Integrating Disaster Reduction into Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Activities
Remarks By
Ursula Schaefer-Preuss
Vice President, Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development
Asian Development Bank
At the 2nd Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
8 November, 2007
New Delhi, India
Introduction
Distinguished delegates, guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is my honor to represent the Asian Development Bank (ADB) here at this 2nd Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and to have the opportunity to present ADB's involvement in integrating disaster reduction into rehabilitation and reconstruction activities. Foremost, I would like to thank our conference organizers, the Ministry of Home Affairs of India. Based on active partnership with 11 different institutions, the Ministry has organized this important and timely conference, and we very much appreciate the tireless efforts.
ADB recognizes the responsibility to assist our Member Countries to meet the challenges of natural hazards and to reduce the risk from disasters. All of us here today are aware that the frequency, intensity, diversity and consequences of disasters in Asia are extremely complex. It is very difficult for the affected countries to adequately meet the extraordinary demands that disaster impact places on its citizens, communities and governments without expertise or support from the outside. Thus, I believe this conference is recognition of a need for renewed and strengthened commitment among our partners - based on the Hyogo Framework for Action of 2005.
I also believe it is very appropriate that this important conference is being held here in India. The sad memories of the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004 are still with us today. ADB has been continuing to monitor the progress and identify measures to improve our assistance modality. Last month, ADB's President Kuroda had an opportunity to inspect progress of ADB's Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project in Tamil Nadu and Kerala to learn of the latest developments. ADB very much appreciates the strong commitment of the Indian Government for restoration and rehabilitation, and resilience of the people to improve their lives despite such hardships. Overall, we have learned many lessons from such disaster relief assistance, some of which I hope to share with all of you today.
Important Lessons on Disaster Relief and Risk Management
ADB has had dedicated disaster policies for 20 years, since 1987. Since then, over half our Member Countries (25 in number) have received disaster or conflict-related assistance, in nearly 300 projects, amounting to nearly $6 billion, and with one-third of these projects having a risk reduction focus. These figures mean that ADB has, on average, been engaged in a new disaster risk management activity once a month for the past two decades.
With such active involvement on disaster risk management, we at ADB have learned a number of important lessons. First, it should be recognized that disaster relief is an important pillar of poverty reduction. Under disasters, the poorest people in the region will suffer first and most. The socio-economically vulnerable groups - especially women and young girls, and ethnic minorities - are especially likely to become the most affected victims of disasters. Disasters can lead to increased distress on agriculture and food security.
Second, an effective disaster relief and reduction management strategy for each of the Member Countries needs to be a comprehensive one. Such a strategy needs to be mainstreamed into various policies on infrastructure, agriculture, housing, natural resource management, among others. This also means that a clear and responsible government coordination mechanism needs to be established and maintained at all times. Here, capacity development and knowledge on international best practice need to be transferred to our Member Countries.
Third, there needs to be a clear linkage among the international agreements, national strategies, local actions, and support from various partners. Too often, we have witnessed lack of clear coordination among the various institutions - which tend to delay the needed assistance to be effectively utilized. Particularly, I believe regional cooperation is a critical need for Asia where those nations affected can share their knowledge and experience. For this, I believe this conference provides an excellent forum towards a better coordination and cooperation.
Finally, I would also like note that many scientists are predicting even a higher probability of more disasters in the near future - due to climate change. I do not say this in order to cause more alarm, but only to remind all of us that we need to be better prepared for the future.
ADB's Assistance
Based on the above lessons, ADB has been engaged in various types of disaster relief assistance throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Our Disaster and Emergency Assistance Policy sets out objectives that are designed to strengthen support for reducing disaster risk in our Member Countries in Asia and the Pacific, as well as to provide rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance following disaster impact. A new Action Plan is being prepared to further embed disaster risk management into ADB's operational practices, and to develop additional risk reduction measures, such as building in resilience to reconstruction projects and climate adaptation projects. These are not easy tasks, but there are clear signs of improvements.
A recent example of ADB's efforts to integrate disaster reduction into rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts comes from the Solomon Islands, following an undersea earthquake that triggered a tsunami in April 2007, which affected a quarter of the population in two island provinces when entire villages were destroyed, and critical infrastructure was severely damaged. In addition to assisting the Solomon Islands Government in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure damage, ADB is providing technical assistance to strengthen the country's infrastructure planning and to prepare an integrated and environmentally sustainable disaster recovery action plan. The technical assistance will also strengthen the emergency management coordination and hazard mitigation capacity, which includes strategies that incorporate the country's vulnerability to climate change and other potential natural disasters.
Following the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, ADB established an Asian Tsunami Fund and provided assistance to five affected Member Countries (India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand). As mentioned earlier, when our President visited India last month, he was able to witness the strong commitment of the Government and resilience of the local community. This includes the visit to women's self help groups and other projects directed to helping victims resume normal lives by supporting the restoration of livelihoods and essential services, rehabilitating critical public and community-facilities, and damaged rural and municipal infrastructure. President Kuroda was particularly impressed by the efforts of the women's groups and the affected communities to rebuild and re-establish their own habitat.
Another component of disaster risk reduction ADB undertook following the Indian Ocean Tsunami is providing technical assistance with the UNDP to strengthen the Tsunami Development Assistance Database, which tracks tsunami aid and provides analytical products to support decision-making and resource allocation in four affected Member Countries (Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Thailand). ADB's technical assistance provides capacity development to assist national aid coordination teams, establishes national web portals to provide access to coordinate data, allows regional analysis of tsunami assistance; and collates lessons from the four Member Countries. Moreover, three of these Member Countries, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, have adapted the Development Assistance Database to enable them to manage all development cooperation activities or to use it as a monitoring and planning tool. These are some examples which highlight the various ways ADB is actively involved in Disaster Risk Reduction.
Conclusions
Distinguished delegates, I would like to reiterate once again that ADB is committed to global initiatives such as the Hyogo Framework of Action, and to assisting Member Countries pursue their national disaster action plans, and to participating in regional disaster risk reduction initiatives. ADB has taken heed of the lessons learnt from recent major disasters and we are developing additional mechanisms to support hazard management and disaster risk reduction in the Asia-Pacific.
As I have explained about ADB's role in disaster relief management and the lessons learned, I would like to stress that we need to forge an even stronger partnership to prepare for possible future needs. Partnership among donor agencies, Member Countries, research institutes, and local communities - within the context of the international agreements - are critical for our effectiveness.
Accordingly, on behalf of the Asian Development Bank, I look forward to further increasing our knowledge and understanding, and sharing our experience in that complex area of cooperation with our Asia and Pacific Member Countries by participating in this important Conference.
Thank you.
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