On 11^th September 2015, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, presided over the opening ceremony of the “Development Cooperation Seminar on Disaster Risk Reduction: Implementing the Sendai Framework for Resilient Development in Thailand”, which was co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and the United Nations in Thailand at Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok. The seminar aims to raise awareness of the importance of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR) concept into development policies, focus on Thailand’s exemplary in managing disaster risk and providing humanitarian assistance to many countries in the region as well as its early implementation of the Sendai Framework. There were over 100 participants from governmental organisations, development practitioners and NGOs, as well as a fair representation from the diplomatic corps in Bangkok attending the seminar,

            In his opening remarks, the Foreign Minister reaffirmed that DRR consists of the following elements: (1) preparation and the need to be able to assess, identify and prevent risks from occurring; (2) prevention of natural disaster, which comes in many forms, and educating the young generation about the need to conserve the environment and to instill a green mindset; and (3) raising awareness of the importance of community engagement in reducing risks and the involvement of all stakeholders.  He also asked the meeting to ponder on three questions: (1) how to mainstream DRR into development, (2) how to promote collaboration and partnerships among all stakeholders, and (3) how the UN system can coordinate among agencies to better respond to the needs of member states on enhancing DRR.

            On this occasion, Ms. Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG for DRR) delivered a keynote address stressing on the importance of managing disaster risk reduction, which manifests itself in various forms and whose work covers many aspects, especially health, the Sendai Framework, which are reflected in the new 2030 Development Agenda and the need for all stakeholders at all levels, from the local, national, regional and global levels, to implement the framework in order to achieve the overarching goal of reducing the loss of lives, improving people’s well –being and health. She also mentioned that managing climate change is managing disaster risks, pointing to the socio-economic and environmental impacts of climate change that can reverse development gains. Therefore, sustainable development by mainstreaming DRR into development is required.

            During the high-level panel discussion, moderated by SRSG for DRR, the panelists from related ministries and organisations, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Interior, the Thai Red Cross Society and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Thailand, shared thought-provoking recommendations and agreed on the need to integrate DRR and resilience development into the 12^th  National Socio-Economic Development Plan and the need for all line agencies working on DRR to align their planning, budget and targets, as advocated by the 2015 National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Plan. Furthermore, private sectors, NGOs and local communities need to be involved in the entire DRR process, from planning to implementation and evaluation. In this regard, international organisations and regional organisations could play a key role in assisting countries to achieve the goals of the Sendai Framework. To sum up, panelists agreed that the development of effective communication is crucial, which can be referred to effectiveness of early warning system. Despite an early warning system’s importance as a tool of communication, raising an early awareness and understanding on DRR is also important.  

            The seminar accomplished its objectives in increasing awareness and enhancing efforts of policy-makers in realising the targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 – 2030 and Thailand’s latest National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (NDPM) Plan 2015. It also underscored a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder approach in implementing the framework and encouraged relevant authorities to assist in creating an enabling legislative and raising fund to achieve the targets.