5-2. Networking and Participation in International
Meetings and Workshops
ADRC places high priority on the development of institutional and human networks toshare disaster information in Asia. Developing networks between professionals and theircounterparts in member countries, adviser countries, and observer organizations is vital topromoting cooperation on disaster risk reduction efforts in Asia.
In FY 2019, ADRC participated in the following meetings to share information on ADRC’s
activities, as well as to further enhancing our networks in Asia and DRR community.

5-2-1. Sixth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction
The Sixth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2019) was held at
the International Conference Centre Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland on 13-17 May 2019. The
Global Platform was recognized by the UN General Assembly Resolution and held bi-annually
since 2007 to provide a venue for professionals working on DRR from many different
stakeholder groups to get together. The groups represented at this year’s event included
national governments, international organizations, regional organizations, academic institutes,
civil society, and the private sector. This sixth meeting was co-hosted by the government of
Switzerland as well as UNDRR, and was attended by representatives from 182 countries.

(1) Official Statement
On 17 May, Mr. Suzuki, Executive Director of ADRC, gave an opening statement on
ADRC’s future plans. He noted that natural hazards in

ASEAN countries have been

increasing in recent years, and that ADRC has started to study business continuity planning(BCP) and business continuity management (BCM) as DRR investments specifically for the
ASEAN region. Mr. Suzuki, Executive Director, as well as Ms. Shiomi and Mr. Ikeda
represented ADRC.

Fig. 5-2-1-1 Official Statement by Mr. Suzuki46
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5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

(2) Meetings with Member Countries
ADRC had several meetings with some counterpart organizations participated in GP2019 todiscuss future cooperation and specific activities. For example, meetings were held with theCommittee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense of Tajikistan to discuss early-warning
platforms using space technologies; with the National Disaster Management Authority in theMaldives to discuss capacity-building programs for GIS and remote sensing technologies;
with the delegation from Kyrgyz to talk about a disaster education program to be conducted inJapan in 2019; with the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) in Turkey
to discuss a future relationship; and finally, with MES-Armenia to share ideas about a programin earthquake engineering which is being planned in Yerevan city.

Fig. 5-2-1-2 Discussion with delegation from Tajikistan(3) GLIDE Stakeholder Meeting
On 14 May, ADRC organized a GLobal unique IDEntifier number (GLIDE) stakeholder
meeting on the sidelines of GP2019. The meeting was attended by 15 participants from 6
GLIDE stakeholders, who discussed the present situation and the future innovation of GLIDE
system (For more information, please see Chapter 2-2).

5-2-2. Typhoon Committee(1) 14th Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction on“Disseminating and Sharing Data on Disaster Risk Reduction”
ADRC participated in the 14th annual meeting of the Working Group on Disaster Risk
Reduction on “Disseminating and Sharing Data on Disaster Risk Reduction” was organized byUnited Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (UNESCAP)/World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee (TC) and the National Disaster
Management Research Institute (NDMI) in Ulsan, Republic of Korea from 18 to 21 June
2019.
The main objective of the meeting was to share the information of members'
typhoon-related technologies and policies. Some 30 participants from member countries and4747relevant organizations, including ADRC reported on their recent technologies and policies aswell as updates on WMO and NDMI's DRR information system tools.
ADRC gave a presentation on the typhoons that struck Japan in 2018.

Fig.5-2-2-1 Group photo(2) 14th Integrated Workshop
ADRC participated in the 14th UNESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee (TC) Integrated
Workshop in Guam, U.S.A., on 4-7 November 2019. Under the main theme entitled "Smart
Service for Typhoon Disaster Prevention," a general meeting was held on the first day. On thesecond day, the UNESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee and the National Disaster
Management Research Institute of Korea (NDMI) co-hosted a Disaster Prevention Working
Group (WGDRR), and on the third day exchanged views on the working groups' reports andfuture directions.
Participants of the WGDRR are Hong Kong, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Republic of Korea,
the U.S.A. and Viet Nam. In the WGDRR, each country made presentations on disasters and
DRR measures. In this report, ADRC introduced trends in the frequency and scale of typhoons
in Japan, as well as the topic of the typhoon Hagibis (No. 19), which had the greatest damage
in Japan. In addition, ADRC introduced "Development of Local DRR Plan with 8 STEPs,"
which supports to make local disaster prevention plans in each country through JICA training
courses and other activities, and also introduced an integrated DRR information systemapplication model that is effective for information sharing in the event of a disaster. Following
presentations from each country, evaluations were made for the 2019 projects, including atechnical session at the World BOSAI Forum to be held in Sendai after the Integrated
Workshop. For the 2019 project, it was reported that an early warning system was constructedby installing rain gauges and water level gauges in Viet Nam and Lao PDR, and video
teaching materials for storm surge disaster awareness raising were reported. Furthermore, in
addition to the continuous development of educational materials on disaster prevention
awareness as a 2020 project, a human resources development program in the field of disasterprevention and a weather system seminar using cloud sources were proposed. Finally, achange of Chair and Vice Chair was proposed.

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5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

Fig. 5-2-2-2 WGDRR Group photo

At the plenary session of final day, reports and budget proposals from each WG and training
for human resource development, and proposal for Cross Cutting Project was made. These
were agreed to be submitted to the 52nd Annual Meeting.

Fig.5-2-2-3 Group photo

5-2-3. Northeast Asia Forum on Capacity Development ofTechnology for Disaster Risk Reduction
It has been discussed the effective ways to utilize and share technology for disaster risk
reduction (DRR) among China, Japan and Republic of Korea. In recent year, experts fromthere countries have been discussing how to transfer these technology to other Asian countries.
One of the major deliverables and achievements in the context of trilateral cooperation fordisaster risk reduction will be the publication of "Trilateral Best Practices - Application ofTechnology for Reducing Disaster Risk”. Three countries will collect the best practices and
UNDRR in Incheon, Republic of Korea will edit them. The publication will be open to the
public in 2020.
ADRC has collected and submitted the following science and technologies for DRR. Mostof them are affordable and easy to be applied in the developing countries for enhancing theirdisaster resilience.

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1) Gabion, traditional civil engineering tool scientifically enhanced by advanced earthquake
engineering with shaking table.
2) Emergency damage assessment methodology with data on epicenter location andmagnitude, underground information and earthquake resilience characteristic of the buildings
3) New visualizing technology for easy-to-understand GIS information
4) Data collection technology with smart phones when ITC infrastructure is not available
5) Affordable retrofitting technology with polymer
ADRC also participated in the following meetings to further exchange and seek thecooperation among these three countries.

(1) Public Forum on "Trilateral Disaster Risk Reduction and Relief Cooperation
among China-Japan-Korea”
ADRC participated in a public forum on "Trilateral Disaster Risk Reduction and Relief
Cooperation among China-Japan-Korea," which was organized by the Trilateral Cooperation
Secretariat on 19 June 2019 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Participants attended the publicforum from disaster management organizations and research institutions in all three countries.
ADRC presented information on Town Watching Programs and Sentinel Asia in a session oninternational disaster risk reduction. In this session, ADRC proposed that information on thestatus of hazard map development be shared among the three countries. ADRC also gave apresentation on disaster relief on behalf of a Japanese NPO that was unable to participate due
to emergency response efforts needed following the Niigata Earthquake that struck the night
before their planned presentation. In that session, ADRC reported on volunteer activities inJapan.

Fig. 5-2-3-1 Public Forum(2) A forum of Trilateral Cooperation on Disaster Management between
China-Japan-Korea, "Northeast Asia Forum on Capacity Development of

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5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction"
ADRC participated in a forum on “Northeast Asia Forum on Capacity Development ofTechnology for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)" which was organized by the Trilateral
Cooperation Secretariat and the UNDRR on 16-17 December 2019 in Incheon, Republic ofKorea. Participants attended the public forum from disaster management organizations andresearch institutions in all three countries. ADRC and the Geoinformatics Center of Asian
Institute of Technology presented information on Visiting Researcher Programme,
Town-Watching Programs and Sentinel Asia in a session on international disaster risk
reduction. In this session, ADRC proposed that information on the status of hazard map
development be shared among the three countries and suggested to collaborate between
China-Japan-Korea for DRR in the Asian countries.

Fig. 5-2-3-2 Forum

5-2-4. APEC
(1) Meetings in Chile
On 20-22 August 2019 ADRC participated in the 13th APEC Senior Disaster Management
Officials Forum (SDMOF) and the 15th Emergency Preparedness Working Group (EPWG)
meetings at Cabana Hotel in Puerto Varas, Chile. The meetings were attended by some 40
participants from 15 out of 21 APEC economies and relevant organizations.
On the first day the 13th SDMOF started with opening remarks by Mr. Ricardo Toro,
National Director of the National Emergency Office (ONEMI), Chile. In the following two
sessions, recent practices and initiatives for DRR for resilience were presented byrepresentatives from Australia, Chile, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, U.S.A., WB, Pacifico(business entity) and Doshisha University. ADRC Executive Director Mr. Suzuki presented on
Sentinel Asia and early warning system using Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS).
The second day of the 15th EPWG meeting was organized. After the opening remarks by
ONEMI National Director Mr. Ricardo Toro, EPWG Co-chair Mr. Li Wei-Sen briefed on thehistory and present situation of SDMOF and EPWG. Then Chinese Taipei, Chile and Malaysia
reported their ongoing EPWG projects in 2019 while Peru, Malaysia and Australia reported

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recent disasters.
In the morning of the final day, Chile organized a workshop on telecommunications
utilization during emergencies as a project in EPWG. China, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia,
New Zealand and Peru shared their practices of ICT and telecommunications in DRR. Someparticipants referred to information by Mr. Suzuki on the first day.
In the afternoon, the participants of the meetings joined a field study program. After taking
a lecture on the volcanos and monitoring system in the area, they visited nearby Volcán
Osorno Monitoring Station.

Fig.5-2-4-1

Group photo(2) Meeting in Malaysia
ADRC Executive Director took up an appointment as the co-chair of EPWG/APEC in
January 2020. He participated in the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) Steering Committee on
ECOTECH-Committee of the Whole Meeting (SCE-COW), the informal meeting of
SCE-COW and Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Post 2020 Vision from 17 to 19 February 2020
in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Fig. 5-2-4-2 SOM Steering Committee on ECOTECH-Committee of the Whole Meeting (SCE-COW)

In the SCE-COW, APEC Economies were briefed by chairs and co-chairs of working

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5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs
groups in ECOTECH Committee on their Work Plans in 2020 and suggested their comments
and questions.
The meeting on 17 February was the informal meeting on SCE-COW and the chairs, theco-chairs and APEC Secretariat participated in it and shared their Work Plans in 2020, which
could facilitate collaboration among the fora.
In SCE-COW formal meeting on 18 February, APEC economies participated in it andexpressed their suggestions and raised questions to each of the Work Plans 2020. Thaidelegation expressed its expectation on collaboration with EPWG and Health Working Group(HWG) for managing coronavirus incident.

5-2-5. Expert Group Meeting to Combat Sand and Dust Storm,
UNESCAPADRC participated in the Expert Group Meeting on Sand and Dust Storms, which wasorganized on 27-28 August 2019 at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok,
Thailand. Sand and dust storms (SDS) have received priority attention by UNESCAP and pose
a formidable challenge to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and targets adopted aspart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Several ADRC member countries inCentral and South Asia have suffered from their impacts. It is important to recognize thatclimate change will have big impacts on SDS in terms of their area, frequency, and magnitude.
ADRC gave a presentation on satellite remote sensing technologies for monitoring SDS andexplained its interests in medium- and long-term SDS impact assessment simulations that take
into account the impacts of climate change.

5-2-6. Asia-Pacific Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction
Forum
On 12-13 November 2019, the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction(APP-DRR) Forum was organized at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center in Brisbane,
Australia. APP-DRR is a regional DRR platform, former ISDR Asia Partnership (IAP) Forum,
which was expanded to the Asia-Pacific region.

Fig. 5-2-6-1 Topics of APMCDRR2020

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This Forum was hosted by UNDRR and the Government of Australia, attended by morethan 100 stakeholders from the Governments, the UN agencies, international and regionalorganizations, research institutions and NGOs in the Asia Pacific region. It aimed to review
the progress of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) in the Asia Pacificregion, resulting in inputs to the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction (APMCDRR) 2020, scheduled in Brisbane, Australia, in June 2020.
The Forum started with opening and welcome remarks by Ms. Loretta Hieber Girardet,
Chief, UNDRR Regional Office for Asia Pacific, and Mr. Paul Kelly, Assistant Secretary,
Humanitarian Response, Risk & Recovery Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Australia. Then Ms. Loretta Hieber Girardet reported on the implementation situations of
SFDRR and SDGs in the region. According to her presentation, the overall trends show thedecrease in morality due to natural disasters while increase economic damages. In 2019 alone,natural disasters in the region were characterized by increased intensity, lasting longer andunpredictability. She emphasized the importance of accelerating momentum on climate action,national and local DRR strategies, investment in infrastructure and big data innovations at theregional level.
Then Panel Discussion “Accelerating disaster risk reduction in Asia-Pacific” followed withthree panelists, Hon. Saber Chowdhury, Member of Parliament of Bangladesh, Mr. Zarak
Khan, Director, Programmes and Initiatives, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and Ms.
Charlote Benson, Principal DRM Specialist, Sustainable Development and Climate Change
Department, Asian Development Bank. They presented and discussed on their activities.
The next sessions were intended to result in inputs for APMCDRR2020, titled “Making a
Change: Accelerating the transformation to risk-informed development”. The pillars of
APMCDRR2020 became the topics of the presentation on day one and then group discussion
by each topic on day two.

The topics were (1) investing in prevention, (2) making systems

and infrastructure resilient, (3) sharing innovations and solutions and cross-cutting issues of(4) inclusiveness, (5) local action and (6) island, coastal and remote communities. Joining thegroup (3), ADRC introduced about its activities such as GLIDE and Sentinel Asia.
Lastly, each group shared the outcomes of the discussion among all participants. UNDRR
and the Government of Australia briefed on APMCDRR2020. Despite the limited time, theforum turned out an opportunity to share activities and challenges for implementing SFDRR in
the Asia Pacific region.

Fig. 5-2-6-2Group photo at APP-DRR

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5. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

5-2-7. ASEAN High-Level Symposium on Disaster
Management 2020
On 26-27 February 2020, ADRC participated in ASEAN High-Level Symposium on
Disaster Management 2020 held at ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia. The symposium
was organized by ASEAN Secretariat and funded by China with the objective of providing aplatform for discussions on disaster management in a cooperative framework by involving
relevant experts from various background by complementing the existing ASEAN
mechanisms. More than 100 participants from DRR and other fields like social and financial
sectors attended from ASEAN member countries, academic institutions, internationalorganizations and NGOs.
The symposium constituted of opening session and six thematic sessions.
The opening session started with remarks by ASEAN Secretariat-General H.E. Mr. Dato
Lim Jock Hoi. He thanked the Republic of China for hosting this Symposium. Then
Ambassador/ Representative of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to ASEAN, H.E.
Mr. Deng Xijun made a speech, hoping the symposium will gain input for and the ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management (AMMDM) scheduled this year. The Chairmanof the AMMDM, Under-Secretary Ricardo Jalad, Office of Civil Defense, Philippines made akeynote presentation. Introducing several DRR initiatives in ASEAN framework, he stressed
the need to further promote coordination among stakeholders.
Thematic Session I was titled “Understanding the likelihood of prevalent risks, political
dynamics of hazard and disaster policymaking in South-East Asia.” Panelists were Dr. Amod
Mani Dixit, ADRRN/NSET, Dr. Phillip J. Vermonte, Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS), Dr. YOSHINO Naoyuki, Asian Development Bank Institute, and MR. Hans
Guttman, ADPC. They discussed the recent increase in climate disasters in ASEAN region andpointed to the need for political commitment to scale up SDGs and SFDRR efforts.
Session II on “Early Warning System and Effective Disaster Response Operations throughAdvanced Technology and Innovations” were presented by DC Teong How Hwa, Singapore
Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Singapore, Mr. Kosta Antonopoulus, Medicine Sans Frontiers,
Mr. An Pich Hatda, Mekong River Commissions (MRC) Secretariat, Ms. Amy Martin, ROAP,
UNOCHA, Mr. Zhang Xiaoning, National Disaster Reduction Center of China (NDRCC) and
Ms. Christa Rader, WFP Indonesia. They respectively introduced their activities in relation toearly warning (EW) system and relevant technologies.
Session III, “Strengthening Community Resilience and Multistakeholders Partnerships” hadpanelists including Dr. Rahmawati Ama Husein, BNPB, Indonesia, Dr. Jeremy Wellard,International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), Dr, SAKURAI Aiko, Tohoku University,
Ms. Ewa Wojkowska, Kopernik, and Ms. Tiziana Bonapace, UNESCAP. They overviewed
their recent and ongoing programs in cooperative projects with multipartners.
Session IV featured “Advancing Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance to Enhance
Regional Economic Resilience”. Panels, Ms. Taheeni Thammannagoda, ECHO, Ms,
Suprayoga Hadi, BAPPENAS, Indoensia, Ms. Elean Hadi, Monetary Authority of Singapore

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and Mr. Butch Meily, Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundations. They briefed on various
financial schemes and services they are promoting for disaster resilience.
Session V on Sufficient Recovery Plan, Rehabilitation and Build Back Better Strategy” waspresented by the panelists, Ir. Rifai, M.B.A., BNPB, Indonesia, Bs, Sophie Kemikhadze,
UNDP Indonesia, Mr. Heru Prasetyo, Executing Agency for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation
Aceh & Nias, Mr. Jan Gelfand IFRC and Mr. Jamshed Kazi, UN WOMEN. They reported on
mainly cases in Indonesia and shared good practices and challenges in recovery operation andmanagement.
Session VI was about “Bridging Global and Regional Partnership on Disaster Management”
presented by Mr. Faisal Djalal, Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management, Dr. Riyanti
Djalante, UNU, Ms. Adelina Kamal, ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian
Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), and Mr. Muamar Vebry, European Union.
They introduced their activities at global and regional levels, stressing the importance of
coordination and collaboration.
At the end of Session V, ADRC made comments on disaster data development andmethodologies in ASEAN countries as many panelists regarded accuracy and coverage ofdisaster data as challenging regardless of disaster phase or activity field throughout the
symposium. Then application of GLIDE to their work was suggested for future solution.

Fig. 5-2-7-1

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Opening Session