Regional : Strengthening Cooperation on Disaster Risk Management within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Public sector management / Public administration

Southeast Asia has some of the world's most extensive transboundary disaster risk including droughts and floods in the Mekong Basin, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions across the Ring of Fire, and tropical cyclones and storms along coastlines and islands. With the increasing levels of disaster risk, in part driven by the concentration of people and assets in hazard-exposed areas, environmental degradation, and climate change, it is critical that the region strengthens its cooperation and capacity to enhance regional public goods and reduce the social and economic impacts from transboundary disasters and emergencies.

Since 2009, ASEAN has led the region's efforts on DRM through AADMER, a legally binding agreement on regional cooperation in the field of disaster management and emergency response. Since coming into force, it has provided a framework for ASEAN to advance efforts to realize its vision to "build a region of disaster-resilient nations, mutually assisting and complementing one another, sharing a common bond in minimizing adverse effects of disasters in pursuit of safer communities and sustainable development." AADMER is operationalized through 5-year work programs, developed by the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM).

The first AADMER work program (2010-2015) put in place regional mechanisms for joint response and disaster risk reduction, including establishing wide-ranging partnerships. The second work program (2016-2020) focused on protecting development gains through eight priority programs covering risk assessment, disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness and emergency response, disaster recovery, and knowledge and innovation. The third and current work program (2021-2025) seeks to enhance and support ASEAN's disaster risk reduction and disaster management capabilities through five priority programs: (i) risk assessment and monitoring, (ii) prevention and mitigation, (iii) preparedness and response, (iv) resilient recovery, and (v) global leadership. Each priority program of the current work program is overseen under one of three ACDM working groups co-chaired by ASEAN member states.

In recognition of AADMER's increasing maturity over successive work programs, the scope and ambition of the current work program has expanded. It explicitly covers slow-onset hazards, such as drought, and seeks to play a more active role in transboundary issues at both the operational and normative levels. Further, the work program seeks to engage with regional organizations on DRM outside of ASEAN, including with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Pacific Community (SPC), and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to exchange knowledge and build mutually beneficial working relationships.

Targeted efforts to enhance knowledge on key DRM issues and building capacity of decision-makers, institutions, and systems can complement and inform ADB's operations in DMCs. The sustainability of this TA is premised on supporting agreed approaches within ASEAN by fostering an enabling environment for further investment at the DMC level.

ASEAN Member States' resilience to transboundary risks improved (ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response)

ASEAN's transboundary DRM capabilities enhanced

Regional cooperation on understanding transboundary risks increased

High-level technology for regional cooperation on transboundary risks introduced

Interregional cooperation through capacity building and knowledge exchange advanced