Experts agree: Asia must invest more in disaster risk management

Asia and the Pacific could see a seven-fold return on their investment in urban disaster risk management if they devote resources into protecting cities across the region, an Asian Development Bank official said Wednesday.   With two-thirds of the region’s population projected to live in cities by 2050, and with more than 70 percent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) deriving from cities, protecting urban assets from disasters is a priority, especially since many of Asia’s major cities are situated in locations prone to flooding, tropical storms, and earthquakes, among other hazards, the bank said in a separate statement.   “Disaster risk management is often seen as a cost rather than an investment,” said Vinod Thomas, director general of ADB’s Independent Evaluation Department, during the seminar, “Vulnerable Ciities–Waking up to the Need for Urban Disaster Risk Management.”   “Instead, we must see it as a necessary investment to save people’s lives and livelihoods, climate proof critical infrastructure, and promote sustainable development,” Vinod added.   Investing in disaster risk reduction is prudent, according to the discussions at the seminar, because for every $1 spent, it has been estimated that the economic impact of disaster will be reduced by $7. With the annual economic cost of disasters averaging $53.8 billion in Asia and the Pacific, the focus must shift from post-disaster reconstruction and recovery to pre-disaster investment in risk reduction, adaptation and innovative disaster financing, the bank said in the statement.   “The private sector shares this growing concern about the impact of disasters on cities in Asia and around the world, and we are pursuing partnerships with the public sector to address a wide range of issues to assist not only in rebuilding efforts but also in prevention,” said Jay Collins, managing director and vice-chair of Citi’s Global Banking, which co-sponsored the seminar.   Participants in the seminar included Thomas, Collins, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General for Disaster Reduction Margarita Wahlstrom, and Makoto Iokibe, chair of the Reconstruction Design Council in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake. —VS, GMA News