Global Disaster Prevention Research Suitable for Southeast Asian Regions

Global Disaster Prevention Research Suitable for Southeast Asian Regions

The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University
YAMAMOTO, Hiroyuki and NISHI, Yoshimi　Disaster Prevention Group

The “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030” was adopted at the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (2015). Emphasizing (1) setting disaster reduction targets on a global level, (2) better recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, and (3) the role of diverse stakeholders, efforts based on this framework have begun in countries around the world, marking the beginning of global disaster reduction efforts. In Southeast Asia, regional disaster reduction cooperation is proceeding under the ASEAN organization. However, if efficiency and equality in disaster reduction are pursued excessively, responses to disasters traditionally found in each regional society may be hindered. Because social structures also differ worldwide, the disaster reduction techniques and systems of Japan, an advanced country in terms of disaster-reduction efforts, may not take hold when applied to other regions as-is. In this research group, researchers and experts concerned about disaster reduction response in Southeast Asian countries share the challenges and experiences of different local disaster reduction responses by visiting one another’s locality in Japan and Southeast Asian countries. We also discuss the direction of global disaster reduction policies based on regional characteristics through understanding the development of disaster reduction response systems in Southeast Asian countries and regions and examining the interactions between local and global response methods and systems.

In the 2016 academic year, Indonesia (which experiences earthquakes and tsunamis), the Philippines (typhoons), and Malaysia (flooding) were raised as places to survey disaster reduction responses (places for mutual onsite visits). A total of six researchers from these countries visited areas damaged by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes and conducted field surveys Researchers from Japan, the Philippines, and Malaysia also visited Aceh province, Indonesia, the area damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. They conducted a joint field survey with local researchers and experts and exchanged views.