
Fig. 5-3-2 Conference

6. Collaboration for the ongoing
implementation of knowledge management

At this meeting, ADRC gave a presentation on its 2015 activities and accomplishments aswell as its plans for 2016, and discussed many ideas with the secretariat and other RSOs.

(5) APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group and otherrelevant meetings
APEC emergency preparedness working grope meeting was held during August 15-16, in
Lima,

Peru and ED of ADRC attended it as one of the co-chairs. The second meeting of

EPWG of the year 2016 hosted by Peru discussed first, preparation of the upcoming SDMOF
meeting scheduled on 8th and 9th October in Iquitos. EPWG elaborated the main theme of
SDMOF, which will highlight food security by focusing on emergency meal delivery,
public-private collaboration towards increasing resilience, and so on.
EPWG also discussed the draft Action Plan based on the APEC Disaster Reduction
Framework endorsed last year by APEC leaders. Many of the economies reported also about57

recent disasters and DRR policy development including Indonesia, Vietnam, China, USA,
Russia, Chinese Taipei, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, and so on. ADRC briefed about thedamages by the earthquakes in Kumamoto in April and the status of recovery.
It also reported about a new proposal of project on infrastructure development atreconstruction and BBB stage in rural area by Vietnam and Japan.
After the Day 2 of EPWG meeting, on August 16th in the afternoon, ADRC in collaboration
with INDECI, Peru, organized an APEC workshop on Tsunami Disaster Reduction, supported
by Cabinet Office, Japan. USA, Vietnam, Chile, Philippines, Chinese Taipei as well as Peru andJapan joined and discussed a wide range of tsunami DRR policies, challenges and transbordereffects through supply chain. Private sector in Peru and JICA also provided inputs on theirtsunami DRR efforts. APEC covering majority of tsunami affected areas is one of the best fora
to explore tsunami DRR in close collaboration with the private sector, since a huge tsunami
could bring about significant indirect damages on the world economy through global value
chain, while a tsunami of significant magnitude could physically affectmany economies

directly, as did the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Further collaboration bridging both sides of the
Pacific should be pursued based on the outcomes.
On 17th and 18th August, FEMA,USA held an APEC workshop on appropriate donation and
ADRC attended it on 17th .On 18th and 19th, meetings of APEC Chief Science Advisors andEquivalents, CSAE took place and raised the theme of “Science advice in and aroundemergencies” on the 1st day. The recommendation by CSAE to APEC leaders and senior
officials suggests importance of appropriate scientific advisory input as a core part ofeconomy’s disaster preparedness and response systems.
1) The 10TH APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum, held 8-9 October Iquitos,
Peru
The 10th APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum (SDMOF) was held in
Iquitos, Peru on 8th and 9th, October 2016. As one of the co-chairs of EPWG, ED of ADRC
attended the meetings and the APEC Workshop organized by FEMA on Strengthening Public
Alert and Early Warning Capacity on 6th and 7th October, prior to the SDMOF.
The 10th SDMOF, hosted by INDIECI Peru was opened by National Institute of Civil
Defense, the Honorable Mr. Alberto Manuel Lozada Frias, Head of National Institute of Civil
Defense (INDECI), and Mrs. Adela Esmeralda Jimenez, Provincial Municipality of Maynas.
The meeting focused on “Emergency Preparedness for Supply Chain and Emergency Food
Security” as the theme and explored the issue of food delivery targeting, in particular, at thepoor in emergency, effective public-private collaboration for this purpose, and policy
challenges throughout four sessions.
The forum was attended by senior disaster management officials and delegates of Australia,
China, Japan, Peru, Philippines, Chinese Taipei, United States and Viet Nam as well as
representatives from ABAC（APEC Business Advisory Council） and other relevantorganizations.

58

5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs
From Japan, Mr.Yasuyuki Ishii, Policy Advisor, Disaster Management Bureau Cabinet
Office, made a presentation on the experience of Kumamoto earthquakes in April 2016 byhighlighting the support initiated by the national government targeting at the disaster affected
local governments facing difficulties in immediately procuring the necessary supplies bythemselves and arranging the transportation.
Participants of SDMOF welcomed the draft Action Plan that EPWG had been discussing,as instructed by APEC Leaders in 2015 as guidance for implementation of the APEC Disaster
Risk Reduction Framework (DRRF) .The Action Plan, as a living document, will be
discussed and updated as needed.

(6) The 6th Annual UN-SPIDER Conference
The 6th Annual UN-SPIDER Conference, jointly organized by the United Nations Office forOuter Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic ofChina, was held in Beijing on 19-21 September 2016. The event gathered about 130
participants, including representatives of Space Agencies and Disaster Management
Organizations from 35 countries, who visited relevant organizations as part of the three-day
program.
First Day: 19th September
Mr. Benjie Yin (Deputy Director, General Office of China National Commission on
Disaster Reduction) delivered the opening remarks. Ms. Mei Chai (Deputy Director-General,
Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Civil Affairs) served as moderator; andDr. Shirish Ravan (Secretary-General, UN-SPIDER Beijing Office)provided an overview

of sessions to be covered in the three-day program.
The sessions of the first day were "Building on UN-SPIDER 10 Years' Achievements" and"Risk Assessment and Mapping Using Earth Observation Data". There was a presentation
prior to each of these topics' discussions. In second session for instance, the value of radar
sensing on satellite technology was highly evaluated, and the accuracy of drought prediction
was discussed, which needs to be improved through observation and data accumulation.
Second Day: 20th September
The morning sessions of the second day were "Access to Data and Information for Risk
Assessment" and "National Spatial Data Infrastructure and Data Framework to Support
Disaster Management". These sessions highlighted the contribution of satellite data for floodand drought monitoring and prediction. Hence, the initiatives such as "GAOFEN", withseries of high resolution earth observation satellite system in China was introduced, In theafternoon, three breakout sessions were organized, namely: "Monitoring indicators against
the global targets of the Sendai Framework", "Procedural guidelines for sharing space-based
information during emergency response", and "Crowd-source Mapping for risk assessment

59and emergency response". ADRC representative participated in the second breakout session,and reported the importance of proactive participation in learning events and capacity
building enhancement in each country to facilitate sharing of space-based information.
Third Day: 21th September
The morning session of the third day was about "Networking and Engagement with the
UN-SPIDER Network", where Offices (RSOs) reports from Regional Support, including
ADRC, as well as country reports were presented. In the afternoon, two separate site visitswere organized - one group visiting the National Disaster Reduction Center of China(NDRCC) and the other group visiting the Yungang Satellite Earth Station.

(7) The 11th Integrated Workshop of Typhoon Committee
ADRC participated in the 11th Integrated Workshop of Typhoon Committee (TC) which was
jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and thePacific (UNESCAP), World Meteorological Organization (WMO) TC Secretariat incollaboration with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) and the Local Organizing Committee of Cebu at Waterfront Cebu
Hotel on October 24-26, 2016.
ADRC attended the workshop during its Breakout Session on Disaster Risk Reduction in thesecond day and presented the member's report in the morning and discussed on the progress of
the Annual Operation Plan (AOP) by the Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction(WGDRR) as well as its initiatives and budgets towards the following year.
The member's report covered the disaster overview focusing on typhoons in 2016, theprogress of projects related Typhoon Committee and the initiatives on Disaster Reduction by 10
member-countries including the People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republicof Korea, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Japan, the Lao People's
Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Korea, the UnitedStates of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
ADRC explained the characteristics of typhoons that landed Japan this year and reported on
the enormous damage these had brought to areas that have not frequently been hit by typhoonsuch as Kanto, Tohoku regions and Hokkaido from the Pacific side. Further, the need toaccumulate the contents of these disasters' characteristics and damages as the analyzable dataset
was suggested.
During the consultation about the AOP in the afternoon, a useful report was made regarding
the 4th project of the year 2016 entitled, "Benefit Evaluation of Typhoon Disaster Prevention
and Preparedness" of which China has become the implementing country. In the report, aChinese Representative stressed that reducing typhoon track forecast error could lead to a
reduction of considerable economic losses.
Although the stay was quite brief, the flow of the activities was unbelievably smooth and thetravel was comfortable thanks to the support by the Local Organizing Committee. Finally,60

5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs
ADRC would like to express its sincere appreciation for everyone's effort which contributed tothe success of this conference.

(8) Thematic event on "Partnerships and Innovations for improving
Disaster Loss Accounting" and a session on "Build Back
Better"during the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction" at the 7th AMCDRRADRC participated in AMCDRR held in Delhi during November 3-5th and thepre-conference held on 2nd Nov. The Conference was opened by the Prime Minister Modi, India
and attended by almost 60 countries.
1) Thematic event on "Partnerships and Innovations for improving Disaster Loss
Accounting"
ADRC co-organised a thematic event “Partnerships and Innovations for improving
Disaster Loss Accounting”. Mr. S. Jegillos,
Senior Advisor, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub
made an opening remark on the purpose of theevent, and Professor Yuichi Ono, Tohoku
University reported first about the Global Centre
for

Disaster

Statistics,

followedbyapresentation on the use of drone for DRR by Ms.
C. Briggert, Head of Stakeholder Relations, DJI,
a report on innovation regarding DRR by thegovernment of Maldives, and a presentation on
disaster losses estimation focusing on that ofFig. 5-3-3 Thematic event“Partnerships andInnovations for improving Disaster Loss
Accounting”

private sector by Mr. A. Perwaiz, Head, Disaster
Risk Management Systems, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC).
ADRC contributed to the event by the presentation titled “GLIDE, GLobal unique disaster
IDEntifier number to Support Evidence Based Disaster Reduction Strategy at National &Local Levels -A Simple but Innovative Tool for Effective Disaster Information
Sharing-“,delivered by Dr.S. Nishikawa, former Executive Director of ADRC. Mr. Nishikawa
raised the extensive potential u contribution of GLIDE as basic tool to facilitate disaster
information sharing at national and sub-national DRR organizations towards upgrading DRR
activities including those against mega disasters beyond national borders. Many questions on
the use of GLIDE were raised from the floor and after the event. In addition to the usefulcomments on GLIDE, AMCDRR provided us throughout the Conference period diverse
opportunities of exchange with our counterparts from ADRC member countries, which has
facilitated us reshaping GLIDE and redefining other activities more adapted to the futureneeds of Asia.
As the outcome of the AMCDRR, the New Delhi Declaration was endorsed, and an “Asia61

Regional Plan for Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030”s
was agreed as one of the main outcome documents. Prior to AMCDRR, a Special Session
dedicated to the tsunami DRR was organized by UNISDR, while a commemoration event of
the World Tsunami Awareness Day took place on 5th November at the Closing Ceremony.
During the special session, many speakers referred to the good practices of Inamurano-hi, on
which ADRC published brochures in more than 10 languages.
(http://www.adrc.asia/publications/inamura/top.html)
2) Thematic session on "Build Back Better"
The International Recovery Platform, where ADRC is pioneering member, coordinated athematic session at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, 3-5
November 2016 in New Delhi, India. The session was entitled "Strategies and Actions on
Build Back Better" held on 4 November 2016, 13:00-14:30. Six high-level speakers of thesession shared their respective experiences and lessons relative to: (i) policies and strategies,(ii) institutional arrangements, (iii) financing mechanisms, and (iv) implementation
arrangements and recovery management - the key elements relevant to build back better.
About 150 individuals participated in the session, where each speaker outlined key strategies
and actions for build back better ranging from the areas of governance, gender,
pre-investment, social inclusion, and sustainable development.
After active discussions, Mr. Stefan Kohler of UNOPS and chair of the session offered thesummary. First, recovery phase is an opportunity to build back better, which is essential toreduce vulnerability and make the development gains more sustainable. It can be more
successful of done with inclusion of the weak and marginalized. Second, pre-investment is an
important element for build back better to ensure development continuity, such as promoting
risk-informed land use planning. Third, awareness, knowledge, and capacity such as inreference to gender and marginalized groups are essential in facilitating effective preparation
to build back better in recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction Finally, build back better inrecovery is a large-scale institutional and technical effort, which requires all the
stakeholders--government, civil societies, and private sector --to collaborate and work
together such as the whole-of-government approach of the Philippines.

(9) The Regional Forum on Post-Disaster Recovery
During the "Regional Knowledge Forum on Risk-informed Land Use Planning in theContext of Post-Disaster Recovery", which was organized by the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) on 17-18 November 2016 in Manila, the IRP Secretariat was invited to send one
recovery expert to share global experiences. The forum was attended by over 100
decision-makers and specialists with expertise in land use management, disaster risk
management, and post-disaster recovery. The key speakers were from Canada, Indonesia, Japan,
Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand who discussed how disaster risk related
issues can be addressed through land use/spatial planning in the context of post-disaster62

5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs
recovery.
The forum recognized that large-scale disasters often result in changing spatial structures due
to corresponding large-scale reconstruction activities. Hence, the recovery process that follows
provide opportunities to address both the pre-existing spatial development related challenges aswell as the new ones. Some actions that may be introduced to address the issues associated withland use and housing in the post-disaster phase, may include: (i) introducing new land use
strategies; (ii) regulating and providing incentives to rebuild away from hazard-prone areas; (iii)
proposing new spatial growth models that factor in changing hazard patterns; (iv) addressing
issues related to land title and rights; (v) adopting participatory approaches towards rebuilding
thereby improving social cohesion; and (vi) undertaking a combination of structural andnonstructural investments to manage future disaster risk.
The forum covered three thematic sessions, where key messages and recommended actions
were presented. The first session dealt with recovery policies, wherein policy actions may befocused on addressing the challenges related to the availability of land, risk information, local
capacity, finances, and in meeting the speed required to implement activities on the ground. The
second session dealt with the horizontal and vertical coordination issues, especially between
national and local governments. The suggestion that came up from this session was to revisit
and address the underlying causes of disaster risk. Adoption of a system-wide approach (such as
focusing on watersheds) and design recovery measures that strengthens vertical and horizontal
linkages may help contribute in addressing the issue. The final session dealt with good practices
and innovative tools. It is in this session that IRP shared some of the international experiences.
The recommendations from IRP included: reviewing past disaster experiences by specifically
performing "failure analysis" and "build back better"; selecting from "menu of options" ofstrategies and actions from global experiences to address recovery issues and challenges including land use and housing issues; and conducting pre-disaster recovery planning(pre-event research, pre-agreements) to help hasten the effectiveness of land use planning in
post-disaster context (i.e. strengthening institutional arrangements, policies, laws, andprograms).

(10) The 23rd Session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency
Forum (APRSAF-23)
The 23rd Session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) was heldfrom 15 to 18 November in Manila, Philippine. It was co-organized by the Philippine Council
for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development - Department of
Science and Technology of the Philippines (DOST-PCIEERD), Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The APRSAF was established in 1993 to enhance space activities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Attended by space agencies, governments, and international organizations such as the United
Nations as well as companies, universities and research institutes, this Forum is the largest
space-related conference in the Asia-Pacific region. Now APRSAF has 4 Working Groups;

63

Space Applications Working Group (SAWG), Space Technology Working Group (STWG),
Space Environment Utilization Working Group (SEUWG) and Space Education Working
Group (SEWG). The participants of APRSAF share information about their activities and thefuture plans for their countries and regions in each working group APRSAF also supports
international projects designed to find solutions to common issues such as disaster management
and environmental protection.
ADRC joined Space Applications Working Group (SAWG) and reported activity of Sentinel
Asia. The Sentinel Asia initiative is one such activity, and involves the use of space-based
information in the form of satellite images for disaster management in the Asia-Pacific region.
ADRC has been tasked with the responsibility of receiving emergency observation requests
from ADRC member countries and Joint Project Team (JPT) members
Sentinel Asia marks 10 years anniversary in 2016. ADRC reported a trend of Emergency
Observation Request in the past decade. It was highlighted that the number of EOR isincreasing in the recent year. Also ADRC introduced two good practices in Vietnam and in
Myanmar. Provided satellite images and product were utilized for DRR activity in both country.
However it remains some points to be discussed such as data sharing in each country.

(11) The 2nd Steering Committee Meeting of Sentinel Asia and Joint
Project Team Meeting
1) The 2nd Steering Committee Meeting of Sentinel Asia
ADRC attended the 2nd meeting of Sentinel Asia Steering Committee held in Bangkok,
Thailand, on 19th and 20th January, 2017.
The meeting was attended by JAXA as the secretariat of Joint Project Team, Sentinel Asia,
Space agencies in Asia working as Data Provider Node, DPN, Universities and researchorganizations as Data Analysis Node, DAN and ADRC representing DRR organisations in
Asia.
Day 1 started with the opening remarks by the two co-chairs of SC, Dr. Lar, AIT and Mr.K.
Suzuki, Executive Director, NIED, followed by a briefing by JAXA on Steering Committee
Mandate and status and lessons learnt from emergency observation so far. ADRC thenreported advantages of earth observation satellite imagery at diverse phases of DRR andchallenges of Sentinel Asia operation from the viewpoint of DRR organisations. As a start ofdiscussion, ADRC pointed out some emergency situations in which satellite imagery coulddeliver useful information facilitating DRR operation including mega disasters affecting
extensive geographical coverage beyond borders or flood affecting remotely located areasdifficult to access lasting weeks, volcano eruptions hindering the use of airplanes, and so on
to identify the strength of Satellite imagery for DRR purposes.
Space agencies and research organization reported about the DAN activities. The day 2
focused first on basic idea to discuss the strategic plan after the 10th anniversary, which will
be discussed throughout this year towards the APRSAF scheduled in autumn 2017.The64

5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs
agenda of the 10th anniversary event scheduled in March was also discussed and approved.
2) Joint Project Team Meeting in Vietnam (March 2017)
The Sentinel Asia Joint Project Team Meeting (JPTM2017) was held from 8 to 9 March2017 in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was co-organized by the Vietnam Academy of Science andTechnology (VAST), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The Sentinel Asia initiative is one such activity, and involves the use of space-based
information in the form of satellite images for disaster management in the Asia-Pacific region.
ADRC has been tasked with the responsibility of receiving emergency observation requests
from ADRC member countries and Joint Project Team (JPT) members.
ADRC reported a trend of Emergency Observation Request in the past decade. It was
highlighted that the number of EOR is increasing in the recent year, and also the changes ofnecessary days from occurrence of disaster to distribution of data. Furthermore, ADRC
reported the procedure of the Emergency Observation Request (EOR) making and activationof the Sentinel Asia, and present challenges of EOR.
One day before the JPTM2017, the memorial event of 10th Anniversary of the Sentinel
Asia was held at the same venue on 7 March 2017. The organizaions of DMO, DPN, DAN
and the personal which contributed to the Sentinel Asia in the past decade were celebrated.
ADRC, awarded as DMO with MARD, introduced a Booklet of “Good Practice of theSentinel Asia”, and committed further contribution to make more and more good practices in
the future with JPT and ADRC members.

65