ASEAN Secretariat Information Paper

ASEAN COOPERATION ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT

ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management

1. The ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) was established in early 2003 following the decision of the ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC). The ACDM consists of heads of national agencies/ organisations responsible for disaster management of ASEAN Member Countries. ACDM coordinates and implements regional activities on disaster management. ACDM met for the first time in December 2003. The ACDM meets at least once in a year. The current Chairman of the ACDM is Indonesia. The institutional mechanism (in the form of an experts group) started in the ‘70s but was strengthened towards 2003 with the elevation of the experts group into a full-fledged committee.

ASEAN Regional Programme on Disaster Management

2. In pursuing a region of disaster-resilient nations and safer communities, the ACDM has developed an ASEAN Regional Programme on Disaster Management (ARPDM) to provide a framework for cooperation for the period of 2004-2010. The ARPDM outlines the ASEAN’s regional strategy on disaster management, as well as priority areas and activities for disaster risk reduction within the region. The ARPDM consists of 29 activities, which are categorised into the following five major components, namely: (i) Establishment of an ASEAN Regional Disaster Management Framework; (ii) Capacity Building; (iii) Sharing of Information and Resources; (iv) Promoting Collaboration and Strengthening Partnerships; and (v) Public Education, Awareness and Advocacy.

ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response

3. Following the resolutions made at the inaugural meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Disaster Management in early December 2004, the momentum generated by the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004, and the commitment made at the Special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on the Aftermath of Earthquake and Tsunami in January 2005, ASEAN Member Countries swiftly concluded negotiation and signed the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) at the 38th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July 2005. The Agreement provides a regional comprehensive framework to strengthen preventive, monitoring and mitigation measures to reduce disaster losses in the region. The Agreement also provides for the setting up of an ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) and an ASEAN Disaster Management and Emergency Relief Fund.

Implementation of the Agreement

4. The Agreement will enter into force upon ratification by all ASEAN Member Countries. So far, Malaysia and Thailand have ratified the Agreement while other ASEAN Member Countries are in the process of ratifying the Agreement. Even as the Agreement is being ratified, ASEAN Member Countries have begun to implement many of the provisions of the Agreement. ASEAN Member Countries have started formulating standard operating procedures for the development of regional standby arrangements, mobilisation of military and civilian personnel and assets, and coordination of joint disaster relief and emergency response operations. A regional inventory of assets and capacities, entitled the “ASEAN Standby Arrangements for Disaster Relief and Emergency Response”, is being compiled based on earmarked assets and capacities of ASEAN Member Countries. A network of pre-designated areas will be established as entry points to speed up movement of relief items across borders.

5. ACDM is also committed to conduct regional simulation exercises regularly to enhance regional preparedness and maintain the applicability of the standard operating procedures. The first-ever ASEAN regional disaster emergency response simulation exercise (code-named ARDEX-05) based on an earthquake scenario was held in Selangor, Malaysia in September 2005. The ACDM is set to test next week (i.e. 27 September 2006) the regional capacities and capabilities for collective humanitarian response in a regional exercise simulating a flood disaster in Cambodia.Considering the importance of civil military coordination in disaster relief operations, ACDM will pursue opportunities to test the mobilisation of both military and civilian assets in ARDEX-06. ARF participants are welcome to observe the conduct of ARDEX-06.

6. Following the earthquake of 27 May 2006 in Indonesia, assisting teams from ASEAN Member Countries were among the first to respond to the earthquake, bringing in search and rescue teams, as well as medical and other emergency supplies. Teams from five ASEAN Member Countries, namely, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, were at various locations in Yogyakarta and Central Java providing medical assistance and relief efforts to the earthquake victims in close coordination with the Indonesian authorities. Other ASEAN Member Countries, including Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam, sent food supplies and cash contributions to Indonesia. These joint emergency response efforts were coordinated within the framework of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response.

7. To support the implementation of various activities under the ARPDM, ACDM has successfully forged collaboration with a number of ASEAN Dialogue Partners and relevant regional and international organisations. ASEAN has also increased its leadership role among other regional groupings, and has been requested by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) to take the lead in a discussion involving other regional organisations.

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