International recovery forum 2012: regional cooperation for resilient recovery

Overview

Large scale natural disasters often overwhelm the capacity of governments, not only for effective response but for long term recovery and reconstruction as well. Recent experiences such as the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, the Haiti Earthquake of January 12, 2010, and the flooding in Pakistan clearly illustrate the need for surge capacity and ex-ante planning in disaster response and recovery. This gap could be addressed through further strengthening of regional cooperation for recovery and reconstruction. Such a mechanism can contribute to reinforcing regional integration, sharing of experiences and transfer of expertise, setting and promoting best practices, defining strategies and action plans, joint implementation of projects on recovery, and strengthening the capacities of regional, national and local authorities. Some of these actions are more efficient ex-ante rather than ex-post.

Mandated to address gaps in recovery, the International Recovery Forum 2012 aims to explore mechanisms for regional cooperation for promoting resilient recovery and reconstruction. The Forum will aim to

• Share experiences and lessons from recent recovery operations especially East Japan
• Discuss lessons from regional cooperation initiatives in the context of disaster recovery and reconstruction, with specific reference to
- Knowledge management mechanisms
- Ex-ante capacity building for recovery planning
- Technology transfer for early warning, mitigation, preparedness, response

Expected Outputs

The Forum 2012 will produce:

•  Components of a Regional Cooperation Framework for resilient recovery and identification of success factors thereof
•  Recommendations for strengthening capacities of regional IGOs and other regional bodies to better address the needs of disaster prone countries for resilient recovery
•  Recommendations for greater sharing of recovery planning knowledge and experiences amongst the IGOs through a global networking mechanism, as well as between IGOs and national and local governments
•  Forum Summary (containing lessons from recent recovery operations, to be presented at the International Conference on Large Scale Disasters proposed for July 2012 in Japan)

Day 2 programme includes:

Special Report and Regional Mechanisms for DRR in Asia

- Recovery Initiatives from the Great East Japan Earthquake
- Regional Cooperation for Great East Japan Earthquake Recovery
- Thailand Floods of 2011: Response and Plan for Recovery