Disaster risk management experts at a high-level United Nations-sponsored conference have underscored the need to strengthen regional cooperation and partnership on cross-boundary disaster in Asia and the Pacific region to deal with natural and manmade disasters.

The experts across the region said this while addressing the opening session of three-day expert consultation conference, organised by Asia and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (ADPIM), a regional institution under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP).

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Pakistan hosted the conference. Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal, Chairman NDMA, in his opening remarks, stated that disaster information greatly contributed to the policy and decision making in disaster risk reduction and management.

"The NDMA realises the importance of disaster-risk information and recognises its inevitability for effective DRM planning," Afzal said, while appreciating the efforts of the APDIM for organising the consultation and opening up discussion on such an important subject at regional level.

Dr Syed Hamid Pourmohammadi, Chairperson of the APDIM governing council and deputy vice president of Plans and Budget Organization of Iran, said, "Understanding disaster risk is beyond just collecting data and information about natural hazards or certain vulnerabilities."

"It is about identifying the fundamental cause and effect relation between various risk factors such as the reciprocal causes and impacts of social-economic development and disaster risk," he added.

Pourmohammadi informed the participants that Iran had initiated a national-level programme to improve and sharpen the understanding, assessment, monitoring and early warning on hazards and disasters. He termed the APDIM as a very well-positioned institution to help the countries of the region to enhance their capacities in disaster information and knowledge management.

Letizia Rossano, director APDIM emphasised collective work towards reducing disaster risk and building resilience, which was imperative to achieve 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.