RISK REDUCTION. Japan Vice Minister for Policy Coordination Hara Hiroaki speaks during the plenary session on practical solutions to enhance disaster risk reduction finance at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in Pasay City on Tuesday (Oct. 15, 2024). Hara shared how the billions of dollars Japan invested to accelerate disaster risk reduction in the country have reaped fruits. (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)
MANILA – Japan is a testament that funding disaster resilience can save a country billions in financial losses.
In a plenary session at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) on Tuesday, Japan Vice Minister for Policy Coordination Hara Hiroaki shared how the billions of dollars it invested to accelerate disaster risk reduction in the country has reaped fruits.
In 2019, Japan was struck by Super Typhoon Hagibis, which left about USD15 billion in economic losses across the country.
However, before the disaster, Japan had already been funding a three-year USD50 billion national resiliency plan, which focused on reducing the risk of flooding caused by the rise in river levels, among others.
Another initiative was the USD1 billion integrated flood management project for the Abukuma River in Fukushima.
“The Abukuma River in Fukushima Prefecture underwent extensive reinforcement against flood with the budget of USD1 billion under a three-year plan,” Hara said.
“Without these mitigation measures, it is estimated that the financial loss from the typhoon would have been 5.4 times of (the) investment.”
After the successful implementation of the 2018-2020 plan, Japan introduced another five-year USD100 billion plan in 2021 to sustain its efforts against the severe disasters and floods that had been increasing in intensity over the years, he said.
The new resiliency plan covers ongoing seismic reinforcement of public buildings and bridges, maintenance of transportation networks, flood hazard mapping, land development regulation in high-risk areas, and digitalization of evacuation guides, among others.
On top of public funding, Hara said, investments from the private sector had been crucial in preparing communities against the impacts of natural disasters.
In Japan, he said, corporations prepare their own business continuity plans while retail stores and logistic companies have cooperation agreements with the government for procuring and transporting relief goods in case of disasters.
The Japanese government, he said, could also tap corporate developers to install rainwater reserve facilities and emergency stock warehouses to ensure preparedness in public places.
Hara noted that determined to avoid huge post-disaster budget spending and lengthy reconstruction efforts, Japan continues to seek innovation in the effective use of private capital and partnership in DRR.
In the same session, Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said he "supports the thesis that disaster risk reduction financing presents a significant opportunity to safeguard lives and livelihood.”
“On behalf of the business community, let me state that disaster risk should be incorporated in enterprise risk management and business continuity practices,” he said.
“Further, DRR should be embedded in corporate strategy and the whole capital allocation process.”
The first plenary of the week-long APMCDRR focused on practical solutions to enhancing DRR finance and highlighted the importance of innovative financial mechanisms, frameworks, and partnerships.
Also serving as panelists were Asian Development Bank president and chairman of the Board Masatsugu Asakawa, Tonga Ministry of Finance and National Planning head Kilistina Tuaimeiapi, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat deputy secretary-general for strategic policy and programming Esala Nayasi. (PNA)
