Dr. Nurhayati Ali Assegaf MP, Vice-Chairperson of the Committee

for Inter-Parliamentary CooperationHouse of Representative of the Republic of Indonesia

Meeting of the ISDR Asia PartnershipIndonesia, 29-30 March 2011

Consultative Meeting for Asian Parliamentarians Disaster Risk Reduction: An Instrument for Achieving MDGs

Manila, Philippines, 25-27November 2010

• Growing impact of disasters poses great threat to protecting people’s lives and livelihoods, to sustaining the gains made in achieving MGDs and sustainable development in Asia;

• Making disaster risk reduction a national and local priority

requires sustainability of political commitment, with strong support from legislatures;

• Parliaments, in most countries, can be instrumental to increase political and economic investment in making socio-economic development disaster resilient and climate proof. Legislators often oversee policy changes and budget allocation, in addition to their primary role in legislation development;

• Legislators can play an important role in bridging the gap between national policy and local implementation in disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Context:

123rd IPU Assembly Bangkok, Thailand, April 2010

Objectives:

• To sustain the gains and advance the initiatives of parliamentarians in advocating for disaster risk reduction towards more sustainable socio-economic development in the region.

• To highlight the roles of parliamentarians and the priorities of government in making the needed changes happen to eliminate disaster risk which, unlike hazards, are neither inevitable nor natural.

• Facilitate information and knowledge exchange on the integration of disaster risk reduction work with efforts to attain the MDGs

• Discuss the ways forward for creating a more enabling environment for:– Making disaster risk reduction a tool for achieving sustainable poverty

reduction– Making schools and hospitals safer from disasters– Making disaster risk reduction gender sensitive– Increasing national and local investment (both human and finance) in

disaster risk reduction

Presentations:• Progress and challenges of in disaster risk reduction in Asia• Progress and challenges of UNISDR parliamentarian initiative

in disaster risk reduction • Making disaster risk reduction a tool to protect gains in

poverty reduction• Making schools safer from disasters for achieving universal

education • Creating synergy between gender and disaster risk reduction• Making disaster risk reduction a tool for achieving child and

maternal health and major disease eradication• Making disaster risk reduction a tool to protect environment

and adapt to climate change• Building global partnerships for achieving the MDGs

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines

Participants:

Consensus/Consideration:• The state of disaster risk in the world is worsening, especially in Asia, severely affecting

the poor and the most vulnerable, eroding economic development gains • Disasters pose a significant challenge to the realization of sustainable and equitable

growth and development in Asia• Disaster risk is driven and made worse by climate change, poverty, gender inequity, poor

governance and corruption, weak institutions, ecosystems decline, vulnerable rural livelihoods, vulnerable infrastructure, rapid urbanization, etc.

• Disasters are preventable and risk can be eliminated. • DRR is our first line of defense against climate change and an effective strategy for

promoting climate change adaptation at the international, national and local levels, in particular by mainstreaming DRR in all development efforts.

• The political commitment of national governments to advance DRR is high and sustained momentum for action in the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

• Since “The Manila Call for Action of Parliamentarians of 2008,” parliamentarians from all the regions of the world have met and amplified the Call, resulting in more parliamentarians appreciating the importance of DRR and climate change adaptation, relevant laws passed in certain countries, & an advocacy kit for parliamentarians published by the IPU & the UNISDR.

The outcome The Manila Call for Action of Parliamentarians on Applying Disaster Risk Reduction as an Instrument for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

Discussions:

– What are the responsibilities and actions that parliamentarians can take in order to integrate disaster risk reduction into policies and programmes for achieving the Millennium Development Goals?

– What are the responsibilities and actions that parliamentarians can take in order to increase national, regional and international investment for achieving disaster-resilient progress towards the Millennium Development Goals?

The Manila Call Plan of Action:

• Hold a parliamentary briefing on “The Manila Call for Action of Parliamentarians of 2010.”

• Promote parliamentary discussions on DRR towards the elimination of risk.

• Collaborate with the UNISDR, to enhance the capacity building of parliamentarians in disaster risk reduction by sharing knowledge, information, and best practices of countries.

• Form a parliamentary committee or a working group and a coalition of parliamentarians for disaster risk reduction, and to interact more effectively with the executive branch of government.

• Conduct public hearings on DRR etc.

National Level: 10 Action inter-alia

Regional/international levelsInter-alia:

•Request the UNISDR to be the focal point in facilitating parliamentary dialogues and interactions on disaster risk reduction and related issues.

•Seek collaboration with the IPU and the UNISDR to translate into national languages their publication,Advocacy Kit for Parliamentarians on Disaster Risk Reduction: An Instrument for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and to document good practices.

•Call on international donors and financial institutions to support innovative financing mechanisms such as debt-swap, etc.