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The AsiaPacic region leads the worldin a wide range of categories, including

projected economic growth,1 mobile cellularsubscriptions,2 steel production,3 and beer

consumption.4 Unfortunately, the regionalso leads in disaster losses.

Risk Prole: Asia and the Pacic Region

Asia-Pacic countries experience

roughly 30-35% of the worlds disasterevents in any given year. Yet, they typically

account for up to half of the worlds totaldeaths, damage, and loss from disastersand up to 90% of the total number of

people affected.According to the Centre for Research

on the Epidemiology of Disasters,these risks come from droughts, oods,

earthquakes, wildres, and more. In the lastve years, the Asia and the Pacic regionfaced 884 disasters, which affected 1.03

billion peopleover two hundred thousandof them fatallyand incurred damage

estimated at roughly $229 billion. During

this time, ADB has provided $7.43 billionin support of projects that focused onhealth/epidemic, drought/food security,oods, earthquakes, and conict/complex

disasters.

1 ADB. 2011.Asia 2050: Realizing the Asian Century

2 ITU. 2010. Key Global Telecom Indicators for the WorldTelecommunication Service Sector

3 World Steel Association. 2009. Steel Statistical Yearbook 2009

4 The Economist. 2010.All Pints East: Asia Overtakes Europe in BeerTerms. Aug 17, 2010.

Strengthening Country Capabilities

for Managing Disaster Risk

Traditionally, governments in theregion have reacted to disaster risks after

the fact rather than focusing on preventivemeasures to reduce vulnerability andimpacts. This reliance on post-disaster

response carries substantial opportunitycosts and exposes hard-won development

gains to unnecessary and short-sightedrisks.

Recently, the region has begun makingprogress in strengthening its disastercapacities. Some 168 countries around the

world have made commitments to disasterrisk reduction under the 2005-2015 Hyogo

Framework for Action5. The frameworksve priorities for action are:

Ensure that disaster risk reductionis a national and a local prioritywith a strong institutional basis for

implementation.

Identify, assess and monitor disaster

risks and enhance early warning.

Use knowledge, innovation andeducation to build a culture of safetyand resilience.

Reduce the underlying risk factors.

Strengthen disaster preparedness foreffective response.

5 The Hyogo Framework for Action is a 10-year plan to make theworld safer from natural hazards. It was adopted by 168 MemberStates of the United Nations in 2005 at the World Disaster ReductionConference.

Asia-Pacic countries experience roughly 30-35% of the worlds disaster events in anygiven year. Yet, they typically account for up to half of the worlds total deaths, damage,

and loss from disasters and up to 90% of the total number of people affected.

Protecting Development Gainsthe Role of Integrated Disaster Risk

Management

July 2011

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Disclaimer

The views expressed in the article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank, or its Board

of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this article and accepts no responsibility forany consequence of their use. The countries listed in the article do not imply any view on ADBs part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarilyconform to ADBs terminology.

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contact

Knowledge Sharing and Services CenterAsian Development Bank6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City1550 Metro Manila, PhilippinesTel +63 2 632 6710Fax +63 2 632 5236knowledge@adb.orgwww.adb.org/site/knowledge-management/features

Together with the progress are gaps

in meeting the Frameworks priorities.For ADB, these gaps fall into three main

categoriespolicy, nancing, and capacity.

An Integrated Approach for ADB

Since 1987, ADB has implemented

more than $11 billion in projects relatedto disasters, mostly on postdisasterrecovery activities.

In 2004, ADB approved its Disasterand Emergency Assistance Policy, whichpromotes an integrated disaster riskmanagement model that addresses policy,nancing, and capacity. The model guidesdeveloping member countries to fullltheir commitments under the HyogoFramework and strengthen their capacitiesfor effective disaster risk management.

The model has three pillarsdisaster

risk reduction; climate change adaptation;and disaster risk nancing.The rsttwo pillars intertwine to maximize thecobenets for investments in resiliencemeasures that could potentially protectagainst multiple hazards. The third pillarensures that member-countries can reducetheir nancial exposure to disaster eventsand undertake disaster risk reduction andclimate change adaptation measures.

To implement the integrated disasterrisk model, ADB developed a range ofsolutions: Strengthen regional networks

on disaster risk management toshare information on progress in

implementing disaster risk reductionprojects, identify gaps and areas of

cooperation, and inventory regionaldisaster risk management investments;

Improve access to exible nancing to

increase support of regional initiatives,catalyze national and local investments

within developing member countries,fund innovative ideas, and providesmall-scale ADB assistance on risk

assessment, capacity development, and

scoping studies; Establish disaster risk nancing

tools to provide developing member

countries with stronger post-disasterborrowing options and enable them tomore effectively reduce their nancial

exposure to disaster events throughthe transfer of risks to international

insurance and capital markets;

Develop urban risk reduction tools,

guidebooks, and toolkits on risk-sensitive land-use planning for localauthorities, and models for urban

disaster risk nancing; and Explore environmental governance

guidance and tools to promote andbetter manage the interaction of

political, social, and economic systemswith the natural environment, within thecontext of disaster and climate risks.

Ian ODonell

Read the original thinkpiece at www.adb.org/features/ahead-curve-protecting-development-gains-role-integrated-disaster-risk-management.

Rebuilding Traditional Houses After

Disasters

Community contracting lets residents

rebuild earthquake resistant

homes that preserve architecturalcustoms. Available: www.adb.org/

publications/rebuilding-traditional-houses-after-disasters.

Rising from the Rubble:

Reconstruction and Rehabilitation

after the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake

It took 3 years but Gujarat, India

has successfully recovered from itsworst earthquake in the last half

century. Available: www.adb.org/publications/reconstruction-and-

rehabilitation-after-2001-gujarat-

earthquake.

Responding to Disasters: Emergency

Flood Damage Rehabilitation

in Bangladesh

The oods of mid-2004 were among

the worst in Bangladesh. Whathelped fast-track the countrys

recovery? Available: www.adb.org/publications/emergency-ood-

damage-rehabilitation-bangladesh.

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