Mitigating Natural Disasters, Promoting Development: The Sendai Dialogue and Disaster Risk Management in Asia
The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 (3/11) had both immediate and long-term consequences. Over 20,000 people lost their lives in the triple disaster, hundreds of thousands were displaced and the economic costs were the highest ever to result from a natural disaster. Since the disaster, however, both Japan and the international community have sought to learn from this tragedy by drawing lessons for preventing, responding to, and rebuilding after natural disasters. Specifically, the Government of Japan and the World Bank launched the Sendai Dialogue in October 2012 as a way to re-conceptualize the role of disaster risk management (DRM) in development strategies, emphasizing the importance of building resilience against natural disasters.
On May 10, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies and the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement co-hosted a discussion featuring experts on natural disasters and disaster risk management from the United States and Asia. Panelists representing the private, public, and international sectors sought to refine some of the topics considered at the Sendai Dialogue. They identified the lessons learned from 3/11; how these lessons can be applied to overseas economic assistance programs, focusing on DRM; the specific challenges of disaster risk management among Asian countries; and how DRM can be integrated and mainstreamed into development assistance across different platforms.
Agenda
Panel 2: Challenges of Disaster Risk Management in Asia and the Transferability of Japan’s Best Practices
James Fleming
Asia, Latin America, and Europe Division Director, Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance - USAID
Megumi Muto
Deputy Director General, Southeast Asia and Pacific Department - JICA
Rebecca Scheurer
Director, Red Cross/Red Crescent Global Disaster Preparedness Center - American Red Cross/IFRC
Introduction
Mireya Solís
Director - Center for East Asia Policy Studies
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies
Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies
Panel 1: Lessons from 3/11
Earthquake and Tsunami Countermeasures in Japan by Yoshiaki Kawata
Japan’s Response to 3/11: Eight Lessons for Disaster Risk Management by Leo Bosner
Lessons Learnt from Japanese Red Cross Response to 3/11 by Naoki Shiratsuchi
The Fukushima Nuclear Accident: A Social Science Perspectiveby Daniel Aldrich
Daniel Aldrich
Fulbright Research Professor, University of Tokyo - Associate Professor, Purdue University
Leo Bosner
Fellow - International Institute of Global Resilience
Yoshiaki Kawata
Professor, Faculty of Safety Science - Kansai University
Randy Martin
Director for Partnership Development, East Asia - Mercy Corps
Naoki Shiratsuchi
Director, National Disaster Management Division - Japanese Red Cross Society
Lunch Address
Nancy Lindborg
President and CEO - The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
Former President - United States Institute of Peace
Panel 3: Strategies for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in Development Assistance
Donor Perspectives: Building Disaster Resilience in DFID by Stewart James
Enterprise Resilience Rated Loan Program: Growth & Resilience by Yoshiki Hiruma
Mainstreaming DRM in Development Assistance by Francis Ghesquiere
Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development in UNDP by Angelika Planitz
Mireya Solís
Director - Center for East Asia Policy Studies
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies
Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies
Francis Ghesquiere
Head, GFDRR Secretariat; Manager, DRM Practice Group - World Bank
Yoshiki Hiruma
Director, Enterprise Resilience Rated Loan Program - Development Bank of Japan, Inc.
Hiroshi Minami
Deputy Director General for Global Issues - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)
Angelika Planitz
Advisor, Disasters & Governance, Disaster Risk Reduction Team, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery - UNDP
Stewart James
Alternate Executive Director for the United Kingdom - World Bank
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