Supporting Resilience to Natural Hazards in East Asia and the Pacific

Abstract

Natural hazards and its adverse implications on economic growth limit the progress of sectoral development at national and sub-national level. This is true in the context of East Asia and the Pacific which is highly exposed to such natural hazards. Therefore, the region is seeking co-operation in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) assessment and disaster risk financing and insurance. Considering the above, this study provides an overview of DRM practice in the region. The findings of the study suggest that the region is facing obstacles such as lack of knowledge and technical capacity limits the ability of many countries in East Asia and the Pacific to assess risks accurately and access to national multi-hazard risk assessment. Hence, there is a need for Investing in-country technical capacity, integrate risk information into the decision-making process, bridge the gap between stakeholders to build collective resilience and risk identification activities. In addition, sharing the risk information with key stakeholders will help to protect their assets. In the end, benchmarking activities in raising awareness from the governments will help to increase transparency and accountability.