ACDR2020
(ASIAN CONFERENCE ON DISASTER REDUCTION 2020)
The Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC), since its establishment in 1998, has capitalised on the development of human and information resource management in order to enhance the disaster risk reduction capabilities of member countries. Through one of its activities—the Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR) – this resource development is carried out, while also serving as a venue for annual conferences to be hosted by one of the member countries. For the first time in 19 years, the ACDR 2020 was organised virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the ADRC, hazards that have resulted in disasters have resulted in increasing impacts throughout recent years. This comes despite the continued efforts by member countries to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR). These facts have shed light on the urgency of implementing and adapting Disaster Mitigation and DRR Strategies that take climate change into “greater consideration, especially in the context of the coronavirus pandemic”.
The 2020 conference focused on how national disaster management organisations, civil society organisations, and other relevant authorities and agencies deal with the dual risks of climate change and COVID-19. In the ACDR 2020, member countries shared their situations and discussed future actions that focused on two themes, namely:
1. DRR Measures and Challenges to the Intensifying Disaster Risks, and;
2. Disaster Preparedness and Response Amidst COVID-19.
During the ACDR 2020, the AHA Centre had the privilege to present on how it undertakes disaster information management. The presentation highlighted the resilience and adaptability of the AHA Centre’s processes and mechanisms during the pandemic—including even being able to conduct operations and responses through virtual means. Bangladesh presented an interesting insight into addressing issues and challenges for disaster risk reduction under changing disaster conditions and climate change, while Singapore presented on addressing issues and challenges for disaster risk management in the “New Normal” resulting from the pandemic.
Overall, the conference provided a platform for organisations in member countries to share to and learn from one another, engaging on best practices in adapting to changing landscapes battered by climate change, and even further by COVID-19.
Written by : Keith Paolo Landicho | Photo : AHA Centre
ACE WEBINAR:
MEASURING OUTCOMES FOR DISASTER RESPONSE,
COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT
While the global pandemic has interrupted capacity building efforts such as the AHA Centre Executive (ACE) Programme, the Centre continues to provide education for ACE Programme graduates. The AHA Centre recently implemented a webinar series to support its objectives of capacity-building, networking, and utilising leadership competencies to improve national and regional coordination response mechanisms and disaster management more broadly. The webinars run from September to November 2020, and are primarily intended to expose the ACE Programme graduates to the latest trends and challenges in disaster management.
Following the success of the first ACE Webinar during September, the AHA Centre conducted the second ACE Webinar – namely Measuring Outcomes for Disaster Response, Coordination and Management – on 21 October, 2020. The webinar engaged more than 142 humanitarian practitioners from the ACE Programme graduate pool, NDMO officers, partners, and academics, in particular those working in monitoring and evaluation. Experts from UNOCHA, IFRC, Save the Children (member of the AADMER Partnership Group), and the Lien Centre for Social Innovation from Singapore Management University (SMU), shared their experiences in measuring the effectiveness of disaster response.
The session began with an interactive session on how often participants assess certain aspects during disaster operations – including measurement of coordination, response team effectiveness, accountability to affected population, leadership, and adherence to the programme cycle. Participants highlighted that coordination was the most frequent aspect that they measure in disaster response. This was highlighted further by the UNOCHA’s presentation, which focused on the importance of coordination to evaluate disaster responses, to ensure that assistance reaches the affected population, and to avoid gaps and duplication of assistance. This notion was also echoed by the speaker from the Lien Centre for Social Innovation, who also stated that cross-sectoral collaboration should create strong results for all stakeholders. ACE Programme Graduate Ms. Sarah Ulat of the Philippines Office of Civil Defense – National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of the Philippines moderated the webinar, and also highlighted the importance of partnerships as a force multiplier and as a mode to a highly enabling environment for all agencies.
The speaker from IFRC shared experiences in measuring the effectiveness of surge teams undertaking internal reviews and utilising performance management and appraisals. The speaker from Save the Children covered the importance of assistance reaching vulnerable groups – including children – as they often make-up large percentages of an affected population.
Failure to listen to or consult with children in response evaluations not only neglects important information, but also ignores children’s agency and ability to participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives.
The webinar concluded with some key takeaways provided by ACE Programme Graduate Mr Muhammad Azhar bin Said of the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
“Monitoring, evaluation and coordination is a continuous process to ensure the effectiveness of the humanitarian response. These days, with the advance of technology, we should be able to transform the way we undertake responses. After all, leadership is extremely important to be able to deliver productive and successful operations”.
-Mr Muhammad Azhar bin Said
Written by : Ferosa Arsadita | Photo : AHA Centre
EU-SAHA THROUGH THE EUROPEAN UNION
The Integrated Programme in Enhancing the Capacity of AHA Centre and ASEAN Emergency Response Mechanisms, known as the EU-SAHA programme, is an initiative aimed to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of the AHA Centre in order to achieve operational excellence in disaster monitoring and emergency response, as well as enhance mechanisms for ASEAN leadership to ‘respond as one’ through excellence and innovation in disaster management.
Funded through a partnership with the European Union, the programme is being implemented across four years from December 2019 to December 2023, utilising a total fund amount of EUR 7.2 million. The EU has also awarded funding to the Swedish Civil Contingency Agency and the Estonian Rescue Board to complement activities directly implemented by the AHA Centre through this programme, in the form of the Leveraging ASEAN Capacities for Emergency Response (LACER) project. LACER will be implemented with an overall focus on institutional capacity development to augment sustainability and utilisation of AHA Centre’s operational capacity. The project is also aligned with the ASEAN-EU Plan of Action (2018-2022), more specifically within the “Enhance cooperation on Crisis and Disaster Management” objective found within the plan.
The AHA Centre also forms the operational counterpart of the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) under the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG-ECHO). These above initiatives and more will enable ASEAN and the European Union to further strengthen their partnership in disaster management and disaster risk reduction across their respective regions, through a sustained longer-term institutional collaborative effort that is in line with their commitments and obligations at the global level. The launching ceremony for the EU-SAHA programme was held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on 27 January 2020. The Secretary-General of ASEAN H.E. Dato Lim Jock Hoi, the Ambassador of European Mission to ASEAN H.E. Igor Driesmans, and the Executive Director of the AHA Centre Ms Adelina Kamal were all in attendance at the opening ceremony.
The AHA Centre is utilising a multi-level approach to implement the programme, which is undertaken by engaging at national, regional, and inter-regional levels within ASEAN and the EU. At the regional level, the AHA Centre focuses on the implementation of regional activities that involve all ASEAN Member States, which is also in line with the AADMER Work Programme and the AHA Centre Work Plan, alongside other key documents on disaster management that have been adopted by ASEAN Leaders. At national level, it focuses on facilitation of required training and activities aimed to increase the capacity and capabilities of Member States on disaster management, with the National Disaster Management Organisations forming the main national focal points. On the inter-regional level, the key focus is the exchange of knowledge and training between the AHA Centre and the ASEAN Member States with relevant EU and UN institutions, and other international organisations. The primary aim at this level is to enhance skills and capacity to prepare for responding both inside and outside the regions.
Written by : Moch Syifa | Photo : AHA Centre
GETTING TO KNOW
EL NIÑO & LA NIÑA
El Niño and La Niña are complex weather patterns resulting from variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. As we begin the latest La Niña phase, we can take a little time to learn about their history and what they really mean for our current weather and climate.
EL NIÑO
El Niño means the Little Boy – or Christ’s Child – in the Spanish language. It was originally recognised by fishermen off the coast of South America in the 1600s, and was formed by the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean for a certain time of the year. The name was chosen based on this time of year (which was around December), during which these warm water events tended to occur more often.
In modern times, the term El Niño refers to the large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate interaction that is linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific region. Typical El Niño effects usually develop over the Northern America continent during the winter season, and is signified by warmer-than-average temperatures over western and central Canada, as well as over the western and northern United States. Wetter-than-average conditions are likely over portions of the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, while drier-than-average conditions are found in the Ohio Valley and the Pacific Northwest. The presence of El Niño can significantly influence weather patterns, ocean conditions, and marine fisheries across large portions of the earth for an extended period of time, and have significant causal effects on other weather-related events.
LA NIÑA
La Niña, on the other hand, is Spanish for the Little Girl. La Niña is also sometimes known locally as El Viejo, anti-El Niño, or ‘a cold event’. Simply put, it forms the opposite conditions to the El Niño event.
La Niña episodes represent periods of below-average sea surface temperatures across the east-central Equatorial Pacific. La Niña impacts on the global climate tend to be opposite those caused by El Niño, and in the tropics, ocean temperature variations in La Niña also tend to be on the opposite end to the weather patterns attributed to El Niño. In general, during a La Niña year, winter temperatures are warmer than usual in the southeast of the Northern American continent, and cooler than normal in the northwest.
Source: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html