UN convenes high-level officials and experts to strengthen region’s resilience against looming disaster emergencies

Nowhere is the escalating threat of climate change-induced disasters greater than in Asia and the Pacific. The impact and magnitude of disasters, over the past decade, indicate that climate change is making natural hazards even more frequent and intense, with floods, tropical cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and earthquakes resulting in tragic losses of life, displaced communities, damaged people’s health and  millions pushed into poverty.

Against this backdrop, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) will convene senior government officials, top experts and key stakeholders to explore transformative adaptation policies and actions needed as well as to develop a regional strategy on Early Warnings for All, aligned with global and country-level initiatives.

The fourth ESCAP Disaster Resilience Week will take place from 24 to 27 July at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok. The various workshops, expert meetings and events held throughout the week will enrich the deliberations of the Eighth Session of the ESCAP Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction – the key platform for regional dialogue and intergovernmental collaboration on disaster risk reduction – which convenes from 25 to 27 July.

The Week will also feature the launch of the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2023 and the launch of the second generation of the ESCAP Risk and Resilience Portal, an online interactive knowledge portal to support disaster and climate risk-informed policymaking.