Vietnamese delegates attended the launching ceremony of the AADMER Work Program 2021-2025, June 2021. Photo: qdnd.vn

Disaster management - important area of ASEAN cooperation

Southeast Asia is considered as one of the regions in the world most affected by natural disasters and climate change. According to data from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), natural disasters cost countries in the region an average annual economic loss of up to US$86.5 billion.

According to statistics from 2012 to 2020, at least 2,916 disasters and natural disasters occurred in Southeast Asia, including some large-scale storms such as Typhoon Bopha (2012), Typhoon Haiyan (2013) in the Philippines, earthquake and tsunami in Central Sulawesi (2018) in Indonesia, Typhoon Mangkhut (2018) in the Philippines and Typhoon Damrey (2017) in Vietnam.

In that context, cooperation among ASEAN members in disaster management becomes a prominent highlight in multi-sectoral cooperation and commitment in the region, demonstrated through many established cooperation tools and mechanisms.

Since 2003, the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) was established to facilitate regional cooperation on disaster management as well as raise the common spirit of ASEAN.

ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) came into effect on December 24, 2009 and ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center) was established in 2011 with the unification of 10 ASEAN member countries.

They fostered conditions for coordination in disaster management, mobilized additional resources and support in the region, and cooperated multilaterally with partners around the world.

The Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is the focal agency to deploy and participate in cooperation mechanisms on disaster management in the region.

Children in Hoi An city (Quang Nam) participated in a painting contest in response to the year Vietnam assumed the role of Chair of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management. Photo: qdnd.vn

In the order of rotation among ASEAN countries, in 2023, Vietnam assumes the role of ACDM Chair, hosting the 11th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management, the Conference of the Parties to the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response, ministerial meetings with ASEAN partners (China, the RoK, Japan) and related meetings of ACDM, AHA Center.

Promoting anticipatory action in disaster risk management

Representatives of students from secondary schools in Hoi An city (Quang Nam) received the award for a contest on natural disaster prevention, one of the response activities of Vietnam. Photo: qdnd.vn

“From Response to Anticipatory Action and Resilience: ASEAN Journey towards Global Leadership in Disaster Management” is the theme proposed by Vietnam and the disaster management agencies of ASEAN countries agreed to choose for regional cooperation on disaster management in 2023.

Accordingly, this year's theme emphasizes the change of approach in disaster risk management of ASEAN countries, moving from responding to taking action early.

Anticipatory action, although a new concept for Vietnam and the region, is essentially activities and interventions right in the pre-disaster prevention stage that agencies in the field of natural disaster prevention and control have been implementing.

The increasing focus on anticipatory action by ASEAN countries shows an increase in their commitment to innovating approaches to disaster risk reduction and management.

The ASEAN Framework on Anticipatory Action in Disaster Management was promoted by ACDM between November 2021 and May 2022, with the goal of ensuring early warnings are translated into effective early actions, thereby mitigating the impacts of disasters across the region.

Constantly innovating and promoting cooperation among member countries, ASEAN is also committed to realizing the ASEAN vision to become a global leader in disaster management through the exchange of knowledge and practices, and contribute to global disaster risk response efforts.

Vietnam strives to show its leading role in ASEAN not only in the fields of security and economy but also in socio-cultural aspects, ensuring safety for the community against natural disasters.

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