Disaster risk management was under the spotlight at a recent UPU seminar in Bangkok, Thailand.
The two-day event brought together some 50 participants from UPU member countries in Asia-Pacific, along with other experts, to share knowledge and best practices.
In Asia-Pacific, the world’s most disaster-prone area, approximately 500,000 people died as a result of 1,625 reported natural disasters during the 2005-2014 period alone, according to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
With the number and intensity of major disasters rising in recent years, Posts continue to deliver crucial services during times of crisis, said UPU Director General Bishar A. Hussein in a statement read on his behalf at the seminar.
The UPU recorded 45 emergency interruptions of service between October 2013 and December 2015 alone, including 19 caused by floods, 13 by winter storms, and five by hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons.
“Some examples emerging from these events have shown that the Post can be a key player in disaster response, for example by serving as a distribution point for emergency supplies and money transfers in the affected areas, and by providing a basic means of communication when no other system is available,” said Hussein.
Sharing expertise
That was why resilience of the network was important. Among the participants were officials from Thailand’s interior ministry responsible for disaster prevention and mitigation, who shared their expertise.
Participants also included specialists from bodies such as the World Meteorological Organization and ESCAP.
“Building resilience is not a choice, but a collective imperative,” said Sanjay Srivastava, chief of disaster risk reduction at ESCAP, which is based in Bangkok.
Mitigating risks
Countries that presented their experiences dealing with natural disasters included Thailand, Samoa, Japan, Nepal, and the United States. “It is critically important for us to work together to ensure the resilience of our sector and its ability to continue to serve its customers, in spite of natural disasters,” said Patrick Mendonca of USPS, chair of the UPU’s ad hoc group on disaster risk management.
At the seminar, the UPU introduced the first draft of a guide designed to help postal operators manage the risk of disaster in their own countries. This was accompanied by a “table-top exercise” involving scenarios of various natural disasters, such as typhoons, and discussions on critical activities specifically for preparedness, response, and recovery of postal operations.
High costs
Apart from major natural disasters, low- and middle-income countries are experiencing increased mortality and economic losses due to smaller but recurring incidents, according to the UN’s 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Known as “extensive risks” – examples include localized floods – these events tend to affect poor people in rural areas and in the margins of cities.
The effects of those losses are often invisible and the costs underestimated, since they are absorbed by low-income people, said the report.
And yet, those risks account for the greater part of disaster-related cases of mortality and displacement.
Economic losses owing to such risks over the past decade in 85 countries or territories amounted to 94 billion USD, according to the report, released in March 2015.
Support from Japan
Resources for the UPU’s disaster risk management activities come from Japan.
“Building disaster-resilient postal services at the global scale through DRM projects matches the spirit of the UPU,” said Hiroshi Nakayama, director of the international affairs office at the Japanese internal affairs and communication ministry. “This is the reason why Japan intends to continue its contribution in this field for the next UPU cycle.”