ESCAP’s Asia Pacific Disaster Reports inform of a multitude of risk hotspots and identify their changing geographies under global warming of 1.5 and 2 degrees in the Asia Pacific region. There are, of course, existing known hotspots of hazard risk in the region. However, climate warming is shifting the contours of these risks. Under new climate warming scenarios (based on IPCC-AR6 models) these hazard risks are shown to intensify among the existing hotspots while new areas of risk hotspots are emerging that require more focus investments in transformative mechanisms to ensure that development gains are not lost, and that the region moves towards the achievement of the SDGs.
ESCAP resolution ESCAP/RES/79/10 on accelerating climate action, calls for member states to promote “the implementation and strengthening of early warning systems for all as key adaptation strategies in the region” and requested ESCAP to “develop early warning systems for all at the regional level”..”
To take this agenda forward, the Thematic session of the Regional Learning Platform 2023 will focus on pathways of early warning for all in Asia Pacific. These sessions will engage the key stakeholders to discuss the unmet needs of multi-hazard early warnings under each pillar of Early Warning for All, and the various regional and subregional cooperation mechanisms to address early warning among the diverse subregions of Asia and the Pacific.
The Platform will discuss regional pathways and strategies on operationalizing the key pillars of effective early warning systems; namely, risk knowledge, monitoring, dissemination and communication, and preparedness and response. ESCAP will draw on its partnership network under the aegis of its Asia Pacific Disaster Resilience Network (APDRN), comprising United Nations organizations, subregional intergovernmental organizations, and knowledge partners involved in the development, implementation and monitoring of the Executive Action Plan at a global level.
The Week will also feature the launch of the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2023 as well as a soft launch of the second generation of the ESCAP Risk and Resilience Portal, ESCAP’s online interactive knowledge portal to support disaster and climate risk-informed policymaking. Additionally, the Regional Learning Platform will feature partner spotlight sessions on disability inclusive disaster risk reduction, resilient infrastructure as well as resilient food and energy systems.
The outcomes of the Regional Learning Platform and the discussions at various events of the Disaster Resilience Week will help enrich the deliberations of the ESCAP Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction (CDRR)- the key platform for regional dialogue and intergovernmental collaboration on disaster risk reduction – which will convene its eighth session (CDRR8) during the week from 25-27 July 2023.
