25 March 2009: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s (ESCAP) Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (CDRR) opened on 25 March 2009, and will conclude on 27 March. Noting that Asia and the Pacific is the most disaster-prone region, participants underscored the importance of cooperation among governments in the region for disaster risk reduction (DRR).

As part of the CDRR session, a high-level round table was organized to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and experiences on DRR. The roundtable concluded that, as a cross-cutting issue of great complexity, DDR requires knowledge and information on hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities. However, such knowledge is usually dispersed throughout the region and out of reach of those who need to make decisions and take actions. During the roundtable, Noeleen Heyzer, UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary, announced that ESCAP would establish a regional platform for sharing information among disaster risk management authorities. ESCAP will also produce the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report, which will synthesize information from member States, provide socioeconomic analysis of DRR trends, identify good practice, evaluate the state of DRR in the region and identify future priorities and trends. [ESCAP Press Release]