RAP PUBLICATION 2005/04

REPORT OF THE

WORKSHOP ON REDUCING FOOD INSECURITY

ASSOCIATED WITH NATURAL DISASTERS

IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Bangkok, Thailand, 27-28 January 2005

Center cover photograph taken from Hindu Newspaper, Chennai, India Two other photographs, courtesy of ISRO

RAP PUBLICATION 2005/04

REPORT OF THE

WORKSHOP ON REDUCING FOOD INSECURITY

ASSOCIATED WITH NATURAL DISASTERS

IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Bangkok, Thailand, 27-28 January 2005

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Bangkok, 2005

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The designation and presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for sale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to Dr Frederick Baker, Senior Statistician, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand or by e-mail to frederick.baker@fao.org

© FAO 2005 For copies write to: Frederick Baker, Senior Statistician

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Maliwan Mansion, 39 Phra Atit Road Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel: (+66) 2 697 4250 Fax: (+66) 2 697 4445 E-mail: frederick.baker@fao.org

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CONTENTS Opening session 1 Election of officers and adoption of the agenda and timetable 2 Reducing vulnerability through sustainable agriculture 2 Strengthening early warning, vulnerability information and forecasting systems 4 Developing guidelines, enforcing laws and regulations, and international frameworks 5 Collaborative partnerships and institutional arrangements 7 Quantitative risk and impact assessment, allocating resources, and economic incentives 7 Adoption of the report and recommendations 9 Closing of the workshop 10 Annex 1 – Agenda 11 Annex 2 – Timetable 12 Annex 3 – List of participants 16 Annex 4 – Opening address by He Changchui, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific 21

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Opening session (Item 1 of the Agenda) 1. The Workshop on reducing food insecurity associated with natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific was held at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok, Thailand, from 27 to 28 January 2005. It was attended by 37 participants comprising representatives from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand, and experts from the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Asian Disaster Reduction Center, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Research Institute for Climate Prediction, International Rice Research Institute, National Climate Centre (Australia), Pacific Disaster Center and Delegation of the European Commission in Thailand. (The list of participants is found in Annex 3.) 2. HE Changchui, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, welcomed the participants to the Regional Office on behalf of the FAO Director-General, Jacques DIOUF, and expressed his appreciation for their participation in the workshop. Mr He noted the apparent increasing frequency of natural disasters, the higher relative vulnerability of developing countries, and the impact of disasters upon food and nutritional security. Mr He referred to the tragic impact of recent tsunamis on the lives and livelihoods in South and South East Asian countries and how FAO had reacted swiftly, taking actions both for addressing immediate emergency needs as well as recommending longer-term measures to reduce the risk of similar catastrophes, and providing advice drawn from its collective experience and expertise. 3. Mr He expected that FAO along with other sister agencies of the United Nations family, non-governmental organizations, civil society and national governments would continue to respond collectively to such disasters, aiming among other objectives at reducing the vulnerability of farmers by optimizing their responses to climate variability, extreme weather events and geological hazards.

4. Mr He pointed out that the impact of natural hazards in the agricultural sector was usually localized and that losses were minor in proportion to gross domestic product, in contrast to the case of natural disasters that struck subsistence farming, nomadic herding and shifting cultivation communities in developing and least developed countries. In the latter case, Mr He said that the consequences were frequently long-term, deadly, and large in relation to gross domestic product and that it was critical to mainstream sustainable agriculture practice into national development and disaster management programmes. 5. Mr He pointed to the value of the Global Information and Early Warning System, GIEWS, and the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System, FIVIMS, and their approach to integrate socio-economic data with food availability and crop condition statistics, climate data, pest information and weather conditions as a basis for systematic and geographically widespread advanced warning of food insecurity and famine as a result of disasters. 6. When Mr He pointed out that ensuring access to food for the hungry and poor will persist as a major challenge in achieving UN Millennium Development Goals and the World Food Summit Plan of Action, he indicated that the workshop aimed at bringing focus to the contextual themes reflecting the unique character, needs and trends of Asia and the Pacific

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region, especially with regard to natural disasters. The themes, as he outlined, included: (i) reducing vulnerability through sustainable agriculture; (ii) developing guidelines, enforcing laws and regulations; (iii) strengthening early warning, vulnerability information and forecasting systems; (iv) collaborative partnerships and institutional arrangements; and (v) quantitative risk and impact assessment. To trigger the well-focused deliberations in the workshop, he suggested a set of key questions covering the wide-ranging thematic issues, and requested the experts to address these questions during the deliberations of the workshop. 7. Taking note of the outcomes of the second World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR), held in Kobe 18-22 January 2005, Mr He hoped that the workshop would take cognizance of such international events as well as variety of strategies and successful practices being carried out by the national governments and specialist agencies. Mr He expressed confidence that the workshop would help in developing the region’s response to and engagement with the conclusions and recommendations arising from WCDR. He expressed hope that such efforts would strengthen the resolve of the countries in creating disaster resilient food security systems. The opening speech is found in Annex 4. Election of officers and adoption of the agenda and timetable (Item 2 of the Agenda) 8. The participants elected Krishna Bahadur SHRESTHA as Chairperson, LIU Lihua as Vice-Chairperson and Sanjay SRIVASTAVA as Rapporteur. 9. The provisional agenda and provisional timetable were presented and adopted (Annex 1and 2 respectively). Reducing vulnerability through sustainable agriculture (Item 3 of the Agenda) 10. Sanjay K SRIVASTAVA, Deputy Project Director, Indian Space Research Organization, made a presentation on what can be done to “mainstream” sustainable agriculture into development projects and programme, based on the strategy and experiences of India. He pointed out that despite India’s remarkable progress towards achieving food security, vulnerability to natural disasters has increased significantly. He suggested ecological (farming systems, soil and water conservation), financial (funding, risk transfer, insurance), social (safety nets, food for work programme) and techno-legal (warning systems, regulation, coding) approaches towards risk reduction, with a rank priority of “ecology over insurance, insurance over relief, and incentive over regulation”. He suggested the following approaches to integrate risk reduction strategy and sustainable agriculture:

• factor risk reduction into the overall process of agricultural growth; • incorporate risk financing into disaster mitigation; • integrate rural poverty alleviation, food security and disaster risk reduction; • develop synergy and convergence of multi-sectoral programmes leading to risk

reduction; • strengthen community-centric approaches.

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11. Giasuddin AHMED, National Project Director, Ministry of Agriculture, noted Bangladesh’s vulnerability to floods, cyclones and drought, and recent paradigm changes in the overall disaster management strategy which now place more focus on mitigation and preparedness. He observed that deficiencies in warning systems limited their effective utilization, and suggested that localization of warning messages would improve this situation. He highlighted the country’s efforts on comprehensive disaster management planning, with detailed flood plain hazard zoning, flood forecasting, early warning, disaster coping cropping pattern development and a results-focused research and development effort. He suggested that a website with updated climate data, plus river height and speed of the current at different locations, would be helpful in the development of early warning messages. 12. LIU Lihua, Division of Agriculture Information, Ministry of Agriculture, presented data on the upward trends of major disasters like drought, floods, storms and extreme cold damage in China, and their impacts on the acreage and food production in the country. She highlighted the various steps for the short term (emergency programme) as well as the long term (prevention, mitigation and research in biotechnology) that the Government of China had implemented to mitigate damage from these hazards. She spelt out the willingness of the Government of China to share the expertise and experiences with neighboring countries, especially in the areas of disaster monitoring and prevention. 13. Shobar WIGANDA, Director, Food Surveillance Center, Ministry of Agriculture, presented the concept and overall objectives of the Food Insecurity Atlas (FIA) of Indonesia. He emphasized that the FIA was based on the indicators capturing the themes: (i) food availability, (ii) food and livelihood access, (iii) food consumption, health and nutrition, and (iv) environmental sustainability/food vulnerability. He suggested that chronic food insecurity could be a manifestation of food availability, food/livelihoods access and food consumption/health/nutrition and said that Food Vulnerability, measured by four indicators (percentage area without forest, percent of severely crop damage’s area, percentage of villages affected by flood and landslide and rainfall deviation), caused transient food insecurity. He listed the consultative processes while preparing the FIA and noted its usefulness to the stakeholders at various levels. He suggested that an FIA-based strategy to identify food insecurity and disaster vulnerability would help in mainstreaming disaster risk management in sustainable agricultural practice. 14. Krishna Bahadur SHRESTHA, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperatives (MAC), outlined disaster (earthquake, floods, landslide and drought) vulnerability in Nepal and the efforts of the government to address them. He listed some recent initiatives such as preparing a disaster relief implementation manual, establishing a disaster management cell in the MAC, creating working groups for disaster management and mobilizing resources towards post-disaster relief in terms of supplying seeds and other agricultural inputs. He observed that lack of early warning systems and critical mass in terms of disaster management specialists and institutional infrastructure constrained the capacity of the country to manage these disasters efficiently. He felt the need to have remote sensing based risk analysis programmes to support the endeavours of government to address food insecurity and disaster vulnerability. He also stressed that it was necessary to allocate funds (revolving) that could be used when needed to supplement buffer stocks of seed. He stressed the value of managing the Chure hills scientifically so that flooding to the terai that extended into bordering India could be minimized.

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15. Kraisorn WIRIYA, Chief, Huay Kakaeng Forest Fire Research Center, discussed forest fire vulnerability in Thailand and listed the variety of fire conditions experienced, such as surface, crown and semi-ground, as well as their various causes. He also spelt out the strategy of government to establish fire control systems in risk prone areas, as well as to increase public education and awareness. He highlighted the impact of forest fires on agricultural lands, especially in terms of increased soil erosion and water turbidity. 16. Citing various case studies Thierry FACON, FAO Senior Water Management Officer, noted that integrated farming systems approaches, watershed management, agro-forestry, reforestation of watersheds, community-based disaster mitigation, improvement of irrigation efficiency, soil and water conservation were often recommended and implemented for the mitigation of floods and droughts. While these measures could be effective in certain circumstances, he noted that they were often based on a wrong understanding of the processes at work and as a result might not contribute to the mitigation goals, or might affect downstream populations. He questioned the long-term sustainability of agricultural systems that rely on high labor inputs and provide subsistence level only, in the face of rapid economic development and strong urban pull. He suggested that the latter trends threatened the positive externalities of these systems in drought and flood mitigation. He therefore recommended that a better understanding of land-water and upstream-downstream linkages and increased cooperation between local communities, policy makers and modelers should be promoted to ensure that effective flood and drought mitigating strategies are adopted, along with strategic planning and management and adaptive strategies at all levels. He suggested that scientific assessment combined with participatory appraisal and planning were important elements of project implementation. He also proposed the following approach:

� integrated river basin management, as adopted by the Mekong River Commission; � management of the continuum of events from floods to droughts; � promotion of holistic risk assessment; � use of agro-ecological zone mapping for national level planning; � improved flexibility in natural resources and irrigation system management; � conjunctive surface and ground water use.

Strengthening early warning, vulnerability information and forecasting systems (Item 4 of the Agenda) 17. Michael COUGHLAN, Superintendent, National Climate Center, Australia, described the Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Project supported by the Government of Australia. He said that it emphasized in-country training, the strengthening of client networks, and the prudent use of proven seasonal prediction systems to meet the needs of users in climate-sensitive industries. He pointed out that seasonal outlooks must have both value and quality, in the sense that users needed to be able to use the information in practical decision-making, as well as in understanding the limitations of the outlooks. The project was forging stronger links between the national meteorological services of the small Pacific island nations and their users, with sugar cane, grazing, fishing and pearling being among the target industry sectors. 18. Naoki MINAMIGUCHI, Vulnerability Analysis Coordinator (ASIA FIVIMS), described the application of geospatial and disaster information for food insecurity assessment and agricultural disaster warnings. These included the Advanced Real Time

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Environmental Monitoring and Information System (ARTEMIS), the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) and Asia Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS). He noted that drought caused the largest proportion of world food crises, and some 53 percent of those in Asia. He also observed the growing incidence of food crises due to human intervention. He outlined the various interpretive techniques employed and the growing resources, including time series satellite-derived data. 19. Shaobing PENG, Senior Crop Physiologist, International Rice Research Institute, spoke about the impact of global warming on rice productivity, as a result of the asymmetrical increase in nighttime (minimum) temperatures. He said that model simulations had suggested significant decreases in crop productivity under warm temperatures, and that experimental data had for the first time provided direct evidence of this effect. He noted that further research was now examining the possibility to develop new rice varieties that maintained yield despite increasing minimum temperatures. 20. M.V.K. SIVAKUMAR, Chief, Agricultural Meteorology Division, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), highlighted the increasing economic costs of natural disasters, and said that this trend was likely to continue well into the present century. He noted that around half of the global losses from this cause occurred in Asia, and explained the unique and successful Global Observing System (GOS) implemented by the WMO in order to facilitate better early warning systems to deal with this problem. He pointed to the role of new technology (such as satellites, ocean buoys, automatic weather stations, and better instruments on commercial aircraft) in improving the extent and temporal frequency of observations, and also the large improvements in the underpinning scientific understanding of the coupled atmospheric, oceanic and biospheric systems. He said that this improved science and technology base was leading to more valuable seasonal outlooks for agricultural and disaster management applications and emphasized the importance of improved knowledge management to enhance public awareness about weather and climate information and its applications in improved management of natural disasters. 21. Ajunapermal SUBBIAH, Team Leader, Climate Risk Management, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) spoke about various early warning products for disaster risk management, and seasonal to inter-annual climate forecasts with emphasis on lead time and forecasting skills. He highlighted global and regional, as well as country specific, experiences on using the potential of seasonal forecasts and expressed the opinion that national level seasonal forecasts were useful, but cautioned that it is necessary for down scaling and appropriate value addition to these forecasts. He dealt at length on the relationship between El Niño and rice production or the impact of forest fires. He emphasized the importance of risk communication to strengthen the relationship between forecasters and user communities. He suggested the need to follow multi-hazard approaches for early warning with regard to tsunami, climate and weather forecasting to maximize the benefits from such systems and to use vulnerability maps for locating appropriately these systems. Developing guidelines and enforcing laws and regulations (Item 5 of the Agenda) 22. LE HUU Ti, Economic Affairs, Officer, Water Resources Section, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), described regional experiences in flood management, based on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) principles. He

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highlighted the various approaches of flood control followed in Japan, Bangladesh and Korea and emphasized the need to adopt Strategic Planning and Management (SPM) towards implementing IWRM. He advocated the need for capacity building and for institutional partnership to pursue such approaches. He referred to the ESCAP-FAO partnership to demonstrate these concepts in the Mekong River Basins. He also suggested that there were enough guidelines, enforcing laws and regulations and that the focus should be placed on their implementation. 23. Masaru ARAKIDA, Senior Researcher, Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), made a presentation on information sharing for effective disaster management, and also presented the draft outcomes of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) held in Kobe in January 2005. He mentioned that nearly 90% of the people affected by natural disasters between 1975 and 2002 were from Asia, due both to its large population and to its high population density. The ADRC focused its work on information sharing, human resource development, and building community capabilities. He explained further that information sharing consisted of expert meetings, Internet databases, and various computer tools. In terms of human resource development, Mr Arakida described a tsunami disaster reduction awareness project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that was started in response to the loss of 2 200 lives in 1998 and noted that it helped to prevent deaths when another tsunami hit PNG in 2000. He said that community capabilities were built through a four step process that included learning about disasters, surveying the local community, developing a community hazard map, and conducting group discussions to share the information within the community. 24. Mr Arakida highlighted the Hyogo Framework for Action that arose from the WCDR listed five priorities for action by 2015:

• ensure that disaster risk reduction was both a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation;

• identify, assess, and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning; • use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and

resilience at all levels; • reduce the underlying risk factors; • strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

25. Victoria BANNON, Programme Coordinator, Legal Affairs Unit, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), discussed legal issues surrounding the international response to natural disasters. She said that although national policies and preparedness had improved greatly, there were still situations where an international response was required. She indicated that some of the important legal issues were the process of offering, requesting, and accepting assistance; access to affected populations; the import of relief goods; the legal immigration status of relief personnel; and the procurement of relief goods. She noted that these issues were being studied through the International Disaster Response Laws, Rules and Principles (IDRL) project, which aims to improve legal preparedness for natural disasters by ensuring that legal and regulatory frameworks, at all levels, were harmonized so that international disaster response could be provided quickly and effectively to the highest possible standards for the benefit of affected communities. The three main types of legal challenges faced in improving legal preparedness were the inflexibility of normal procedures (which could lead to delays in the arrival of relief assistance), open borders (which could lead to reduced quality of relief and a lack of

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accountability), and contradictions between different laws and policies. She said that there was a need to encourage governments and organizations to anticipate the legal aspects of international disaster response and to find ways to resolve them before disaster strikes. 26. Chris CHIESA, Senior Manager, Pacific Disaster Center (PDC), described mechanisms for strengthening early warning systems of vulnerability information, and of hazard forecast systems. He pointed out the importance of understanding and modeling the processes – acquiring, processing and managing data; sharing and dissemination of data/information; and associated practices and standards. Utilizing the PDC warning system for tsunamis as an example, he illustrated the steps involved in the process and highlighted key issues such as preparedness, issuance of alerts, egress routes, etc. He then described an application of these data in PDC’s “Asia Pacific Natural Hazards and Vulnerability Atlas” which provides web-based access to geospatial information related to current and past hazard events. It can be accessed at http://atlas.pdc.org. Collaborative partnerships and institutional arrangements (Item 6 of the Agenda) 27. Mr Chiesa described a recently launched collective data-sharing network, the ‘Asia Pacific Natural Hazards Information Network’ (APNHIN). He explained how the GIS portal could provide access to a wide-range of downloadable data, including imagery, risk maps and socio-economic data as well as map services. He offered the support of Pacific Disaster Centre (PDC) in addressing disaster management related issues in the region. 28. Nokeo RATANAVONG, Space Technology Applications Section, ESCAP, explained the Regional Space Applications Programme (RESAP) of ESCAP and highlighted the regional cooperative mechanisms developed through the networking of space information service providers and civil defense agencies in the region, especially in the context of addressing flood and drought management related issues. The RESAP network had been engaged in capacity building activities. He emphasized that the regional cooperative mechanisms would be strengthened further by developing better insights on space information products and services enabling the member countries to use them operationally for managing floods and drought. He noted that the UN provided the framework of cooperation in disaster management. He suggested that programme areas on poverty alleviation, natural resources management and natural disaster management were closely inter-related and could be synergized to address common issues of information needs. Towards this, he referred the joint FAO-ESCAP initiative of ASIACOVER, and noted that its multi-purpose information base for sustainable development and food security could be expanded further to also address disaster management.

Quantitative risk and impact assessment, allocating resources, and economic incentives (Item 7 of the Agenda) 29. Mr MINAMIGUCHI made a presentation on quantitative risk assessment on behalf of Maxx DILLEY, International Research Institute for Climate Prediction. He outlined an approach to identify global natural disaster risk “hot spots” as an input for prioritization of disaster management efforts. He explained the methodology for systematically calculating relative risks on a global basis including vulnerability for various hazards on a global grid

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showing both mortality risk and economic loss risk in proportion to Gross Domestic Production (GDP). The implications of having a large portion of population or economic development in areas classified as “hotspots” were referred to in terms of likely high relief costs and requirements for emergency lending. It was pointed out that the total direct and indirect losses experienced through disaster exceeded sources of development assistance and re-investment, resulting in a net drain on development resources. He proposed and outlined specific projects for assisting countries with high levels of risk. The components comprised risk assessment, policy review and developing reconstruction standards and procedures. The analysis identified twenty “high priority” or “at risk” countries where the probability of relatively higher mortality and economic losses (as percent GDP) was highest. 30. Margarita FLORES, Chief, Food Security Analysis and Agricultural Projects Analysis Service, FAO, discussed the linkages between various threats to food security: weak economic performance, climate change, natural disasters, animal pest and diseases, and conflict and political instability. She pointed out that the effects of natural disasters needed to be examined within a wider context of economic development, poverty and food insecurity, and highlighted the cost of food insecurity, saying that the analysis should consider the interplay with other factors, particularly in relation to the institutional capacities that determined how people, communities, and countries were affected and how they coped with risk. She proposed a food security framework in four dimensions for analyzing the impact of natural disasters, and reminded the Meeting that methodologies like the one developed by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and adopted by the World Bank and others could estimate direct and indirect cost of natural disasters (damage to flow of good and services), often hidden in post disaster assessments. She noted that impact assessments of naturals disasters on food security should be performed at different levels: from global to national, sub-national, community and household levels; and that these assessments should provide information on the effects, the causes and ways to share responsibilities and distribute risks. 31. Ms Flores advised that vulnerability assessments at the community level were one tool for identifying how formal and informal institutions and practices could support risk management activities (examples from Bangladesh were presented); and that investments in information were crucial. She advocated the “twin track” approach to serve as a conceptual tool for combining immediate response with measures that reduce disaster risk and enhance food security in the medium and long run. She also suggested that prevention and mitigation could reduce economic and food security impacts. She believed that (i) potential interventions should range from costly projects to support to household coping strategies, using public, private and international funds; (ii) adaptation, diversification, sustainable agricultural practices, water management, coastline management, etc. need to be promoted; (iii) the measures that spread risk (such as insurance; safety nets) and rights-based approaches can contribute to reducing food security impacts of natural disasters, and (iv) national development plans and projects – in particular in hazard-prone countries/regions need to integrate risk reduction as an objective. 32. Sanjay K SRIVASTAVA, referring to the experience of crop insurance in India, described incentives that could be applied in disaster risk management to encourage preparedness and build resilience. He described the performance of risk financing and explained the world’s experience with crop insurance. He asserted that the success of crop insurance was necessary for risk reduction, especially for small and marginal farmers. He stressed the need to use knowledge based approaches to ensure the success of crop insurance;

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to strengthen the symbiotic link between risk and credit market; to encourage weather based crop insurance in bringing down the administrative cost; and to develop the understanding of high risk crops, low risk farming systems and their agro-ecological compatibility. Adoption of the report and recommendations (Item 8 of the Agenda) 33. The meeting considered the synthesis of the themes and recommended the following the following priority areas for consideration by international specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and national governments.

i. systematic evaluation of the aftermath of major agricultural disasters to ensure that lessons are learned and applied in checking policies and, compliance levels in order to repair damage and build improved resilience;

ii. public education and awareness programmes in agricultural communities to

strengthen understanding of hazards and how to prepare for and respond to them; and also to encourage wider utilization of existing warnings systems and disaster management information, for example by building links between climate and disaster databases;

iii. ensuring policies and measures to mitigate disaster risk in the agriculture sector have

a sound scientific basis; iv. recognition of the growing social challenge of the dwindling number of people

engaged in farming, and possible loss of effective traditional practices which have for centuries provided some measure of protection against natural disasters;

v. looking for situations in which agricultural disaster risk management measures also

result in poverty alleviation and reducing food insecurity. This includes a “twin track” approach to food emergencies, by adopting practices (such as trade promotion, effective natural resource management, community empowerment and buffer food stock) to improve long term food security at the same time as addressing immediate food requirements;

vi. giving attention to distilling practical implementation guidelines on agricultural risk

reduction, strengthened legal and governance frameworks, and disaster preparedness from the extensive basic and general advisory resources related to international conventions and recommendations of global conferences, and to assisting least developed countries to refine these in harmony with their particular circumstances;

vii. recognizing that effective Early Warning Systems include both technical and social

components, and ensure that the role of the social aspects such as public awareness and education, community participation, and the effective use of media to disseminate information are not overlooked;

viii. further studies on the prospect of significant negative impacts on rice production due

to climate change, given the importance of the rice crop to food security in the region. These studies should also examine possible effects on other areas of agriculture;

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ix. further strengthening the already healthy cooperation between specialized agencies

and national governments by encouraging information networks, cooperative mechanisms including direct support, and exchanges of best practice, case studies and standards in addressing disaster risk management in the agricultural sector.

34. The Meeting reviewed the draft report and approved it subject to editorial revisions.

Closing of the workshop (Item 9 of the Agenda)

35. Mr Baker gave the vote of thanks for the workshop and the Chairperson thanked the organizers and the participants for their contributions.

36. The Chairperson officially closed the session.

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Annex 1

AGENDA Agenda Item 1 Opening Session Agenda Item 2 Election of Officers and Adoption of the Agenda and

Timetable Agenda Item 3 Reducing vulnerability through sustainable agriculture Agenda Item 4 Developing guidelines, enforcing laws and regulations,

and international frameworks Agenda Item 5 Strengthening early warning, vulnerability information

and forecasting systems Agenda Item 6 Collaborative partnerships and institutional

arrangements Agenda Item 7 Quantitative risk assessment, allocating resources,

economic incentives for reducing risk Agenda Item 8 Adoption of the Report Agenda Item 9 Closing of the workshop

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Annex 2

Workshop on Reducing Food Insecurity Associated with Natural Disasters in Asia and the Pacific

27-28 January 2005

Thursday 27 January 2005 0800-0900 Registration

Programme

0900-0930 Opening speech by He Changchui, Assistant Director-General and FAO

Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific 0930-0950 Election of officers and adoption of agenda

Theme 1: Reducing vulnerability through sustainable agriculture

Key questions: What can be done to “mainstream” sustainable agriculture into development projects and programmes? What are the priorities for project and programme initiatives?

0950-1000 Moderator Introduction: Jeff Kingwell, FAO Consultant Speakers: 1000-1020 Sanjay Srivastava, Deputy Director, Disaster Management Support

Programme, Indian Space Research Organization 1020-1040 Giasuddin Ahmed, National Project Director, Ministry of Agriculture,

Bangladesh 1040-1115 Coffee break and group photographs 1115-1135 Liu Lihua, Division of Agriculture Information, Department of Crop

Production, China 1135-1200 Shobar Wiganda, Director, Food Surveillance Centre, Food Security Agency,

Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia 1200-1220 Krishna Bahadur Shrestha, Joint Secretary, Agriculture Business Promotion

and Statistics Division, Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperatives, Nepal 1220-1240 Kraisorn Wiriya, Chief, Huay Kakang Forest Fire Research Centre, Forest Fire

Control Division, Thailand

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1240-1340 Workshop lunch 1340-1415 Thierry Facon, FAO Senior Water Management Officer 1415-1430 Round-table discussion Theme 3: Strengthening early warning, vulnerability information and

forecasting systems

Can new mechanisms be established for enhanced warnings on transnational disasters such as flood, drought, forest fires, and tsunamis? What are the highest priorities for enhancing data collection, forecasting, and warning dissemination?

1430-1440 Moderator Introduction: Sanjay Srivastava, ISRO, India Speakers: 1440-1510 Mike Coughlan, Superintendent, National Climate Centre, Bureau of

Meteorology, Australia 1510-1530 Coffee break 1530-1605 Naoki Minamiguchi, FAO Asia FIVIMS Project 1605-1630 Shaobing Peng, Crop, Soil and Water Sciences Division, International Rice

Research Institute 1630-1700 M.V. K. Sivakumar, Chief, Agricultural Meteorology Division, World

Meteorological Organization

1700-1725 Ajunapermal Subbiah, Team Leader, Climate Risk Management, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre Theme 2: Developing guidelines and enforcing laws and regulations

Key questions: Are more guidelines needed or are there enough already? Are responsibilities clear vis a vis NGOs, local communities, provincial/national government?

1725-1745 Le Huu Ti, Water Resources Section, ESCAP 1740-1800 Break 1800-2000 Workshop Dinner

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Friday 28 January 2005

Theme 3: Strengthening early warning, vulnerability information and forecasting systems

0900-0905 Reprise of topic: Jeff Kingwell, FAO Consultant 0905-0925 Chris Chiesa, Senior Manager, Pacific Disaster Centre, Hawaii, USA 0925-1000 Round-table discussion

Theme 2: Developing guidelines and enforcing laws and regulations (continued)

Key questions: Are more guidelines needed or are there enough already? Are responsibilities clear vis a vis NGOs, local communities, provincial/national government?

1000-1005 Moderator Introduction: Jeff Kingwell, FAO Consultant Speakers: 1005-1030 Masaru Arakida, Asian Disaster Reduction Centre 1030-1100 Coffee break 1100-1125 Victoria Bannon, Legal Affairs Unit, International Federation of Red Cross

and Red crescent Societies 1125-1150 Round-table discussion.

Theme 4: Collaborative partnerships and institutional arrangements

Are existing organizational cooperative mechanisms sufficient? Should they be strengthened or replaced?

1150-1155 Moderator Introduction: Margarita Flores, Chief, Food Security and

Agricultural Projects Analysis Service, FAO

Speakers: 1155-1210 Chris Chiesa, Senior Manager, Pacific Disaster Centre, Hawaii, USA 1210-1240 Nokeo Ratanavong, Space Technology Applications Section, UN Economic

Commission for Asia and the Pacific 1240-1400 Workshop lunch 1400-1410 Round-table discussion.

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Theme 5: Quantitative risk and impact assessment, allocating resources,

and economic incentives What economic incentives can be applied in disaster risk management to encourage preparedness and build resilience? Are there opportunities for “mega-projects” which bring long-term economic growth as well as reducing disaster risk? How do we determine priorities for long and short-term attention- where are the “hot spots”? What emerging or new mechanisms (micro finance, insurance) are important?

1410-1415 Moderator Introduction: Jeff Kingwell, FAO Consultant; Fred Baker, FAO

Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Speakers: 1415-1440 Maxx Dilley, International Research Institute for Climate Prediction,

Columbia University, USA (presented by Naoki Minamiguchi, FAO) 1440-1500 Margarita Flores, Chief, Food Security and Agricultural Projects Analysis

Service, FAO, Rome, Italy

1500-1535 Coffee break

1535-1600 Sanjay Srivastava, Indian Space Research Organization 1600-1620 Round-table discussion

Summary session

1620-1630 Synthesis of Theme conclusions (Jeff Kingwell)

1630-1700 Summary discussion

1700-1755 Adoption of report

1755-1800 Closing of the Workshop

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Annex 3

List of Participants

ADPC A.R. SUBBIAH Team Leader Climate Risk Management Asian Disaster Preparedness Center P.O. Box 4 Klong Luang Pathumthani 12120 THAILAND Tel : (66-2) 516-5900 ext. 405 Fax : (66-2) 524-5350 E-mail : subbiah@adpc.net ADRC Masaru ARAKIDA Senior Researcher Asian Disaster Reduction Center Hitomiraikan 5F, 1-5-2 Wakinohamakaigan-dori Chuo-ku Kobe 651-0073 JAPAN Tel : (81-78) 262-5543 Fax : (81-78) 262-5546 E-mail : arakida@adrc.or.jp

ESCAP WU Guoxiang Chief Space Technology Applications Section Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Building Rajdamnern Nok Avenue Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel : (662) 02-288-1456 Fax : (662) 02-288-3012 E-mail : wugu@un.org Nokeo RATANAVONG Scientific Affairs Officer Space Technology Applications Section Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Building Rajdamnern Nok Avenue Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel : (662) 02-288-1458 Fax : (662) 02-288-3012 E-mail : ratanavong.unescap@un.org LE HUU Ti Economic Affairs Officer Water Resources Section Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Building Rajdamnern Nok Avenue Bangkok 10200 THAILAND Tel : (662) 02-288-1450 Fax : (662) 02-288-1000 E-mail : ti.unescap@un.org

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IFRC Victoria BANNON Programme Coordinator Legal Affairs Unit International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies P.O. Box 372 CH-1211 Geneva 19 SWITZERLAND Tel : (41-22) 730-4360 Fax : (41-22) 730-4929 E-mail : victoria.bannon@ifrc.org IRI Maxx DILLEY (Unable to attend but presentation provided) Co-Director, Impacts Research International Research Institute for Climate Prediction 119 Monell Building Columbia University P.O. Box 1000 Palisades NY 10964-8000 USA Tel : (845) 680-4463 Fax : (845) 680-4864 E-mail : mdilley@iri.columbia.edu IRRI Shaobing PENG Senior Crop Physiologist Crop, Soil and Water Sciences Division International Rice Research Institute DAPO Box 7777 Metro Manila PHILIPIINES Tel : (63-2) 580-5600 ext. 2767 & 2255 Fax : (63-2) 891-1292 E-mail : s.peng@cgiar.org

ISRO Sanjay K. SRIVASTAVA Deputy Project Director, Disaster Management Support Programme Indian Space Research Organisation Bangalore 560 094 INDIA Tel : (91-80) 22172455 Fax : (91-80) 23413806 E-mail : sanjay_isro@yahoo.com or sanjay_isro@hotmail.com NCC Michael J. COUGHLAN Superintendent National Climate Centre Bureau of Meteorology G.P.O. Box 1289K Melbourne, VIC 3001 AUSTRALIA Tel : (61-3) 9669-4086 Fax : (61-3) 9669-4725 E-mail : m.coughlan@bom.gov.au PDC Chris CHIESA Senior Manager Data and Information Resources Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) 590 Lipoa Parkway, Suite 259 Kihei, Maui HI 96753 HAWAI Tel : (808) 891-0525 ext. 953 Fax : (808) 891-0526 E-mail : cchiesa@pdc.org

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WMO M.V.K. SIVAKUMAR Chief Agricultural Meteorology Division World Meteorological Organization 7 bis, avenue de la Paix Case postale 2300 CH 1211 Genève 2 SUISSE Tel : (41 22) 730-8380 Fax : (41 22) 730-8042 E-mail : msivakumar@wmo.int BANGLADESH Giasuddin AHMED National Project Director Department of Agricultural Extension Ministry of Agriculture Dhaka 1215 Tel/Fax : (880-2) 8128002 E-mail : ssdp-dae@yahoo.com CHINA LIU Lihua Officer Division of Agriculture Information Department of Crop Production Ministry of Agriculture Beijing Tel : (8610) 6419-2855 Fax : (8610) 6501-8272 E-mail : lihua_liu76@yahoo.com.cn INDONESIA

Ir Shobar WIGANDA Director Food Surveillance Centre Food Security Agency Ministry of Agriculture

Jakarta Tel : (62-21) 781-6652 Fax : (62-21) 780-7806 E-mail : shobar@deptan.go.id

NEPAL

Krishna Bahadur SHRESTHA Joint Secretary Agriculture Business Promotion and Statistics Division Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperatives Kathmandu Tel : (977-1) 4228137 Fax : (977-1) 4225825 E-mail : kbshrestha@maoc.gov.np THAILAND

Kraisorn WIRIYA

Chief Huay Kakaeng Forest Fire Research Center Forest Fire Control Division Bangkok Tel : (66-2) 5614292-3 ext. 329 Fax : (66-2) 579-7170 E-mail : g4583005@ku.ac.th Yupa LIMSAWAD Statistician 8 Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing Branch Center for Agricultural Information Office of Agricultural Economics Phaholyotin Road, Chatuchak Bangkok 10900 Tel: (66-2) 940 7030 ext. 104 Fax: (66-2) 940 7036 E-mail : yupa@oae.go.th Charnchai PAETHONG Policy and Plan Analyst Office of Agricultural Economics Bureau of International Agricultural Economics Division of International Organization Bangkok Tel : (66-2) 940-6486 Fax : (66-2) 5792567 E-mail : charnchai@oae.go.th

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OBSERVER Carlo Filippo MARSICO Senior Program Officer European Union Delegation of the European Commission in Thailand Kian Gwan House II – 19th Floor 140/1 Wireless Road Bangkok 10330 Tel : (66-2) 255-9100 Fax : (66-2) 255-9113/4 E-mail : carlo.marsico@cec.eu.int FAO RAP HE Changchui Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4222 Fax : (66-2) 697-4499 E-mail : he.changchui@fao.org David HALL Livestock Policy Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4331 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : david.hall@fao.org Thierry FACON Senior Water Management Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4156 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : thierry.facon@fao.org

Yuji NIINO Land Management Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4213 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : yuji.niino@fao.org Gamini KEERTHISINGHE Senior Plant Production Officer (Horticultural and Field Crops) FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4165 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : gamini.keerthisinghe@fao.org Biplab NANDI Senior Food and Nutrition Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4143 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : biplab.nandi@fao.org Derek STAPLES Senior Fishery Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4119 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : dereck.staples@fao.org Simmathiri APPANAH NFP Advisor FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4136 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : simmathiri.appanah@fao.org

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Revathi BALAKRISHNAN Senior Office, Gender and Development FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4148 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : revathi.balakrishnan@fao.org Naoki MINAMIGUCHI Vulnerability Analysis Coordinator (ASIA FIVIMS) FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd., Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4309 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : naoki.minamiguchi@fao.org Frederick BAKER Senior Statistician FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-41250 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : frederick.baker@fao.org David DAWE Senior Food Systems Economist FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4324 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : david.dawe@fao.org Margarita FLORES Chief Food Security and Agricultural Projects Analysis Service (ESAF) FAO HQ Rome, ITALY Tel : (39-06) 57056566 Fax : (39-06) 57055522 E-mail : margarita.flores@fao.org

SECRETARIAT Jeff KINGWELL FAO Consultant Centre Manager Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems CSIRO Industrial Physics G.P.O. Box 1483 Canberra ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA Tel : (61 2) 6281 8525 Fax : (61 2) 6281 8526 E-mail : jeff.kingwell@csiro.au Truchai SODSOON Translation Assistant/Secretary FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 Tel : (66-2) 697-4127 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : truchai.sodsoon@fao.org Luisa KOSAISAEVEE Secretary FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific 39 Phra Atit Rd. Bangkok 1200 THAILAND Tel : (66-2) 697-4355 Fax : (66-2) 697-4445 E-mail : luisa.kosaisaevee@fao.org

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Annex 4

OPENING SPEECH

by He Changchui

Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific

Distinguished guests and participants FAO colleagues Ladies and gentlemen Good morning.

First of all, on behalf of the FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf and on my own behalf, I welcome all of you to the FAO Regional Office. It is a great pleasure for me to address this Workshop on reducing food insecurity associated with natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific, organized by, RAP.

Natural disasters cause immense suffering and loss of life every year, and can have

a devastating long-term impact on food production. Agriculture is the most important and possibly the oldest industry in the world. It employs about half of the world’s workers and utilizes about one third of the world’s land area. However, in the aftermath of disasters, repairing damaged infrastructure, compensating for personal loss, and rehabilitating the landscape consumes resources that could otherwise be devoted to improving nutrition levels and food security.

Natural disasters can have a cumulative impact, causing successive loss of resilience

in both the environment and society. The frequency of natural disasters is increasing, perhaps due to a combination of climate change and population pressure leading to the occupation of hazardous or marginal land. On average, each year about 100 000 people are injured or killed in Asia by natural disasters, and over four million people lose their homes. These numbers comprise, respectively, around 59 percent and 86 percent of the average world totals.

These facts are just the tip of a widespread and growing concern, symptomatic of

current early warning and response systems not properly working or not fully operational in many areas.

The recent tsunami tragedy experienced by many countries in the region clearly

demonstrates the destructive capacity of natural disasters, and their impact upon food security. As of today, the immediate loss of life from this event exceeded 227 000, with the confirmed toll still increasing. According to early impact assessments, agricultural and fishery losses have been severe. For example, in Tamil Nadu state of India, 59 000 fishing vessels have been destroyed, affecting the livelihood of nearly 700 000 fishers as well as their families. In Aceh province of Indonesia, income losses in agriculture and fisheries make up more than one-third of total losses due to the disaster, while in the worst-affected districts of Sri Lanka, 80 percent of fishing vessels have been destroyed or seriously damaged.

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In response to this tragedy, FAO has reacted swiftly, recommending practical actions both for addressing immediate emergency needs as well as for longer-term measures to reduce the risk of similar catastrophes, and providing advice drawn from its collective experience and expertise. We will continue to work in association with many sister agencies of the United Nations family, non-governmental organizations, civil society and national governments in an effort to address long term rehabilitation issues to reach the goal of food security for all.

Cheap energy, scientific breakthroughs in plant genetics and pesticides, better

infrastructure and well developed early warning systems as well as communication systems helped create disaster-resilient rural communities in many developed countries. The impact of natural hazards in agricultural sector is usually localized; shortages can be offset by transporting surpluses from unaffected areas; and because this sector usually comprises a small part of the economies of developed countries, losses are minor in proportion to gross domestic product.

By contrast when natural disasters strike subsistence farming, nomadic herding and

shifting cultivation communities in developing and least developed countries the consequences are frequently long-term, deadly, and large in relation to gross domestic product. When we consider loss of infrastructure, the time required for re-stocking, and the consequences of lower income and nutritional intake over long periods, natural disasters in agriculture may take years, even generations, to rectify, while damage and losses may exceed average GDP.

FAO endeavors to help farmers reduce risk and optimize responses to climate

variability and adapt to climate changes, extreme weather events and geological hazards. FAO promotes sustainable agricultural practices, including contingency planning, integrated and dryland farming, integrated coastal zone management, micro-storage of seed and feed; building mounds and shelters, improving irrigation systems, agro-ecological zoning, development and selection of more resilient plant and livestock varieties.

It is thus timely, at this workshop, for you to ask: “What can be done to ‘mainstream’

sustainable agricultural practice into national development and disaster management programmes? What are the priorities for new projects based on sustainable agriculture?

One important development in disaster management philosophy over the past decade

has been the recognition of its cyclical nature. Although the response phase captures most of the attention, much of the hard work of disaster risk management is carried out before disasters occur, in the form of risk assessment, prevention, mitigation, and establishing early warning systems. After the crisis of emergency response has passed, the emphasis is on rehabilitation, reconstruction, and the commencement of a new cycle of assessment, incorporating lessons derived from the previous cycle.

Best practice in disaster management has in many cases been codified into guidelines,

laws and regulations. Specialist organizations of the United Nations, including the World Food Programme and FAO have developed such codes, as have global initiatives such as the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. Some countries in the region have incorporated their national agricultural emergency management systems into legal frameworks. Other countries have not yet completed this task. It has been recognized that building a resilient society is the key and, thus, preventive measures are essential. Building codes, land use regulation, watershed management and flood control schemes, forest and soil conservation,

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coastal zone development, pesticide use, etc. are just a few areas where rules and regulations are required or need reinforcement.

On this theme of guidelines and laws, I invite you to consider the following questions:

“Are existing guidelines and protocols for coping with agricultural impacts of natural disaster clear and sufficient? If not, how can they be improved? Are responsibilities clear between non-governmental organizations, local communities, and the various levels of government?

The October 2004 report to the United Nations’ Second Committee noted that early

warning systems are fundamental to prevention and to minimizing losses due to natural hazards. Over the past three decades enormous progress has been made in early warning systems for typhoons, and the death tolls from these events have been dramatically curtailed. However more effort is required by the scientific community as well as by governments and international organizations, in the case of tsunamis, floods, forest fires, landslide, earthquakes and volcano eruption.

For the creeping menace of drought, there appears to be strong potential, at least in

some geographic areas and climatic zones, for significant improvements in food security through relatively simple measures such as formulating long term seasonal outlooks for national policy makers as well as end users in the agricultural community.

The Global Information and Early Warning System, GIEWS, and the Food Insecurity

and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System, FIVIMS, have sought to integrate socio-economic data with food availability and crop condition statistics, climate data, pest information and weather conditions. These approaches offer great strengths for systematic and geographically widespread advanced warning of food insecurity and famine as a result of disasters.

In relation to the theme of early warning systems, I ask you to consider “Are new

mechanisms such as Regional Specialized Centres required to enhance warnings for transnational disasters such as tsunamis, forest fires, floods and drought? What are the highest regional priorities for better data collection and warning dissemination in relation to agricultural disasters? What is the region’s optimum role in strengthening food insecurity information systems such as GIEWS and FIVIMS?”

Ladies and gentlemen, The overarching task we are attempting is to halve the number of malnourished by

2015. Despite an overall increase in the world’s wealth and scientific capacity, this remains a daunting proposition and it will require all our individual and collective efforts. Strong partnerships and efficient sharing of responsibility will be essential for success. In this regard the preparation of this workshop has already resulted in the identification of key potential information resources, centres of excellence in research and training, and you, the able and dedicated individuals attending today.

I urge you to consider whether it is advisable to rely on existing institutional

arrangements, or whether indeed it is timely to strengthen or refresh them in the collective interests of task sharing and efficiency.

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Ensuring access to food for the hungry and poor will persist as a major challenge within the strategic time horizon of the UN Millennium Development Goals and the World Food Summit Plan of Action. We know that the resources that will be available to attempt these tasks are limited. For this reason it is imperative that priorities are clearly defined and resources are directed where they are most capable of achieving the desired results. Methodologies for assessing need, both in terms of emergency response requirements as well as for longer-term risk mitigation, are therefore essential.

The convergence of spatial and socio-economic models, data mining and visualization

has generated advances in our ability to delineate risk in terms of the geographic distribution of natural hazards. There is also a growing appreciation that Small Island Developing Countries exhibit more acute vulnerabilities to disasters than most other nations.

We have also come to recognize the importance of financial incentives and policy

instruments for reducing food insecurity caused by natural disasters. These instruments include schemes for crop insurance; microfinance for re-stocking and re-planting; and at the national level, structuring development loans or grants in such a way as to encourage governments and communities to build disaster-reduction and risk mitigation measures into their disaster response programmes and national development plans.

I ask you to carefully consider this accelerating trend, and to determine “What

economic incentives can be applied in disaster risk management to encourage preparedness and build resilience? Are there opportunities for ‘mega-projects’ which bring long-term growth as well as reducing the risk of agricultural disaster?”

Ladies and gentlemen, In considering these pressing issues, we are conscious of the unique character, needs

and trends of the Asia and Pacific region. We are also cognizant of the global commitment to diminish the baleful impact of natural disasters upon human society. Last week, in Kobe, Japan, the second World Conference on Disaster Reduction was held, not far from the epicenter of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. This conference was the culmination of the International Decade of Disaster Reduction and the development, by an Inter-Agency Task Force including representatives from 26 bodies of the United Nations, regional organizations and civil society, of a coordinated international strategy. The main conclusions and outcomes of that World Conference will be presented at this workshop and your efforts over the next two days will form part of this regions’ response to and engagement in that strategy. FAO is thus meeting the needs of the countries of the region for policy guidance and capacity building in natural disaster management for improving food security in the face of increasingly frequent natural disasters.

I thank you for assisting the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific to develop

an actionable strategy to implement the thematic programme—reducing vulnerability to disasters—one of the priorities identified in the Regional Strategic Framework for Asia and the Pacific for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the World Food Summit Target.

I wish you successful and fruitful discussions.