Asian media back Sendai Framework

KRABI, 13 May 2016 – National broadcasters from across Asia – with a combined audience reach in the hundreds of millions – have committed to play their part in building a culture of climate and disaster resilience in the region.

Executives and journalists from television and radio at the 2nd Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Media Summit on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction pledged to strengthen disaster and climate risk literacy, particularly among the region’s most vulnerable and exposed communities. 

The Media Summit issued the Krabi Media Action Plan today in which broadcasters “recognise our responsibility to use our reach into the most remote communities and across continents to communicate, educate and inspire collective action” on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

The Action Plan pledged to serve viewers and listeners “especially the most vulnerable – the poor, women and children, the elderly, the disabled and those people who reside, labour, or earn a livelihood in high risk areas due to limited opportunities” by strengthening the understanding of the causes and impact of disaster risk.

It is a commitment that feeds directly into improving understanding of disaster risk which is a key priority of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: 2015-2030, a global blueprint adopted by governments around the world to substantially reduce disaster risk and losses.

The Secretary-General of the ABU, Dr Javad Mottaghi, told the Media Summit that the broadcasters would build on their track record of helping communities turn disaster and climate risk challenges into opportunities. “Saving lives can only be achieved through strengthening community knowledge not just today but in the building of a bank of knowledge for the future,” he said.

Dr Krissada Raungarreerat, the Director-General of Thai Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) which is hosting the summit, highlighted the Sendai Framework’s calls for an inclusive approach to reduce risk and losses from disasters.

“I would like to emphasize the role of the Sendai Framework, which focuses on the importance of taking action and sharing responsibility to reduce disaster risk. The media should continue to play an active role in strengthening the culture of prevention and strong community involvement,” Dr Raungarreerat said.

The head of UNISDR, Dr Robert Glasser addressed the Media Summit via video link. He told broadcasters the media is a key partner to implement the Sendai Framework and contribute to “the growing culture of disaster risk reduction."

“The media should look beyond the immediate impact of a disaster to explain what can be done to tackle the underlying drivers of disaster risk, such as climate change, inappropriate land use, environment degradation and poor urban planning,” Dr Glasser said.

The conference venue acted a temporary hospital in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Krabi provides an example of how community resilience and knowledge underpins effective disaster recovery. The city has bounced back after the tsunami killed more than 1,400 people locally and devastated livelihoods, especially fisheries and tourism.

More than 200 media representatives from 25 countries attended the forum. Many more from across Asia tuned in to Thai PBS’ live online coverage. Among those present in Krabi were NHK Japan; Public TV and Radio Broadcasting MTV/MBC (Sri Lanka); Viet Nam Digital TV; Pakistan TV; (Azerbaijan); Khabar News Agency (Kazakhstan); Public Service Media (Maldives); DVB Multimedia Group (Myanmar); Radio Republic (Indonesia); Daejeon MBC (Republic of Korea); Center for Community Journalism and Development, Peace and Conflict Journalism Network (Philippines); and freelance broadcasters from India and Malaysia.

The Media Summit host, Thai PBS, was established in 2008 with a vision of promoting public participation in building a just and informed society. Part of its annual US$65 million budget, resourced from taxes on tobacco and alcohol, delivers consistently quality programming highlighting community issues of disaster resilience.