The importance of the Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (the Alliance) is underlined by the frequency of severe national disasters in the Asia Pacific region and the necessity of closer trans-national cooperation in preparing for and responding to such large-scale disasters. An audience of over 100 attended the first Asia Pacific Alliance symposium in Tokyo, Japan, with the hope that this new mechanism would play a role in promoting closer regional cooperation and collaboration—as noted by Mr. Nobutaka Murao, a former Budget Examiner at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and news presenter of News Zero (a renowned Japanese news programme), ‘the European Union (EU), the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, traces its origin from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Just like the EU, the establishment of the Alliance has the potential to create a more harmonized Asia—perhaps, a future “Asian Union”…’.

An initiative taken by five founding member countries

‘The Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management is a trans-national disaster aid alliance that will facilitate cooperation and understanding between governments, private companies and NGOs in the Asia Pacific region.’ ?was the opening remark made by Faisal Djalal, Chairperson of the Alliance.

Subsequent to the official announcement of its launch at the 5th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from 22-25 October, the Alliance highlighted the significance of the initiative taken by the civil and business sectors in the region to create an unprecedented trans-national disaster-aid mechanism.

Ms. Junko Chano, Executive Director of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, whose sincere support had been indispensable in conceptualising and realising the establishment of the Alliance, also emphasized the significance of the initiative, stating that ‘the key to the successful launch of the Alliance will be the concept of “empowerment”. For reconstruction and recovery following a large-scale disaster, the power of local people and volunteer workers is very important, and this new Alliance has the potential to empower and mobilize such human resources effectively. In this sense, this is the birth of a new disaster-aid mechanism which all the people in the region should celebrate.’

Following Ms. Chano’s speech, Mr. Kunio Umeda, Director-General of the International Cooperation Bureau from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintained that the role of coordinating bodies such as the Japan Platform and Civic Force in Japan in establishing this new mechanism should not be underestimated. ‘The launch of this new Alliance will be highly meaningful not only for disaster risk reduction and response, but also for social harmonisation across civil society in Asia’, he added. A great deal of respect for this new attempt was forthcoming from the business sector as well. Mr. Kazuyuki Kinbara, Director of the International Affairs Bureau from Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) applauded the Alliance, saying that ‘the intensive private-sector involvement proposed by the Alliance is an outstanding concept. I have great respect for this initiative taken by the Asian private sectors.’

The Alliance, as has been put by Kensuke Onishi, the CEO, is a new mechanism acting beyond preconceived ideas. Onishi argues that national platforms similar to the Japan Platform and Civic Force in other disaster-prone Asian countries would lead to the creation of an Asian-style “third-sector”, in which each sector, be it public, private or civil, would be able to maximize its strength and support the weaker areas of their partners. Furthermore, Onishi emphasized that the idea of this cross-sector collaboration could potentially be applied to problem-solving in the fields of social welfare and environment, not just in that of disaster management.

Towards a future ‘Asian Union’?

The speeches and presentation were followed by a panel discussion entitled ‘What can the Alliance deliver in the Asia Pacific Region?’. Facilitated by Mr. Murao, the panel (Faisal, Onishi, Chano, Nakamura, Yamaguchi) had a spirited discussion on the values and possible impacts of the Alliance.

At the beginning of the session, Mr. Murao provided a number of reasons why he had been paying considerable attention to the importance of the existence of the Japan Platform since his old days as a Budget Examiner at the MOF. He also stated, ‘Looking back, ECSC for resource sharing and utilisation was the origin of regional integration in Europe. I had been wondering what could function as a common ground for action in Asia, and after hearing the outline of the Alliance today, it occurred to me that this kind of initiative for disaster management could become an Asian version of ECSC which could in turn play a significant role in enhancing regional harmony in Asia’.

According to Prof. Dr. Nakamura of Osaka University, the trend of problem-solving in the world has begun to change. It is no longer a monopoly of major international organizations. Borderless networks between private companies, NGOs, local administrations and so forth can play an increasingly important role in the decision-making process, be it local or global. The Alliance is at the centre of this trend and will take a leadership role in establishing various mutual-help mechanisms in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Yamaguchi also manifested his expectations by saying that ‘I would like to promote the significance of this new mechanism and consider what we can do to support the Alliance concretely.

In the subsequent Q&A session, such questions as to ‘What kind of function is the Alliance going to have in a real disaster?’, ‘What kind of role will local administration play?’, and ‘How do national platforms other than the Japanese ones work?’, were raised under Mr. Murao’s facilitation.

‘The establishment of the Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management’, Mr. Murao stated, ‘can be compared with the origin of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates such as the Grameen Bank and the European Union.’ He mentioned that such unprecedented challenges were not always well-understood at the beginning, but would sometimes be able to change the course of the future. ‘This is not the end, but just the beginning’, he concluded.

Given the results of the symposium, the Alliance will continuously hold discussions and negotiations with member countries and associates, hoping that the establishment of this trans-national disaster-aid mechanism can deliver more efficient and effective disaster assistance to as many people as possible.