Speech by A/P Koo Tsai Kee, Minister of State for Defence, at Humanitarian Partnership and Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery Workshop 2009

Distinguished Co-Chairs, Assistant Secretary-General Catherine Bragg,Assistant Director General Jamie Isbister,BG Tung Yui Fai,Distinguished Participants,Good morning,To all our guests from overseas, a warm welcome to Singapore.

Impact of the global financial crisisThis workshop is being held at a particularly challenging time for the international community. Many countries have been hit hard by the global financial crisis. In Singapore, for example, our economy contracted by 6.5 percent in the first half of this year. In the US, the unemployment rate hit 9.5% in June, the highest in 26 years. Although the global economic situation appears to have stabilised somewhat in the recent months, the outlook for the next few years remains uncertain. We are not out of the woods yet. For the less-resourced and more vulnerable countries, many of which were already hard pressed to ensure adequate resourcing for disaster management efforts, the global economic crisis has compounded the numerous challenges that they face Increasing Incidence and Severity of DisastersAgainst this economic backdrop, we have a landscape where the demand for humanitarian assistance as a result of natural disasters is likely to grow quite dramatically.

Scientists have warned that climate change will increase the incidence and severity of natural disasters. We can expect to see - in fact, we are already seeing - more severe floods, cyclones, droughts, wildfires, and other disasters each year, affecting and displacing more people than before. This is particularly worrying as rapid urbanisation leads to ever more people being compressed into smaller geographical areas. Densely populated areas that have been haphazardly developed, and lacking adequate infrastructure and essential public services, will be especially hard hit by disasters. Asia, which is home to some of the world's most populous as well as most vulnerable countries, is likely to continue to be the region worst afflicted by natural disasters. The largest number of disasters occurred in Asia last year. So did some of the most severe disasters. Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar last May, was estimated to have claimed some 140,000 lives, while the earthquake that struck Sichuan province in China in the same month was estimated to have killed around 90,000 people.

Taking into account the people displaced and the effect on livelihoods, the number of people affected by both these disasters run into the millions. Most recently, we saw how Typhoon Morakot has affected communities across China, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan, unleashing floods and landslides, leaving scores dead and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Challenges in Disaster ManagementWhat these disasters have demonstrated time and again is that it is often difficult for a country hit by a natural disaster, no matter how large and well-endowed, to muster an independent, effective relief effort to respond speedily and completely to the needs of the victims. In many cases, comprehensive assessment of the scale of the damage and the needs of disaster victims as well as the delivery of much needed aid are hindered by the lack of communications, logistical constraints and damaged infrastructure. Effective coordination between the many diverse parties involved in disaster relief efforts can also be extremely challenging. Civilian and military agencies from many countries, international aid agencies and NGOs, all with different working cultures and practices, are thrown together at short notice following a disaster. It is not always easy to avoid a duplication of efforts, unnecessary competition, gaps in responses, or worse, parties working at cross-purposes.

Another challenge is the lack of preparedness. In some cases, comprehensive disaster preparedness plans and SOPs between local, national, and international actors were not drawn up and regularly exercised. Authorities and local communities are then left reeling when a disaster strikes. And as national authorities struggle to coordinate a response, international responders and relief supplies arriving on scene may not be speedily directed to areas where they are needed most. The impact of natural disasters can be significantly mitigated if authorities and communities in disaster-struck areas as well as international responders are well-prepared so that smooth, rapid and integrated relief efforts can be carried out.

Even when the immediate relief phase is over, the recovery phase to restore the lives of the affected communities to status quo or better presents its own host of challenges. A clear, overarching recovery and re-construction strategy based on the needs and priorities of the affected communities is sometimes lacking. Close coordination between local and national authorities, donors, international aid agencies and NGOs also remains a challenge. Where such challenges are not overcome, efficient recovery efforts are impeded, resulting in the less than ideal use of valuable resources. As international attention on a disaster fades, progress in recovery efforts also slows down, with some communities left in limbo years after the disaster struck. Building a Culture of Strong PartnershipsThese are just some of the many challenges in disaster management. To overcome these and other challenges, a humanitarian culture that emphasises strong multi-stakeholder and multi-level partnerships between the many groups of stakeholders in disaster management is essential. From local authorities and communities to national governments, from regional players like ASEAN to global players like the UN, and from NGOs to the private sector. Only through pooling together the experience, ideas and resources of all these stakeholders can coherent and comprehensive disaster management strategies emerge.

While it is widely accepted, this notion of having strong multi-stakeholder partnerships at the local, national, regional and global levels is less easily achieved in practice. There appears to be many obstacles to be overcome before such a culture can become a reality. I cited some of these obstacles earlier. Others include a lack of appreciation for the need to work with local actors and to understand local needs and conditions, competing mandates and constituencies, and a lack of trust between different actors.

How can these obstacles be overcome? Clearly, all stakeholders involved in disaster management already share a fundamental interest - in saving lives. The challenge is to build upon this shared interest to strengthen the partnerships between all the stakeholders.

One way in which this could be done is through the articulation of clear principles on which partnerships between stakeholders at various levels can be based. UN and non-UN humanitarian organisations participating in the Global Humanitarian Platform or GHP, for instance, have drafted "Principles of Partnerships" for GHP participants. The World Economic Forum and OCHA have also devised "Guiding Principles for Public-Private Collaboration for Humanitarian Action", following a process of consultations between the humanitarian community, the UN and other international organisations, NGOs and the private sector. At last year's Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of Asia-Pacific as well as some European security ministers, the participating Ministers had a robust discussion on the issues surrounding the offering and receiving of humanitarian assistance. As it just so happened, the Dialogue was held in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. The Ministers were able to agree on a set of principles to guide affected countries, and those countries and international organisations offering assistance, on the modalities of the provision of assistance. Over time, as more and more such principles are articulated, with the principles reinforcing each other and forming a tightly interwoven web, a culture of strong multi-stakeholder and multi-level partnerships would be entrenched.

Equally important is the building up of trust and familiarity between different stakeholders, so that the principles articulated can be put into effect. We want to ensure that in the event of a disaster the stakeholders are comfortable with one another's working cultures, practices and interests. Robust people-to-people networks based on trust and familiarity have proven valuable in fostering strong partnerships between stakeholders across the spectrum of disaster management. Let me illustrate with the Singapore Armed Forces' experience in Aceh during the Tsunami relief efforts of 2004 and 2005. A critical factor that enabled the SAF to contribute smoothly and meaningfully to the relief effort in Aceh was our ability to work closely with the personnel of the Indonesian Armed Forces, the TNI, who were overseeing relief efforts on the ground. Many of our soldiers spoke Bahasa and had attended training courses in Indonesia. A number of our officers found themselves working closely with former classmates from the TNI. Our people-to-people networks enabled us to establish an instant foundation of trust that helped both sides work effectively together during the relief efforts. Such trust and rapport cannot be created overnight. They have to be slowly built up through regular interactions.

Conclusion

Initiatives like this workshop are most useful for building up trust and familiarity between stakeholders. This is an opportunity to get to know one another and discuss a wide range of issues relating to disaster preparedness, response and recovery. We hope that this workshop will provide a platform for a robust exchange of views, the sharing of best practices and for the building and strengthening of partnerships to overcome challenges relating to disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

Singapore is pleased to be able to co-host this workshop with OCHA and Australia. As a small country with limited resources, we seek to contribute in meaningful ways to the efforts of the international community in disaster management. I wish you a fruitful workshop ahead.

Thank you.