Strategic Policy Guide for Disaster Risk Management

The World Bank (WB) recently hosted a press conference with the theme of “Strong, Safe and Resilient - A Strategic Policy Guide for Disaster Risk Management in the East Asia and the Pacific” in Hanoi.

 

East Asia - Pacific is the region most affected by cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods. To confront these disaster challenges, governments need to be prepared for the unexpected and undertake major investments in disaster risk management and resilience.

 

Mr Axel van Trotsenburg, Vice President of World Bank East Asia and Pacific, stressed that countries should make disaster risk management part of poverty alleviation and sustainable development because the poor are disproportionately affected by disasters.

 

WB has proposed three phases for disaster mitigation to East Asia - Pacific nations. In the short-term, investing in hazard forecasting and hydrometeorological early warning systems can have a high cost-benefit ratio with immediate and significant payoffs; strengthening legislation and promoting institutional coordination, promoting disaster risk reduction in community-based development programs are also beneficial. In the medium- to long-term, striking the right balance between investments in structural and non-structural measures is the key. This includes “grey” concrete and cost-effective “green” infrastructure, such as establishing mangroves, wetland buffers and coastal restoration. In the long-term, urbanisation should be managed through systematic use of risk assessments, risk-aware urban planning and development, and robust decisions that take into account disaster and climate risks and uncertainties.