2. Information Sharing

2-4. Information on Disaster Management Systems
2-4-1. Scope of Information
Included among the major components of a disaster management system are a legal system thatprescribes the due process to be followed by the government and organizations that enforce actual
measures under the government, and a basic plan for ensuring the establishment of the disastermanagement system. In addition, disaster management manuals, hazard maps, disaster management
trainings and seminars, and disaster reduction education programs are also included.

1）Legal frameworks
Not all countries have national level laws comparable to Japan's “Disaster
Countermeasures Basic Act”. In some countries, government decrees and rules of specified
organizations include disaster management systems. The backgrounds and processes offormulation of laws and regulation vary from country to country, and there is no single “Bestway” for all countries. Still, shared information on disaster legislation of different countries
will provide a useful reference on countries that are making efforts to establish similar legal
frameworks or improve their current frameworks.
2）Organizations
Similarly to the case of legal frameworks, disaster reduction agencies vary fromcountry to country. In addition, these organizations are often restructured while thefundamental legal framework for disaster reduction remains unchanged. Differences among
countries in natural environmental conditions and socio-cultural background do not reduce
the significance of studying organizational systems of other countries, in that disaster
reduction is a purpose common to all countries. Furthermore, knowledge of the roles andcommand chains of organizations of other countries is important to facilitate international
collaboration for disaster reduction.

3）Basic plans
Many of the member countries are yet to strategically strengthen their disaster
preparedness according to comprehensive disaster reduction plans. Open and shared
information on disaster reduction plans of other countries will provide good referencematerials for countries planning to formulate or revise their disaster reduction plans.
Feedback and reviews that these countries would give will be useful in promoting
multinational disaster reduction collaboration.
4）Disaster manuals
It is considered that most of disaster manuals or hazard maps are compiled based onnatural disasters experienced by each country or region, or on the type of natural disasterspecific to that country or region. However, inaccessibility to such manuals and hazard maps
make it difficult for countries and regions having suffered same kinds of disasters to shareexperiences and information on countermeasures, and might cause inconveniences in theactual implementation of international, regional-national, or inter-regional cooperation.
Therefore, as in the previous year, the ADRC is committed to collecting information inorder to enable the sharing of these existing disaster manuals and hazard maps. Waves ofurbanization and globalization continue increasing the pace of changes, and the ADRC willcontinue its effort for the Asian region to share valuable experiences, knowledge, and viewsof disaster management measures that have been accumulated in different countries andregions.

2. Information Sharing

2-4-2. Levels of Information Sources
It is important to collect information not only at the national government level but also at thelocal government (city, town and village) and community levels, because the first to cope with adisaster are individuals, and then local communities and municipal governments (cities, towns orvillages). Central governments or the international society moves only when the disaster exceeds thecapabilities of local governments. Legal and organizational frameworks established by a central
government alone do not automatically improve actual disaster reduction capabilities andpreparedness down to the municipal and grassroot levels. To build a disaster-resistant society,cross-organizational cooperation is indispensable. Sharing of information at all levels is the first stepto this goal.

2-4-3. Methods of Collecting Information
In 2004, as explained in 2-4-2, the ADRC continued its effort to gather information on thedisaster reduction systems of member countries through requests to them, field surveys, andinternational conferences, and by its own unique methods using the Internet.
Table 2-4-3-1 lists reports provided by counterparts in member countries. All these reports
are available on the ADRC website. Over recent years, disaster reduction organizations of many
countries have been actively promoting information dissemination over the Internet. Therefore, theADRC website has links to some of these websites, when it is more efficient to have access to themfor the latest information than to view the reports on the ADRC website.
Table. 2-4-3-1

No.

List of reports from ADRC member countries

Country

Year prepared1

Armenia

2001, 2002, 2003

2

Bangladesh

1998, 1999, 2001, 2003

3

Cambodia

1998, 1999, 2002, 2003

4

China

1998, 1999

5India1998, 1999, 2002

6

Indonesia

7

Japan

1998, 1999, 2002

8

Kazakhstan

1998, 1999, 2002

9

Korea

10

Kyrgyzstan

Now Preparing

11

Laos

1998, 1999, 2003

12

Malaysia

1998, 1999, 2003

13

Mongolia

1998, 1999, 2002

14

Myanmar2002

1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004

1998, 1999, 2001, 2002

2. Information Sharing

15

Nepal

1998, 1999

16

Papua New Guinea

1998, 1999

17

The Philippines

18

Russia1998, 1999, 2003

19

Singapore

1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003

20

Sri Lanka

1998, 1999, 2003

21

Tajikistan

1998, 1999, 2003

22Thailand

1998, 1999, 2003, 200423

Uzbekistan

1998, 1999

24

Vietnam

1998, 1999

1998, 1999, 2002, 2003

2-4-4. Future Tasks
As for future tasks, the ADRC will further reinforce and expand its database, analyze
collected information, and identify the needs of the member countries based on such analyses in orderto promote multinational disaster reduction cooperation.
1） Reinforcement and expansion of the disaster reduction database
The ADRC constructed a database on its homepage to give free access to disaster reduction system
information it collects for member countries to share. The database enables countries and regions torefer to actual examples from other countries to establish and improve their own national or regional
disaster reduction systems. The ADRC will continue updating and enhancing the contents of its
disaster reduction database in cooperation with member countries to make the database moreaccessible and user-friendly.
2） Analysis of information and dealing with the needs of countries
Information becomes useful only when referred to for analyses. Analysis of collected information
is beginning to help clarify the specific circumstances and needs of various countries. Some countries
already have national level disaster reduction systems, while others are currently preparing toestablish disaster reduction systems under the initiative of central governments. It is considered thatthe former group of countries need to add improvements to enhance and reinforce their existingsystems, while the latter group should give priority to the establishment of disaster reduction systems
as part of intra-regional cooperation.
In order to reduce Asia's vulnerability to natural disasters, it is essential for countries in the region
to consider and include disaster reduction measures in their long-term basic national plans. The
prerequisite for this to happen is that the central government as well as citizenry must have a higher
disaster reduction awareness. For a society to give equal weight to post-disaster emergency assistanceand to disaster preventive preparations, it is always necessary for lawmakers, policymakers andplanners to properly include and incorporate disaster reduction considerations into basic national andregional plans.
3） Promotion of cooperation
As agreed at the Seventh ADRC International Meeting (Jan. 19, 2005, Kobe), it is important tohold regular meetings of disaster reduction administrators and specialists from member countries to2. Information Sharing

exchange the latest information on disaster reduction systems and disaster management measures. It
is also important for the ADRC to continue making full use of its visiting researcher program
launched in July 1999 so that researchers from the member countries working as its staff will help topromote active personnel and information exchanges in the Asian region. In addition, to reduce
damages caused by natural disasters in Asia, there is a mounting expectation that the ADRC should
serve as a facilitator in the formation of a network for human, technological, and physical resources inJapan and the other Asian countries to further promote exchanges in the region.