Part III
Coordination Activities in the Field
| Requirements | 448,855 | ||
| Income from Voluntary Contributions1 | 193,000 | ||
| EXPENDITURE | |||
| Staff Costs | 274,929 | ||
| Consultant Fees and Travel | – | ||
| Travel | 17,593 | ||
| Operating Expenses | 9,918 | ||
| Contractual Services | 544 | ||
| Supplies, Materials, Furniture and Equipment | 4,307 | ||
| Fellowships, Grants and Contributions | 2,400 | ||
| Programme Support Costs | 40,259 | ||
| Total Expenditure (US$) | 349,950 | ||
| 1 Includes allocations from the Field Coordination Reserve Fund of US$ 93,000 | |||
Since its establishment in 2000, the Regional Disaster Response Adviser (RDRA) for Asia in Kobe, Japan, has provided support with disaster response and preparedness to RCs, UNDMTs and governments in East and Southeast Asia. Responding to the need for a more robust regional mechanism, the RDRA for Asia function was moved to the OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RO-AP) in Bangkok at the end of 2006. Consolidating OCHA’s capacity will ensure greater flexibility and more efficient use of resources in the region.
During 2006, the RDRA for Asia remained an integral part of the OCHA regional team, reporting directly to RO-AP. The RDRA’s office in Kobe focused primarily on East Asia (China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Mongolia) and Southeast Asia (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Timor-Leste). In cooperation with the OCHA Regional Office, the RDRA for Asia responded to natural disasters including landslides in the Philippines, the Mt Merapi volcanic eruption in Indonesia and the Yogyakarta earthquake in Indonesia.
The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) was established as the global strategy for disaster risk reduction at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe in 2005. The RDRA for Asia was designated as the focal point to follow up on implementation of the HFA in the region, and many activities in 2006 were undertaken as part of this responsibility.
In February the RDRA was deployed as part of the UNDAC mission in response to landslides in the Philippines. At the time of the Yogyakarta earthquake in May, it was involved with the coordination of relief assistance following the Mt Merapi volcano eruption. It was redeployed immediately and worked alongside the UNDAC team in the role of Deputy United Nations Area HC, coordinating emergency response efforts over four months.
As the regional focal point for following up on the implementation of the HFA, the RDRA for Asia conducted a range of advocacy activities. It initiated meetings during the course of the year with government officials, NGOs and donors to discuss ways forward in countries including Indonesia, Japan and Singapore. Steps were taken to formalize legal preparedness for effective disaster response, with events in Indonesia and Japan organized in conjunction with the Red Cross Movement. The RDRA facilitated a symposium on ‘Community-Based Disaster Management’ in Jakarta in April, in which participants developed a common framework to encourage community-based approaches to the HFA.
The RDRA and the Head of OCHA RO-AP worked together as focal points for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM). In September the RDRA facilitated the ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Simulation Exercise (ARDEX-06) in Cambodia. The event included a series of disaster simulation events and involved more than 2,000 participants from throughout the region. Partnerships with the private sector were set up, such as the DHL Disaster Response Team for Asia and the Pacific which was established in 2006 alongside the UNDAC system and the Asia-Pacific Humanitarian Partnership. The RDRA provided training to DHL personnel on practical aspects of relief supply transportation.