20th March 2018 ReliefWeb
With the number of hydro-meteorological events such as storms, floods, heat/cold wave, droughts, on the rise due to a changing, warming climate, the world also witnesses a rise in frequency of natural disasters. Of the total damage and loss caused by natural hazards in developing countries between 2003 and 2013, 22 percent occurred in the agricultural sector, according to data by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Representatives of governments and the academic and development communities in the Asia Pacific region gathered last week in Hanoi to craft priority actions addressing the vulnerability of food and agricultural systems to natural disasters. Organized by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, the conference aimed to “identify priority actions and the ways forward for the agriculture sectors to proactively implement the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda,” the conference website said.
Adopted by UN Member States in 2015, the Sendai Framework urges States to take action towards understanding disaster risk, strengthening disaster risk governance, investing in disaster risk reduction, and enhancing disaster preparedness.
At a session facilitated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), participants emphasized the need for coherence in policies and investments across institutions, in order to effect a coordinated response towards reducing risk and strengthening resilience of crops against increasing frequency and severity of natural hazards.