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The Project for Strengthening Institutional and Policy Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Integration (termed as CN20 Project), which complies with the Concept Note (CN) 20 of the 21 Flagship and Priority Projects of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme Phase 2 (2013-2015), as well as the Priority Programme 3. ADVANCE, A Disaster Resilient and Climate Adaptive ASEAN Community, AADMER Work Programme 2016-2020, has been implemented by a Project Team assigned by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) from July 2016 to January 2018.
Based on the aims and specific objectives of the Concept Note 20, six assessment categories, which also correspond to the Priorities of Action of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, were defined and used by the Project Team to assess the status of DRR and CCA integration in each ASEAN Member State. The six assessment categories are namely institutional arrangement (categories 1, 2 and 3), risk assessment (category 4), planning and implementation (category 5) and monitoring and evaluation (category 6, capacity building, applies to all phases), and how climate change impact is incorporated in it and what elements are studied. These elements were extracted from the Sendai Framework and the AADMER Work Programme 2016-2020. In line with the six assessment categories and associated evaluation criteria, status of DRR and CCA integration was assessed in each ASEAN Member State and summarised in the report. The assessment was based on literature review, interviews with relevant government officials and site inspections by the JICA Project Team, that was conducted for around two weeks in most countries, while lesser, between two and eight days in some countries.
In summary, institutional arrangement for DRR and CCA in terms of policy formulation and organisational setup from national to subnational levels is well developed in each Member State in general. However, coordination among national disaster management offices (NDMOs), or ACDM members, and other agencies in charge of DRR and CCA is not so strong in many countries. Particularly for subjects that require intensive coordination among relevant agencies and local governments, such as river basin management, water resources management and river management from upstream to downstream, an essential approach to reduce disaster risk in the area, it is still at a development stage in most countries.
The level of risk assessment for water-related disasters is advanced in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam, but climate risk assessment and its incorporation is still limited, such as at selected areas in Malaysia and Viet Nam. Similarly, the level of planning and implementation of DRR and CCA integrated projects vary from country to country. Development of guidelines incorporating disaster and climate risk is observed in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, but there is room to improve them by enhancing the science-based analysis.
It is inferred that strengthening coordination among NDMOs and DRR and CCA line agencies for mainstreaming DRR and CCA policies and capacity building for DRR and CCA integrated risk assessment, planning and implementation are the two main areas ASEAN Member States need to improve. In other words, these two areas could be the focus for developing a regional collaborative activity to improve the current situation. Excerpts of the assessment in the six categories are shown below as well as in Annex 1 and the results of the country assessment are summarised in the report.
The Project Team has identified a number of good practices on DRR and CCA integration in the Member States through interviews with government officials and field visits. This selection of good practices reflects the nature of the quick study, which was around two weeks in most countries, while lesser, between two and eight days, in some countries. Selected practices have DRR and CCA synergies and importantly they are transferable, applicable and a good reference for all the Member States. A range of practices were selected for risk reduction of storms, floods, droughts and landslides, which include practices that integrated downscaled climate projections into risk assessments, and practices coordinating DRR and CCA policies, management strategies and funding systems. While not all practices have fully integrated DRR and CCA, they still have a potential to be promoted in the end due to the high proportion of DRR and CCA benefits they bring compared to business-as-usual practices.
Selected good practices, which could be used as resources for regional collaboration, are sorted in the same six categories discussed above. These are also summarised in a separate report titled “One against disasters: A Repository of Good Practices for Strengthening DRR and CCA Integration in ASEAN” which is accessible at the project website at: https://www.drrandcca.com/.
A Work Plan for Strengthening Institutional and Policy Framework on DRR and CCA Integration (the Work Plan) was developed under this project that outlines the objective, scope, timeline, regional activities, targeted outputs and implementation structure toward achieving DRR and CCA integration in ASEAN. The Work Plan was endorsed by the 31st ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) Meeting on 17 October and subsequently reported to the 5th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management (AMMDM) on 19 October 2017 in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. It was also reported to the 20th ASEAN-Japan Summit on 13 November 2017 in Manila, the Philippines.
Efforts are being made to take the findings of this project into an implementation stage where some of the gaps identified in this project are addressed through a series of case studies and capacity building efforts. Please write to the project team for more details on this follow-up project.
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