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The Asia-Pacific region comprises 52% of the earth's surface area and 59% of the world's population, and experiences over 70% of the world's natural disasters.
Natural disasters that affect one member economy can have spillover effects in other economies, so APEC members benefit by sharing expertise and collaborating on emergency preparedness and response. APEC member economies agree that in responding to natural disasters, APEC can leverage its strengths of multi-sectoral participation, private-sector partnerships, broad regional reach, and high-level political involvement. APEC plays a constructive role in enabling the region to better prepare for future emergencies and natural disasters of all kinds, and can address long-term commercial recovery in affected sectors.
As an immediate response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami that struck in December 2004, and to collectively prepare for future natural disasters, APEC Senior Officials adopted an APEC Strategy on Response to and Preparedness for Natural Disasters and Emergencies. Senior Officials specifically called for the establishment of a Virtual Task Force for Emergency Preparedness (VTFEP). The Task Force was later renamed the Task Force for Emergency Preparedness (TFEP).
At the APEC Economic Leaders' meeting in Sydney in September 2007, Leaders agreed on the need to further strengthen APEC's efforts to build community resilience and preparedness for emergencies and natural disasters.
The TFEP's mandate was extended for another two years at the first Senior Officials' Meeting in 2008. The extension will allow the group to ensure ongoing and effective coordination of emergency preparedness work across APEC.
Achievements
In August 2007, the first gathering of APEC disaster and emergency management experts was held in Cairns, Australia. Representatives from 13 APEC economies and a range of international organizations agreed to support a 3-5 year TFEP strategic plan that takes into account human and political imperatives for more effective emergency preparedness and risk reduction, as well as more timely and effective disaster response.
At the 2nd TFEP meeting in August 2008, APEC economies endorsed a Peru-initiated "Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness and Response in the Asia Pacific Region 2009 ? 2015". TFEP members also agreed to form a Steering Committee to assist the TFEP and its co-Chairs to advance the task force's mandate and workplans, and to assess TFEP projects. At the meeting Member Economies were also encouraged to develop joint capacity building projects, to improve coordination with international organizations, to share best practices at all levels, to support train-the-trainer programs, and to collaborate with the Human Resource Development Working Group on integrating disaster risk reduction education into school curricula.
Current activities
A Study Course on Disaster Emergency Response and Recovery was held in Beijing, China in April. The course provided a platform for experts, researchers, government officials, emergency preparedness and disaster relief agency representatives and international institutions such as UNICEF, the United Nations World Food Program and Actionaid International of China Office, to exchange information about their experiences and practises to further enhance the emergency response and recovery capabilities of the participating members.
An APEC Workshop on Dialogue among APEC economies, the business community and key international and regional partners on emergency preparedness, was held in Viet Nam in April. This workshop discussed possible cooperation mechanisms among the above mentioned stakeholders; and how to improve the capacity of APEC member economies, especially developing economies, through experience and lesson sharing with relevant international institutions.
A Workshop on Large Scale Disaster Recovery in APEC and related on-site visits were held in Chinese Taipei and Sichuan, China in September. The workshop and the on-site visits provided a forum to share post-disaster recovery experiences, best practice examples from previous disasters and approaches for capacity building among APEC member economies. Recommendations from the workshop have contributed to the development of the "Recovery Plan and Advocacy on Pre-disaster Recovery Plan". The Plan addresses reconstruction of infrastructure, restoration of business services, reducing potential risk, enhancing preparedness and disaster resilience, and how to involve families, schools and communities to establish a defense shield against devastation and destruction.
Task Force for Emergency Preparedness (TFEP) - Key Contacts
Co-Chair of TFEP
Mr Quinton Devlin
Director, APEC Branch
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australia
Tel: (61-2) 6261 2904
Email: quinton.devlin@dfat.gov.au
Co-Chair of TFEP
Mr. Tabrani
Deputy for Emergency Management
Indonesia National Coordinating Board for Disaster Management
Jln. Ir. Juanda no. 36
Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia
Telp. +62-21 3504983
Fax. +62-21 350 4983
Email: tabrani@bakornaspbp.go.id
APEC Secretariat
Mr Vincent Liu
Director (Program)
E-mail: jyl@apec.org
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