As major disasters intensify, become more rampant, and affect communities more frequently,
face massive challenges to respond to and mitigate disasters, cushioning economic and development impacts, and protecting people's lives.
"We are meeting against the backdrop of a gloomy outlook of emergency and disaster management," said
Juan Carlos Urcariegui, Chair of the Senior Disaster Management Officials' Forum.
"To this end, it is of utmost importance to exchange experiences and lessons learned in solidarity aimed at strengthening the livelihood of our communities in the Asia-Pacific region," added Urcariegui, who is also
Chief of Peru's National Civil Defense Institute (Indeci) and retired Army Major General.
Senior disaster officials met in Arequipa last week to deepen their cooperation and enhance emergency preparedness that considers the sustainability and inclusivity aspect, as well as taking a more community approach.
Officials are building more capacity in emergency preparedness for communities, empowering them to engage in all emergency management phases —prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
"This theme must guide us, by virtue of our experiences and realities, to design strategies for optimal disaster risk management so that we can adequately serve our communities through international engagement, as well as through mutual and timely support," Urcariegui said.
"With this, we will strengthen our capacities so that with intelligence, perseverance, and in particular with the dedication to serve, we can face emergencies, attend to our communities and, above all, save lives," he continued.
Disasters often start and end with the local communities that are affected, and it is increasingly crucial for governments to intensify the ability of these communities to be prepared and to act when disaster starts to strike. This includes stakeholder mapping, strengthening community engagement, data gathering, and risk mapping.
"While we understand that improving communities' capacities is important in facing tomorrow's hazards, building capacity at the local level appears as a great challenge," said Luis Doñas, acting co-chair of the APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group at the forum.
"One way of addressing this is by establishing specialized unit for disaster risk management within the local government and municipalities, and equipping it with appropriate funding and staff," he added.
Doñas indicated that "we can also develop some regulations that require or mandate local governments to develop both disaster risk and emergency preparedness planning."
Member economies recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all measure to empower communities for emergency preparedness and disaster response. Training and education, as well as the use of technology, can help tailor the needs for each community and meet their needs.
"Only by working together with determination and vision can we achieve our goal of contributing to our communities for a better and secure future sustainable for all," he concluded.
Peru is hosting APEC for the third time after the 2008 and 2016 editions.
21 leading economies
APEC is made up of:
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.
Together, they account for 62% of world's GDP, 48% of global trade in goods and services, plus 38% of the planet's population.
Editor's note: Information provided by the APEC Secretariat.
(END) NDP/MVB