At the regional level, the UN is responding to the growing risks by offering analysis to guide policymakers, integrating prevention and risk reduction into its governance and development efforts, and by building the response capacities of regional partners for early warning and early action. 

However, there is an urgent need to scale up risk reduction efforts in fragile states, where the abilities to cope are the weakest and the needs are the greatest.

“We need to do more to help the countries most impacted by crises, we can’t leave them behind. These countries are not receiving the same level of support or technical assistance as other countries,” said Ms Loretta Hieber Girardet, Chief of UNDRR Asia-Pacific who presented on behalf of the regional UN system.

To address this gap, UNDRR is currently in the process of developing tools that will help guide the integration of disaster risk reduction in humanitarian contexts. A global consultative workshop to validate the tools will be organized in Geneva on 27 February 2020. 

The benign nature of disaster risk reduction can also offer an entry point for bringing warring factions together and create an opening for a larger strategic dialogue. Mr Hans Hans Guttman, Executive Director of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, offered some insights from his past work in the area of water rights, saying:

“People want to cooperate around flood reduction and early warning, for example, and this type of water diplomacy can open up new opportunities for discussions around water rights and more contentious issues.”

Date:

31 January 2020

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNDRR AP)

Themes:

Disaster Risk Management, Environment &Ecosystems, Fragility and conflict

Country & Region:

Asia