ASEAN Statement on Flood Prevention Initiated by Thailand

(18/11/2011)

ASEAN leaders have adopted a statement on cooperation in flood prevention, mitigation, relief, recovery, and rehabilitation, initiated by Thailand, which is among several flood-hit countries in the region. The statement was issued on 17 November 2011 at the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra represented Thailand at the meeting. According to the statement, ASEAN leaders expressed deep sympathy and condolences to ASEAN member states that have been affected by massive floods for the loss of life and damage to property. They emphasized the need to forge regional cooperation in the area of flood prevention, mitigation, relief, recovery, and rehabilitation as part of their efforts on disaster management, to better cope with increasingly unpredictable weather conditions, which may be attributable to climate change. The leaders of the 10-nation ASEAN agreed to further enhance cooperation in disaster risk management and mitigation. The member states would share best practices in this area and in management of water resources, with a view to alleviating floods that not only pose a threat to human lives, national and regional economies, and the well-being of ASEAN peoples, but also affect agricultural production and regional food security, as well as the regional and global industrial supply chain. They would also enhance cooperation in post-disaster relief, recovery, and rehabilitation, and improve the effectiveness of coordination of such efforts. In this connection, the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management was entrusted with looking at how ASEAN could better ordinate and prepare for flood disasters and make recommendations on possible areas of cooperation in flood prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, and rehabilitation within ASEAN and between ASEAN and its partners in terms of expertise and resources. Prime Minister Yingluck said that ASEAN leaders shared the view that preparedness is important for handling disasters. The next step is that ASEAN would discuss the establishment of a joint disaster management center. She revealed that the issue of weather conditions received great attention among ASEAN members, and that it was also linked with the current flooding situation in Thailand. All ASEAN members commended Thailand for its role in proposing this issue that led to the ASEAN statement on cooperation in flood prevention, mitigation, relief, recovery, and rehabilitation. The Prime Minister said that, during her trip to the ASEAN Summit, she had explained to foreign investors that Thailand’s management of the flooding crisis in the country was entering the restoration and recovery period. She believed that most investors now had better understanding about the situation, as several ASEAN countries, such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, also faced flooding.