Jan Egeland's lecture on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and panel discussion
Jan Egeland, deputy executive director of Human Rights Watch and director of its European operations, will give a lecture on the importance of being proactive in disaster prevention and preparedness and climate change adaptation. His lecture will raise questions related to the interconnectedness between a changing climate and reducing risks associated with natural disasters, and highlight the importance of weather and climate services. His lecture arrives at a time when governments from around the region are confronting ways in which they can reduce disaster impacts and make societies more resilient.
'Climate services are weakest in the places that need them most – climate-vulnerable developing countries. This situation is unacceptable and unjust,' Mr Egeland explained.
The impacts of natural disasters associated with climate change leave thousands displaced and are often the root of humanitarian crises throughout South and Southeast Asia. In response to the region’s changing climate and natural disasters that accompany it, international development partners are working together to make communities in urban and rural areas more resilient. Seven of the ten most populous cities are located in South and Southeast Asia, and by 2030, they are expected to double their population from 1.36 to 2.64 billion (source: UNFPA). With this fact in mind, it is vital to understand how to adapt to climate changes, and how to be better prepared for natural disasters, including a rising sea level.
Mr. Egeland elaborated, 'The time has come for setting up a global system for providing climate services and applying them in decision making at every level of society. Putting this system in place is very much within reach, but will require unprecedented collaboration across political, functional and disciplinary boundaries, and a global mobilisation of effort.'
As Guest Lecture, Mr. Egeland will expose his perspectives on the challenges related to disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and humanitarian responses. He will draw upon his wide and unique global experiences, which range from organizing the international response to the Asian Tsunami to the humanitarian crises in Dafur and Lebanon.
The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center will facilitate a panel discussion with scholars and professionals from around the region on these pressing issues after Mr. Egelang’s lecture.