World Bank called on East Asia and Pacific to invest in disaster mitigation

On June 3, in Hanoi, the World Bank (WB) held a press conference with the theme "Strong, safe and adaptive - guiding strategic policies in disaster risk management in East Asia region. and Pacific ".

The East Asia-Pacific region is most heavily affected by tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods. To face these challenges, governments need to be prepared for unexpected situations and invest heavily in risk management and adaptation.

Mr. Axel van Trotsenburg, Vice President of WB in East Asia and Pacific region stressed that countries need to consider disaster risk management as a part of poverty reduction and sustainable development for the poor. more disaster impact.

According to a World Bank report, fast-growing cities in the East Asia-Pacific region are becoming more vulnerable to natural disasters. Policymakers can make a big difference to ensure that progress in development and poverty reduction are not lost by acting now to build adaptation. Investing in disaster prevention activities, from strengthening disaster forecasting services to restoring natural ecosystems, can be highly effective.

Mr. Bert Hofmam, an economist at the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific Region, said: "We work with governments and partners to strengthen our financial capacity to deal with natural disasters. We all need to do more, improve disaster risk modeling tools to help governments assess the impact of natural disasters on the budget and build supply strategies. disaster recovery financing ".

Since then, the World Bank has proposed that East Asia-Pacific countries implement 3 steps to minimize the impact of natural disasters. In terms of terminology: investment in disaster forecasting and hydrometeorological early warning systems can achieve expenditure ratios - high profits with great immediate benefits; strengthening the legal framework, promoting cooperation and disaster risk reduction activities in community-based development programs also bring many benefits.

In the medium to long term: the key is to balance investments into structured and unstructured measures. Measures include concrete and infrastructure . In the long term: urbanization must be managed through the systematic use of risk assessments, urban planning and development with Awareness of natural disaster risks and issuance of practical decisions taking into consideration natural disasters, climate risks and other uncertainties.