Welcoming the Declaration, the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, said: “Since the tragedy of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Asian leaders have met every two years to discuss action on reducing disaster losses in the region. There is a realisation that further improvement is dependent on two things, action at the community level combined with strong political leadership at the national level, and improved collection of data so we can tell if we are doing a good job or not in reducing disaster losses.

“The big picture is that the region is under increasing assault from extreme weather events and climate change. Earthquakes and tsunamis threaten heavily populated areas. It is estimated that 11.4 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes by disaster events last year. It is clear that it will be hard to eradicate poverty and eliminate hunger in parts of Asia if stronger action is not taken at local level to reduce disaster risk and ensure the protection of all sections of society particularly the poor.”

At the closing ceremony today, the Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Ms. Concetta Fierravanti-Wells announced that the Government of Australia will host the next Asian Ministerial Conference in Australia in 2020.

For live updates on Twitter follow @UNISDR #AMCDRR2018

For further information and to arrange interviews contact;

Denis McClean, Chief Communications, UNISDR.

Email: mccleand@un.org Tel: +41 794445262

Patrick Fuller, Communications Consultant, UNISDR

Email: pfuller1@gmail.com Tel: 86510441

Date:

6 Jul 2018

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNISDR AP)

Countries:

Australia, Mongolia

Regions:

Asia, Oceania