(From left:) Mayor Alfredo Arquillano, Philippines, Josephine Castillo, Philippines, Mami Mizutori, Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Enkhtuvshin Ulziisaikhan, Deputy Prime Minister, Mongolia, Willem Rampangilei, Chief, Ministry of the National Disaster Management Authority, Indonesia, Otgonbayar Baljin, Mongolia, Deicy Wenas, Indonesia, and Whitely Tasaruru, Vanuatu.
By Patrick Fuller
ULAANBAATAR, 6 July, 2018 - Five local leaders from across Asia and the Pacific have been recognised for their inspirational work in driving disaster risk reduction in their communities.
They were presented with awards at an event last night organised by the Asian Local Leaders Forum for Disaster Resilience (ALL4DR) at the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction.
ALL4DR was established at the 2016 AMCDRR in New Delhi as a collaboration between the United Nations Agency for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADDRN), a civil society network of grass roots organisations from across Asia Pacific.
It promotes dialogue around DRR issues between national and local leaders, who include provincial chiefs, mayors, leaders from small and medium enterprises, civil society organizations, and citizen volunteers - particularly youth and women leaders.
“By bringing up the voices of local people we felt we could make an impact at national level. We want something like the Forbes top 100 of local leaders, to showcase the outstanding work they do in developing disaster resilience within their communities,” said Manu Gupta, representing the ADDRN.
Whitely Tasaruru, Chairman of the Nguna-Pele Marine and Land Protected Area Network in Vanuatu, was one of the award recipients. A lifetime environmentalist Whitely took a lead role in leading community efforts to recover in the wake of Cyclone Pam which devastated the Pacific island nation in 2015. He coordinated emergency relief efforts but also worked with local people to replant coral reefs and establish conservation areas.
“I didn’t realise it at the time, but what I was doing was ecosystem-based DRR,” explained Whitely. “People were suffering as they had lost their way of life and after the cyclone came drought. I helped to introduce new farming techniques for drought and salty land. Solutions lie with local people, local knowledge, local action and local and global partnership.”
Josephine Castillo from the Philippines, a founding leader of DAMPA - a federation of 235 community-based organisations across the Philippines - also received an award. She was recognised for her role following Typhoon Haiyan when she set up a consortium in Leyte, one of the worst affected provinces, to address women’s recovery and construction concerns. Josephine highlighted the importance of community action networks.