ADRC Highlights
Asian Disaster Reduction Center Monthly News
● Announcement
Vol. 341
August2021
TOPICSAnnouncement¶ Asian Conference on
Disaster Reduction 2021
(ACDR2021)¶ Third ADRC Online
DRR Seminar:"Developing DRR
Technologies That Meet
Local Needs to Create aSafe, Secure, and Livable
Society"¶ Fourth ADRC Online
DRR Seminar "GLOF
Impacts on Local
Economies and Risk
Reduction Measures"
Participation inInternational
Conferences
Sharing Asian Disaster
Response Experienceswith Africa

Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 2021 (ACDR2021)

The basic theme of last year's Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR)
was "Can We Adapt to the New Normal?" This theme reflected the idea thatdevelopments like the climate crisis and COVID-19 are prompting us to adapt tonew conditions by rethinking the wide range of activities that encompass ourpersonal lives and economic activities. At the conference, many member countries
and experts acknowledged the current state of the crisis and pointed out the needfor change across a wide range of areas. "Crisis," "Adaptation," and "NewNormal" were the key words of the last conference. It was suggested that we needto make significant changes to become a sustainable society that takes into
consideration the needs of vulnerable groups. We need to abandon the old
economic structures and build a new model based on sustainable development andsocial fairness.
At ACDR2021, we will further develop these ideas with a focus on disasterrisk reduction (DRR) and will discuss what kind of world we want to live in andhow to realize it. Based on the issues discussed at ACDR2020, we set thefollowing basic theme for this year's event: "Time for Change and Transformation:
The Road to a Resilient Asia." The ACDR2021 virtual conference will be held on
14-16 December 2021 using Zoom. The conference will allow participants todiscuss the issues raised in the papers shared on the event website, which will belaunched in October. The tentative agenda of ACDR2021 is shown below:
Agenda:Day 1: 14 December 2021 (Tue) 15:00-17:00 (GMT+9)-Opening & Keynote Session-High Level Round Table, Statements by Member Countries
Day 2: 15 December 2021 (Wed) 15:00-17:00 (GMT+9)-ADRC Steering Committee-Session 1

Asian DisasterReduction Center
Higashikan 5F, 1-5-2
Wakinohamakaigan-dori,Chuo-ku, Kobe
651-0073 Japan
Tel: 078-262-5540
Fax: 078-262-5546
editor@adrc.asia
https://www.adrc.asia

Day 3: 16 December 2021 (Thu) 15:00-17:00 (GMT+9)-Session 2-Session 3-Closing Session
The ACDR2021 sessions will focus on the following themes:-Session 1: "Developing DRR Technologies that Meet Local Needs to Createa Safe, Secure, and Livable Society"
Session 1 is aimed at supporting member countries in implementing the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) and the SDGs, and contributingto the creation of a safe, secure, and livable society with the latest DRRtechnologies.

© ADRC 2021

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Vol. 341

Continued-Session 2: "Strengthening Disaster Preparedness: Education and Awareness Raising for Promoting
Proactive Disaster Risk Reduction Actions"
Session 2 is aimed at seeking effective methodologies for DRR education and public outreach to promoteand encourage actions that people can take proactively before and during disasters, including thetransmission of lessons learned from past disasters.
-Session 3: "Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for a Resilient Society"
Session 3 is aimed at sharing recent knowledge, perspectives, and approaches to accelerate risk-informed
investment and provide an overview of practical methods of investment through organizing DRR strategies
from a local perspective.
Registration details will be shared in ADRC Highlights in October. We look forward to your active
participation in ACDR2021!

Third ADRC Online DRR Seminar: "Developing DRR Technologies That Meet Local Needs toCreate a Safe, Secure, and Livable Society"

ADRC is pleased to present the third in our series of ADRC Online DRR Seminars (the second was held 13July 2021) entitled "Developing DRR Technologies That Meet Local Needs to Create a Safe, Secure, andLivable Society," to be held on 14 September 2021.
In this third seminar, speakers will share case studies highlighting DRR investments made before disasters
and activities aligned with international standards. In the seminar, participants will hold discussions that will
advance efforts to achieve the SFDRR and the SDGs.
- We will share and discuss ISO initiatives and their affinity with DRR activities.
- We will share and discuss the importance of risk reduction in the Asian region from the perspective ofDRR investment before disaster.
- We will hear reports from ADRC member countries on the development of early warning and disaster
information system, and the possibility of deploying them to other countries.
For details on this third seminar, please visit: https://acdr.adrc.asia/home/2021Seminar
To participate, please register through Zoom (http://bit.ly/adrcseminar3). We look forward to seeing you atthe event!

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Fourth ADRC Online DRR Seminar "GLOF Impacts on Local Economies and Risk Reduction
Measures"

ADRC is pleased to present the fourth in our series of ADRC Online DRR Seminars entitled "GLOF Impacts
on Local Economies and Response Measures" on 28 September 2021. This fourth seminar will focus on theissue of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, which are attributed toclimate change. It will cover the impact of GLOFs on the region and the risk reduction measures being taken
there.
For details on the fourth seminar, please visit: https://acdr.adrc.asia/home/2021Seminar
To participate, please register through Zoom (http://bit.ly/adrcseminar4). We look forward to seeing you atthe event!
● Participation in International Conferences
Sharing Asian Disaster Response Experiences with Africa

ADRC participated in a two-day "Regional Capacity
Building and Experience Sharing Workshop on State
Resilience to Shocks and Disasters" held 13-14
August 2021 in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The African
Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) – in collaboration
with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction (UNDRR), the World Health Organization(WHO), the European Commission (EC), African Risk
Capacity (AFC), and the Economic Community ofWest African States (ECOWAS) – organized thisevent under the auspices of the African Union. Mostparticipants were high-level officials from the 40
APRM member countries.
The discussions held during the workshop focusedon five themes: (1) Disaster Risk Knowledge; (2)ADRC presented via Zoom, specially arranged by the APRM
Secretariat. Other workshop participants gathered in person in
Understanding Disaster Risk Governance, (3) Building
Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Resilience in Health, Agriculture, Peace, and Security
in Africa; (4) Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems andEmergency Operations; and (5) Developing Integrated Disaster Risk Financing.
ADRC gave a presentation on theme (4), via Zoom, entitled, "Building the Case for Multi-Hazard DRM
System Experiences in Asia during the COVID-19 Pandemic." The key messages of the presentation were as
follows:- In Asia, many disaster response mechanisms are based on a "single-hazard" approach to disaster
response. Thus, when multiple disasters occur simultaneously, the response systems are overwhelmed.
- Responding to disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated disaster response efforts,
especially in governments where disaster response and pandemic response are managed separately bydifferent agencies.
- Evolving response practices (e.g., digitalization of early warnings, dispersed evacuations, and remote
psychological first aid) are starting points for moving from a single-hazard disaster response approach toa multi-hazard disaster response approach.

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