The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply t... more The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication has been issued without formal editing. Mention of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this publication for educational or other noncommercial purposes are authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder, provided that the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this publication for sale or other commercial purposes, including publicity and advertising, is prohibited without the written permission of the copyright holder. Applications for such permission, with a statement of purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Regional Office, AP, Thailand. vii For many in Asia and the Pacific, 2011 will be remembered as a year of large-scale disasters with devastating impacts on economies, communities and above all the lives of people across our region. The Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and the ensuing nuclear disaster, as well as the Southeast Asian floods, which so severely affected Thailand, were major contributors to the staggering $294 billion in regional economic losses-representing 80 per cent of global losses due to disasters in 2011. Disasters can affect developed and developing countries in equal measure. Yet risk accumulation, spurred by rapid economic growth, remains only partially understood. We are still working to identify the ways in which different components of risk-hazards, vulnerability and exposure-interact to increase total risk, and trigger damage. One of the most positive developments, however, is that, despite greater frequency of these events and increased damage to property and livelihoods, the death toll from such disasters as typhoons, floods and landslides in some subregions is decreasing. This is a significant accomplishment, and proves that better disaster risk management-investing in early warning systems, preparedness and social safety nets-saves lives. Economic development creates resilience when invested to reduce the vulnerability of people and communities. Collective actions can mitigate disasters, and protect our populations, but we are in a race against time. Exposure to disaster risk is growing faster than our ability to build resilience. Economic losses are rising, and communities are continually threatened. Rapid regional economic growth is also partially responsible for the rapid growth of disaster exposure. In Asia and the Pacific, over the past four decades, the average number of people exposed to annual flooding has increased from 29.5 to 63.8 million, whilst populations in cyclone-prone areas have grown from 71.8 million to 120.7 million. The region also represents more than 85 per cent of global economic exposure to tropical cyclones-pointing to a pattern of economic growth in typhoon prone coastlines and flood plains. When disasters hit, it is private citizens and communities who pay the highest price. In 2009, when Typhoon Ketsana caused damage of $58 million in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, 50 per cent of the losses were borne by small farmers. In the Philippines, the same typhoon caused damage of $4.3 billion-90 per cent of which were borne by poor urban households. Seventy per cent of the $9.7 billion in flood damage in Pakistan in 2010 was borne by poor households and small farmers. These figures highlight the ways in which socioeconomic vulnerabilities are interlinked. As economies falter, social spending is threatened. It is the poor, and particularly women, children, the elderly and the disabled, who Preface viii are the most vulnerable-first through direct losses and again through subsequent fiscal adjustments. It is therefore crucial that every effort be made to protect development gains which benefit the poorest and most vulnerable. While they are the hardest hit in a disaster, vulnerability can increase for everyone in a community. Our shared challenge is to control both the growing rate of exposure and rising vulnerability. Exposure to hazards has multiplied as urban centers grow and people and economic activities expand into increasingly exposed and hazard-prone land. It is also a concern that smaller economies, those that have less diversified economic structures, and countries with high fiscal deficits, show greater strains of vulnerability even when faced with relatively small-scale disasters. Land use and urban planning, ecosystem management and disaster recovery-the very tools devised to deal with exposure to risks-are not yielding the desired results. Globalization of supply chains means that any disruption to a single node of production may lead to a breakdown of the entire production chain, as happened in 2011 Thai floods and the Great East Japan Earthquake. And, in the developed countries of the Asia-Pacific region, where prosperity should be used to address the many downsides of economic growth, disaster losses are growing most rapidly. There are, however, some outstanding efforts being made to reverse these trends. Bangladesh's investment of more than $10 billion in the past 35 years in disaster risk reduction has resulted in lower disaster losses. It is one of only a handful of countries in the region to have done so. China is another, with its 2011-2015 Comprehensive Disaster Prevention and Reduction Plan which aim to reduce disaster losses annually to less than 1.5 per cent GDP through investment measures across government sectors. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand have shown that well-targeted social protection measures are not only affordable but that they also reduce vulnerability to a great extent. Innovative technologies in information, communication and space-based applications have been put to good use by several countries to fill critical gaps in the information supply chain. This report demonstrates that countries increasingly embrace the view that minimizing disaster risk is essential for achieving sustainable development. Many have started to take action-building the resilience of people and communities. One of the key Rio+20 outcomes is stronger political commitment and recognition that disaster risk reduction and building resilience need to be addressed with a "renewed sense of urgency in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication". The disasters of the past two years have defined the consequences of failing to fully apply the combined tenets of disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.-it is now time to act. We are pleased, therefore, to present the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2012: Reducing Vulnerability and Exposure to Disasters, to the ministers, policymakers and other participants at the Fifth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. We believe these findings will prove useful in the pursuit of sustainable development and in the implementation of future disaster risk reduction agendas. Our organizations, and those other dedicated partners with whom we work, look forward to joining you in making a safer and continuously prosperous Asia-Pacific region.
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