International Academic Seminar on
“Disaster Management: International Community Cooperation in Dealing with the Challenges and the Consequences of Water Crisis”
17 – 20 June, 2012
Sofitel Centara Grand Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
Currently and like never before, many regions all around the world have to face the worst natural disasters which cannot be handled by one government or country alone. To be able to properly handle the management of these disasters there is a great need to organize a joint effort on the national, regional, and global levels. The region of Southeast Asia is especially prone to be hit by such natural disasters like earthquakes and flooding, as seen in 2006 and 2011 in Thailand. Therefore the National Defence Studies Institute of the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters organized the International Academic Seminar on the topic of “Disaster Management: International Community Cooperation in Dealing with the Challenges and the Consequences of Water Crisis” from the 17th to the 20th of June, 2012. For four days approximately 240 participants, ranging from foreign embassy personnel, defence attachés, government agencies etc., from 20 different countries, came together in the Sofitel Centara Grand Hotel in Bangkok to have a lively exchange about natural disaster and how to cope with its consequences.
The participants arrived on the evening of Sunday 17th June, 2012 and were welcomed by the Commanding General of NDSI, Padetgarn Jansaewoke.
On Monday 18th, June 2012 around 09.00 am the opening ceremony began with a welcoming statement by Major General Wasu Fuangsumruat and opening remarks by General Padetgarn Jansaewoke. Following, the first speaker of the day, Mr. Markus Werne, Deputy Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, gave his keynote address on the topic “A New Model for Humanitarian Response?”. His three major points on how and in which order support for emergencies in case of natural disaster should be organized were: There should be national support first; secondly, bilateral assistance will be used more widely; and, when needed, there should be multilateral support. Furthermore, Mr. Werne’s conclusions were that the need for humanitarian action will not decrease and will be no longer the preserve of a few privileged western states. Regional capacities are growing and this is changing the traditional model of international assistance. Hence, the new model must acknowledge national centers of gravity and the point of focus is better prepared national governments. Another point of his keynote address, and a recurring topic during the whole seminar, was the involvement of the military in disaster management. According to Mr. Werne, the military should not be a first responder to natural disaster, as it is the government’s primary responsible. This and other questions were discussed when the floor was opened for Q & A the end of Mr. Werne’s presentation.
After a coffee and snack break the first session resumed with Colonel Jonas T. Suizo, current Chief of Operations Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Command Centre, giving a presentation on “AFP Role in Disaster Risk Reduction Management”. He talked about how the Legislation through the Republic Act 10121 has strengthened the disaster risk reduction management system, institutionalizing a national plan for preparedness, prevention and mitigation, response, and rehabilitation and appropriating funding. Furthermore Colonel Suizo stated that the AFP are the first responder to natural disaster in the Philippines. Predictable leadership, involving local authorities, support for the preparedness of civilian authorities in communications, early warning systems, and individual and family preparation through education, were some of the best practices and lessons learned from this session. The presentation was closed with another lively Q&A discussion, including shared experiences from an Indian disaster management specialist in Bihar.
Colonel Eisuke Kigami, Senior Research Fellow and Military Strategy Division, Policy Studies Department, NIDS Japan, opened the second session, after the lunch break with his presentation on “The Japan Self-Defense Forces & Large-scale / Unconventional Disasters”. Colonel Kigami summarized the performance of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Some of the lessons learned were that there is a need to conduct regular exercises; many local government units were paralyzed and there was a need to define JSDF role in such conditions; communication sometimes failed with private agencies in the field, which needs to be strengthened; information-sharing was sometimes limited by lack of common procedures for sharing information with local government; JSDF facilities were themselves affected by the disaster and need greater resistance; equipment failings included a lack of robots and UAVs to deal with the nuclear disaster and joint operations systems need to be strengthened with consideration given to suitability of outsourcing, e.g. catering to outside firms who may not be able to operate in a disaster.
The third session of the day was held by Mr. Andrew R. Benziger, Chief of Emergency Management US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Pacific Ocean Division. His presentations “Lessons Learned from US Armed Forces in Disaster Management: Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief” focused on what the USACE, as a learning organization, has learned regarding disaster management. Furthermore Mr. Benziger gave an overview of the “Mississippi River and Tributaries Project”, which was useful in mitigating 2011 riverine flooding in the USA. Among the lessons learned was the successful use of social media sites to provide reliable and timely information to the public. One of the questions answered in the following Q&As was that the USA uses the National Incident Management System for coordination and unified command when responding to disaster.
The day ended with a dinner party, hosted by the Chief of Joint Staff (RTArF) General Worapong Saganetra. Traditional Thai music and dances were presented and a few brave participants happily engaged in some dancing and karaoke singing.
On Tuesday 19th, June 2012, the third day of the seminar started with Mr. Sudhir Kumar, Project Manager, Safer Development Planning and Implementation, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), opening the fourth session presenting his topic “The Role of International Operations in Disaster Management : Post-disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery”. The major points on his agenda were government-led institutional set-up for rehabilitation and recovery; the need to build back better and safer; coordination is of strategic importance; integrity and accountability are key to building blocks of trust; environmental and historic preservation are important considerations in disaster recovery; people are at ‘the heart of the matter’ in recovery.
Probably one of the most anticipated presentations followed after a short lunch break. Dr. Tavida Kamolvej, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Political Science Faculty, Thammasat University, Thailand/Advisor to Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center talked very frankly in her presentation on “Politics of Disaster Management: Thailand Flood 2011” and the mistakes flood management that have been made. Some of her recommendations were: early warnings need sufficient information and effective procedures that utilize this information; culturally difficulties in evacuation need to be overcome; the safety culture in the Thai society needs to be improved; and political intervention that wasted resources and must be reduced.
After the lunch break two buses with interested conference members started, escorted by military police, for a field trip to Sai Mai District and the Sai Mai District office, where a presentation was held about how the district coped with last year’s severe flooding. Subsequently a canal and a sluice gate were visited.
The third day of the seminar ended with the participants returning to the Sofitel Centara Grand Hotel and having dinner.
On Wednesday 20th June, 2012, the last day of the seminar started with a summary talk given by General Padetgarn Jansaewoke. After a last coffee break the closing ceremony was held by General Worapong Sanganetra, Chief of Joint Staff, RTAF.
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