Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 2016
Chair’s Summary
Context: Asia facing a new stage of high economic growth
1. Asian countries are continually experiencing disasters caused by natural hazards. In 2015 alone,approximately 40 million people in Asia were affected by disasters. The most notable disasters were
those triggered by earthquakes as experienced in Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan as well as the floods
that happened in Myanmar.
2. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) challenges that Asian countries will encounter for the next 20 years will
not be the same as those in the past 20 years. The unprecedented economic growth, rapid urbanization,and increasing number of megacities are leading to higher vulnerability at various levels of society –community, local, national, and beyond national borders.
3. A single mega-disaster can overturn the miraculous growth and development in Asia, hence investing indisaster risk reduction must be a top priority in the development process. A closer collaboration among
Asian countries along with the private sector and international institutions within the region and aroundthe world is essential to achieve effective strategies to reduce and manage disaster risks.
4. To further guide local actions, countries in Asia need to be mindful of the global frameworks andagreements that were formulated based on lessons learnt from the ground and drawn through a highly
engaging and consultative process, particularly: Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 20152030, Sustainable Development Goals, COP21–The Paris Agreement, and other relevant regionalframeworks and agreements.
5. It is in these contexts that the 12th Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR 2016) was organized,and to gather insights to initiate a plan of action that helps address the key DRR challenges facing Asia
within the next two decades.
Themes
6. The discussions at ACDR 2016 revolved around three themes:(i) Exploring all of Asia approach to face mega-disasters, including those beyond national frontiers,
and the strategies to build back better in recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction(ii) Strengthening and diversifying opportunities of human resource development for DRR, making itwell adapted to new realities in Asia; and(iii) Enhancing approaches to community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) through scienceand technology tailored to the local demands
7. Asian countries need to be well prepared to collaborate in facing all kinds of mega-disasters and support
each other in the recovery process. Many of the growing megacities in Asia are located in coastal areas,
and are vulnerable to tsunami, cyclone, floods, and storm surge. Likewise, a growing number ofmegacities are vulnerable to earthquakes. Other hazards such as volcanic eruption in Indonesia, glaciallake outburst flood (GLOF) in Bhutan, and dzud in Mongolia pose disaster risks to the growingpopulations of those countries. To be well prepared, education and training – specifically those fornational and subnational government officials, experts, and practitioners – need to be given greateremphasis to help address diverse types of disasters, including those beyond frontiers. The approaches toCBDRM also need to be enhanced by applying cutting-edge, locally-based, and low-cost technologies.
Strategic Options and Entry Points
8. The experiences from the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004, the Great East Japan Earthquake 2011, theThailand Floods 2011 and the Nepal Earthquakes 2015 offered key insights on what DRR policies andsystems need to be improved, such as improving early warning system, risk assessment, evacuation,planning, and coordination systems. Build-back-better in recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction can
provide the opportunity to institute improvements by making both structural and non-structural

measures more resilient to disasters. The idea to systematically monitor long-term recovery process isalso one approach to consider, as this allows governments and communities to review and readjust theimplementation of recovery programs and projects.
9. Session 1 outcomes: Mega-disasters threaten Asian and world economy, so disaster impacts need to beminimized by: (i) enhancing DRR activities in all layers of society, strengthening collaboration between
private and public sectors beyond national frontiers, (ii) encouraging greater participation of local
communities, and (iii) promoting greater synergy among all stakeholders in sectors such as livelihoods,
health, housing, and infrastructures – an affirmation that DRR is critical component of sustainable
development. Regarding tsunami, the experiences in Thailand, Japan, and Maldives indicated that interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approaches to improve structural and non-structural measures against
tsunami need to be pursued so that knowledge and lessons are not lost in the passage of time. Supporting
the World Tsunami Awareness Day can be one of the entry points to raise the level of awareness among
policymakers, practitioners, and general public. Additionally, knowledge sharing and collaboration
among tsunami-prone countries in Asia and the Pacific will help inform the formulation of tsunami
countermeasures. For countermeasures against other hazards, a comprehensive approach to DRR
policies and programs in Bangladesh had reduced the number of causalities from cyclone. In Pakistan,flood management efforts have remarkably improved by allocating substantial amount for DRR budget.
GLOF and dzud require global assistance since these disasters are outraged by climate change, so
effective early warning system is an essential countermeasure to reduce impacts. Accurate assessment ofhazard is the key countermeasure effort against earthquake in Armenia while the Hyogo Prefecture inJapan pioneered the Creative Reconstruction policy that enshrined build-back-better concept inreconstructing from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
10. Session 2 outcomes: There is an increasing need to develop greater capacity to face and manage megadisaster risks in Asia. Effective utilization of existing resources and facilities for capacity development
need to be promoted through regional cooperation. Forging stronger collaboration of relevantorganizations and agencies may be considered to respond to the various training and education needs. AtSAARC, the South Asia Disaster Knowledge Network and the Digital Vulnerability Atlas weredeveloped as tools to enhance DRR planning of national disaster management authorities of the region.
In the Philippines, a national standard for education and training system has been designed toprofessionalize all capacity development activities on disaster risk reduction management. The training
on urban search and rescue by the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF); the academic degree course
offering on disaster risk management by University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM); and the Visiting
Researcher program of ADRC are some of the existing initiatives that enhance human capacities anddevelop more professionals in DRM. Options for way forward may include the following actions: (i)sustain the platform for sharing of information and experiences among countries and regional
institutions in Asia, including strengthening of linkages from regional, national, and subnational levels;(ii) prioritize addressing capacity needs, and allow DRR stakeholders to have greater access to goodpractices, user-friendly technologies, and lessons from past experiences; (iii) institutionalize andharmonize education and training programs by stocktaking and mapping all training facilities as well as
allocating regular budget; (iv) design and adopt a regional resource mobilization plan for effective
delivery of education and training programs; and (v) formulate an effective country-to-country
coordination mechanism for knowledge and information exchange.
11. Session 3 outcomes: CBDRM needs to be strengthened by applying advanced technologies to help
communities better address the emerging DRR challenges. The utilization of on-site visualization using
light emitting sensors, international standard for landslide early warning system, unmanned aerial
vehicle or drones, and integrated information communication technology platform are options toupgrade CBDRM approaches. However, these advanced tools and technologies should not be prescribed,instead, make them accessible for communities to decide which tool/technology best fits the needs andcapacities of the local situations. The following actions may be considered as way forward: (i)encourage communities to invest in DRR through science and technology; (ii) formulate and adopt costeffective schemes to support communities interested in advanced technologies; and (iii) promotecollaboration with private sector to create new markets for high-tech products or hybrid of advanced/lowtechnology for DRR – public-private partnerships can be one of the possible schemes to explore, as thiscan lead to positive cycle of job and market creation in Asia.

About the Conference
12. The Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction, 25-26 February 2016 at Duangjitt Resort in Phuket,
Thailand was participated by 98 delegates from 24 ADRC member countries, observers, and partners.
Messages at the opening ceremony highlighted the following: ADRC aims to take proactive role inaddressing the DRR challenges for the next 20 years; UNISDR emphasized that smaller but frequentdisasters must also be given importance in designing countermeasure strategies since its cumulative
impacts are massive, and that new hazards needs to be integrated with the old hazards and align thestrategic plan with the Sendai Framework; The Government of Japan committed to continue its
leadership role in DRR efforts in Asia and around the world; and the Government of Thailand places
highest priority on safety, and is putting into action the guidance of the Sendai Framework in promoting
collaboration nationally and internationally to avoid experiencing similar impacts of 2004 Tsunami and2011 Floods. The conference was jointly organized by ADRC, Government of Japan, Government ofThailand, and in collaboration with UNISDR. Key officials from these institutions delivered the opening
speeches.