New int’l disaster risk reduction framework adopted

MANILA, Philippines - A new international disaster risk reduction and management framework called the “Tacloban Declaration” was adopted yesterday at the end of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Manila attended by around 150 delegates from different Asian and European countries.

Sources said China tried to delay the adoption of the Declaration as its representatives to the conference had to consult Beijing on the framework of the document.

But the Chinese embassy in Manila denied that Beijing was trying to delay the adoption of the Declaration.

“We support cooperation on disaster relief and prevention. This is a technical discussion rather than a political one,” Zhang Hua, deputy chief of Political Section and Chinese embassy spokesman, told The STAR.

The adoption of the Tacloban Declaration came as the decade-old Hyogo Framework of Action – adopted by the world community as the global paradigm on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) – will expire in 2015.

The declaration embodies specific proposals and principles for a global framework for DRRM for the next 20 years.

The Philippines hosted the three-day ASEM conference.

European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Kristalina Georgieva said Typhoon Yolanda is a catalyst for action not only in the Philippines.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the conference is the country’s commitment under the ASEM cooperation framework.

 EU donates 30 M euros more to Phl 

The European Union will donate an additional 30 million euros to the Philippines to boost EU’s reconstruction assistance in areas devastated by Typhoon Yolanda.

Georgieva, announcing the grant after attending the ASEM conference, said the additional donation would be intended for health and education of the typhoon victims as well as the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure.

Georgieva visited Tacloban on Wednesday to observe the progress of EU-funded projects in communities affected by the strongest typhoon ever to hit land, which killed more than 6,000 people in Eastern Visayas. – With Rainier Allan Ronda