Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) authorities, gathering at the Expert Meeting on Disaster Loss and DRR Technology Sharing for North-East Asia, highlighted disaster management advances in the region under the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and underscored their resolve for further improvement.
26 March 2014: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) authorities, gathering at the Expert Meeting on Disaster Loss and DRR Technology Sharing for North-East Asia, highlighted disaster management advances in the region under the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and underscored their resolve for further improvement.
Forty-three senior disaster management officials and experts represented eight countries in the region at the meeting, which was held in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. The HFA was adopted in 2005 and has acted as a “consistent and guiding force for national progress” in DRR, according to meeting participants. Government representatives from Mongolia, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea pointed to concrete examples of that progress, including increases in human resources and technical capacity, legal reform, advances in academic research, broader public awareness, integration of DRR into development planning, technology upgrades, strengthened partnerships and better governance.
However, participants emphasized that prevention and mitigation challenges remain. In particular, they stressed the need to strengthen collaboration on best practices and lessons learned across the region. The Expert Meeting focused on implementing the six objectives agreed upon by China, Japan and the Republic of Korea in October 2013, namely: “better compatibility of disaster data; more joint research for better disaster response and recovery; sharing of experience on climate change-induced disaster risk; more table-top disaster exercises; stronger partnership on training; and building a shared regional voice ahead of the Asian Regional Platform, June 2014, and the World Conference on DRR, March 2015.”
The Global Education Training Institute (GETI) of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Republic of Korea’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat jointly convened the meeting. [UNISDR Press Release] [Republic of Korea NEMA Website] [UNESCAP Website] [Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat Website]