Nghe An(VNA) – Natural disaster management activities should be implemented in parallelwith ensuring sustainable growth, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)will not be completed without the successful prevention of calamities, APECsenior officials have noted.

As part of discussionswithin the 11th APEC Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum(SDMOF 11)that is being held inthe central province of Nghe An, APEC officials emphasised that economic growthmust not bring about new risks. They concurred that new tools and trainingcourses should be designed for the community to recognise and prevent therisks.

At the same time, it isnecessary to prioritise resources for mitigating disasters, while strengtheningpublic preparedness for natural disasters and encouraging the engagement ofbusineses and the partnership between the private and public sectors in thefield. The collaboration among technology and science research institutes,investors and the community is also important, they said.

Representatives fromthe United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam highlighted the need fordeveloping supporting tools as well as advanced science and technology indisaster management, especially in forecasting and early warning.

According to the UNISDRrepresentative, problems related to water account for 90 percent of totaldisaster losses, therefore, it is crucial to seek new methods to minimisewater-related disasters.

Officials from the APECmember economies also shared expertise in developing high technologyinfrastructure system as well as the application of advanced technology andscience in dealing with new normal disasters.

They proposed reforminginformation supply and alert methods, while stressing the important role ofmanagement agencies in directing disaster response and recovery.

At the two-day forum,APEC officials are scheduled to issue a JointRecommendation on Renovating Science and Technology Cooperation to deal withnew normal disasters, with focus on addressing landslides in coastal areas,super storms and tsunami, which will be submitted to APEC leaders later thisyear.

Established in 1989, APECcomprises 21 economies, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, HongKong (China), Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, NewZealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, ChineseTaipei, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

The APEC member economiesaccount for 39 percent of the world population, 57 percent of the world GDP and47 percent of the global trade.-VNA