Econ
Natural disaster management essential to economic development
In series of events of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Vietnam in 2017, on September 21, the 11th APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum has been held in Vinh city, in the central province of Nghe An.
Attending the forum is the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang, leaders of Nghe An province and 200 representatives from member countries of APEC, international organizations, enterprises and government officers. The forum will focus on boosting cooperation and innovation related to technologies for natural disaster prevention and control. The forum’s organizers include the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the APEC 2017 National Committee, and the Nghe An provincial People’s Committee.
Speaking at the forum, Mr. Hoang Van Thang said, the Asia – Pacific region has a dynamic economy and diversified culture, which is heading toward the objectives of prosperity and peace, however, this is also the most disaster – prone region. In which, Vietnam is frequently facing natural disasters, causing severe damage to the economy and citizens’ assets. The 11th APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum has been held in Vinh city, where the Doksuri storm had made landfall, is a valuable opportunity for Vietnam to share experiences in disaster management, and learn experiences from other member countries of APEC. At the same time, it will help not only Vietnam but also of APEC in enhancing disaster management capabilities.
Vice Chairman of Nghe An People’s Committee Dinh Viet Hong stressed, the Forum is a good opportunity for the province to receive useful information related to disaster management in general, and emergency response to disaster in particular, as well as to learn valuable experience for disaster management from other members of APEC.
The first day of the event consisted of 3 sessions. In the morning, speakers will share information with related to technologies preventing the impact of natural disaster. The session concluded, the better growth the economy, the bigger risks of the natural disaster, especially for developing economies. As such, plan for natural disaster prevention must be developed in general and based on information from various sources; natural disaster prevention has to be integrated in the socio-economic development plan of local governments.
Experiences shared by experts from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) from Philippines, Japan and Vietnam in reducing disaster risks show the necessity in developing supporting instruments, applying modern technologies, especially in disaster warning. According to UNISDR, damaged caused by water – related disaster is over 90%, as such, there must be solutions to reduce damages caused by water.
In the next sessions, representatives agreed that effort to reduce natural disaster risks cannot be done alone, which must be integrated in the context for sustainable development. As such, 17 sustainable development objectives of the United Nation may not be attainable if natural disasters cannot be prevented. However, economic development cannot be a factor causing new risks; at the same time, it is necessary to have instruments and training courses to identify and prevent disaster. Besides, there should be priority for investment to reduce risks of natural disaster, increase preparation, in which raises the role and encourage the participation of private sectors to form a close cooperation between government agencies, research institutes, investors and the community.
Also in the remaining session, the forum has listened to 13 reports from APEC’s members sharing information with related to IT infrastructure development and science innovation application to tackle natural disaster, including both “hard” and “soft” solutions.
Information discussed in the forum has significant meanings for Vietnam in particular and APEC members in general. New recommendations, ideas about models of disaster management in the coming time, including new way of information provision, warning in a timely manner will continue be improved, especially with the role of research institutes and administrative agencies responsible for natural disaster management.
Speaking at the forum, Mr. Hoang Van Thang said, the Asia – Pacific region has a dynamic economy and diversified culture, which is heading toward the objectives of prosperity and peace, however, this is also the most disaster – prone region. In which, Vietnam is frequently facing natural disasters, causing severe damage to the economy and citizens’ assets. The 11th APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum has been held in Vinh city, where the Doksuri storm had made landfall, is a valuable opportunity for Vietnam to share experiences in disaster management, and learn experiences from other member countries of APEC. At the same time, it will help not only Vietnam but also of APEC in enhancing disaster management capabilities.
Vice Chairman of Nghe An People’s Committee Dinh Viet Hong stressed, the Forum is a good opportunity for the province to receive useful information related to disaster management in general, and emergency response to disaster in particular, as well as to learn valuable experience for disaster management from other members of APEC.
The first day of the event consisted of 3 sessions. In the morning, speakers will share information with related to technologies preventing the impact of natural disaster. The session concluded, the better growth the economy, the bigger risks of the natural disaster, especially for developing economies. As such, plan for natural disaster prevention must be developed in general and based on information from various sources; natural disaster prevention has to be integrated in the socio-economic development plan of local governments.
Experiences shared by experts from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) from Philippines, Japan and Vietnam in reducing disaster risks show the necessity in developing supporting instruments, applying modern technologies, especially in disaster warning. According to UNISDR, damaged caused by water – related disaster is over 90%, as such, there must be solutions to reduce damages caused by water.
In the next sessions, representatives agreed that effort to reduce natural disaster risks cannot be done alone, which must be integrated in the context for sustainable development. As such, 17 sustainable development objectives of the United Nation may not be attainable if natural disasters cannot be prevented. However, economic development cannot be a factor causing new risks; at the same time, it is necessary to have instruments and training courses to identify and prevent disaster. Besides, there should be priority for investment to reduce risks of natural disaster, increase preparation, in which raises the role and encourage the participation of private sectors to form a close cooperation between government agencies, research institutes, investors and the community.
Also in the remaining session, the forum has listened to 13 reports from APEC’s members sharing information with related to IT infrastructure development and science innovation application to tackle natural disaster, including both “hard” and “soft” solutions.
Information discussed in the forum has significant meanings for Vietnam in particular and APEC members in general. New recommendations, ideas about models of disaster management in the coming time, including new way of information provision, warning in a timely manner will continue be improved, especially with the role of research institutes and administrative agencies responsible for natural disaster management.
