Tuesday, May 19, 2009

UN, World Bank pledge SE Asia disaster cooperation

Terra Daily, via Agence France-Presse: The United Nations and the World Bank pledged Monday closer coordination with Southeast Asia in tackling the rising threat of natural disasters in the heavily-populated region. The World Bank and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction signed the agreement for technical assistance to help the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) implement a joint strategy to deal with disasters and the effects of climate change, a statement said.

"With 570 million people in the region, it is time for us to be better prepared for future disasters by empowering ourselves with better techniques and coordinating mechanisms involving the governments and civil societies of ASEAN," ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said in the statement. The association has been criticised for a lacklustre response to disasters in the region, which experiences frequent earthquakes, storms and volcanic eruptions and is expected to be hard-hit by rising sea levels and wild weather caused by climate change…..

A typhoon in Taipei in 2005, shot by  Alton.arts , Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

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