Participants at regional conference point out lack of updated data on disaster risk

AMMAN — The geographically vulnerable and hazard-exposed Arab region still lacks updated data on disaster risk, a recently released joint Arab report said.

A declaration by participants in the second Arab Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt last month, recognised various parts of the Arab region as exposed to geological, climate, and human-caused hazards, ranging from locusts and snow storms to droughts and floods. 

Despite these clear, predictable hazards,  risk management in the region remains hampered by a lack of data, institutional shortcomings and poor early warning systems.

The report highlighted drought and other natural hazards in the region: Only 14.5 per cent of the total area of the Arab region is arable due to water scarcity, desertification and land degradation. 

According to the report, in the period "between 1980 and 2008, more than 37 million people were affected by drought, earthquakes, floods and storms, and economic losses to the Arab economy were estimated to be around $20 billion."

Authors of the declaration — Arab ministers, mayors, parliamentarians, experts and representatives of regional and international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations — also recognised that a lack of resources, substandard or nonexistent early warning systems and the vulnerability of infrastructure lead to increased disaster losses in lives, livelihoods, assets, the economy and the environment.

The final declaration also noted other obstacles to DRR management in the region, including rapid urbanisation, environmental degradation, water scarcity, demographic changes and migration trends. 

Risks endemic to the region, including disease outbreaks and pandemic influenza, as well as risks created by the region's continuing unrest, further complicate planning.

The declaration also contains a set of pledges by Arab states, including strengthening political will and establishing effective institutional bases for risk management, building a culture of safety and prevention, strengthening local capacity and autonomy, and building national partnerships for disaster resilience. 

Presenting the Arab contributions to the post-2015 Framework for DRR, authors of the declaration also recommended that the framework should outline practical measures and actions necessary to reduce existing risk. 

The framework is part of a larger plan, called the Hyogo Framework for Action, to mitigate disaster risk worldwide over a 10-year period, adopted in 2005 by 168 governments at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction. 

The second conference was organised by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction  in cooperation with the Egyptian government and the Arab League.

The region in numbers 

— The total population of the Arab region is more than 357 million

— Over 55% of the Arab population lives in large cities and small towns

— In some Arab countries, the percentage of people living in urban areas is as high as 80% of the total population

— The urban population is growing at a faster rate than the overall growth in population

— The overall population growth rate in the Arab region is among the highest in the world

— Between 1970 and 2010, the urban population of the Arab region increased by more than four times and will probably double again over the next 40 years

Source: UN-Habitat, “The State of Arab Cities 2012”