3

Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia: A high-level national multi-

stakeholder policy dialogue in Myanmar

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

18 November 2019

Conclusions and recommendations

1) The Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia: A high-level national multi-stakeholder policy

dialogue in Myanmar was convened on 18 November 2019 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The Department

of Disaster Management of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Resettlement organized the Dialogue, in

coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for

Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The agenda is attached as Annex 1.

2) The Dialogue is a follow-up to the 34th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management

(ACDM) held on 24 April 2019 in Mandalay, Myanmar which agreed, among others, to conduct national

policy dialogues on drought in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam,

and to develop the capacities of the ASEAN Member States (AMS) to strengthen their resilience to

drought.

3) His Excellency Dr. Win Myat Aye, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement delivered

the opening remarks, which highlighted the importance of strengthening potential measures in

mitigating the impact of drought by showcasing Myanmar’s technical experience, and urged for more

concerted efforts in addressing drought and its subsequent impacts on human wellbeing. Representing

ESCAP, Mr. Keran Wang, Chief of Space Applications, delivered a statement at the opening session.

4) Over 70 senior officials and technical experts representing national and central dry zone region offices

of the following agencies: general administration, social welfare, disaster management, meteorology

and hydrology, agriculture and rural development, participated in the Dialogue. Representatives from

ASEAN and ESCAP Secretariats and United Nations agencies in Myanmar also participated. The

attendance list is attached as Annex 2.

5) The participants recognized the important progress made by Myanmar towards strengthening its

resilience to disaster risk over the years. Recent initiatives that leverage the use of technological

innovations for risk reduction were highlighted, such as the commissioning of the Myanmar Unified

platform for Disaster Risk Application (MUDRA), space data-based drought monitoring, and widespread

use of SESAME, a mobile phone app for disseminating forecast-based crop advisories. It was further

recognized that the Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction (2017) and Myanmar National

Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan both provide a strong basis for building resilience to drought

in various sectors.

6) The participants recognized the need to address critical gaps and commended the timely efforts to

develop an ASEAN-level approach to building resilience to drought. In-line with the key findings of the

3

study results, ASEAN Secretariat provided some key guidance on how to strengthen ASEAN level action

and scaling up regional action to support national efforts on drought which include:

(i). strengthening cross-sectoral coordination among sectors through policy dialogue to integrate and

mainstream drought issues in national and regional priority programmes,

(ii). strengthening the capacity of the AHA Centre’s early warning and disaster monitoring response

system on drought, and leveraging the role of AHA to build the capacity of the AMS to strengthen their

respective national drought monitoring systems,

(iii). incorporating drought management issues and transboundary disasters as one of the priorities of

the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme

2021-2025;

(iv). enhancing the scope of the Joint Task Force on Meeting to Promote Synergy with Other Relevant

ASEAN Bodies on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (JTF on HADR), with the possibility of

engaging relevant sectoral bodies such as ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN) and the

Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF), to collectively

share data and information related to drought and to jointly develop a humanitarian response plan for

drought to be incorporated into the existing ASEAN Joint Disaster Response Plan (AJDRP) mechanism;

(v). expanding the areas of the joint study between ASEAN and ESCAP to also include other AMS and to

conduct a baseline assessment reflecting the potential impacts of drought on various sectors;

(vi). continue to conduct national policy dialogues in other CLMV countries and regional consultations

involving sectoral bodies from 10 AMS, and further identify a lead country to guide the ASEAN ACDM to

develop a high-level political commitment in a form of an ASEAN Declaration and subsequent Plan of

Action on Drought which will serve as an important entry point for ASEAN to mutually strengthen the

drought resilience mechanism in the region.

7) The participants put forward the following key recommendations:

a) Provide drought monitoring and early warning services;

b) Reinforce drought risk assessment and management;

c) Foster awareness and drought preparedness;

d) Build on local knowledge and best practices;

e) Multi-stakeholder engagements and coordination, including strengthening local level initiatives

and engagements with the local civil society and community-based organizations;

f) Enhance integration of disaster and climate risk considerations into various sectors; and

g) Support adaptation in the agriculture sector, including through wider dissemination of stress-

tolerant agricultural practices and tools, crop switching and diversification; adaptation of crop

calendars vis-à-vis observed changes in seasonal climate trends, and building the capacity of

extension staff to support farmers.

3

8) In implementing such recommendations, the participants recognized that regional cooperative

approaches at the ASEAN-level can strengthen access to learning, data, capacity building and technical

support.

9) The participants endorsed the ASEAN-wide priorities for action as outlined in the joint ASEAN-ESCAP

Ready for the Dry Years report, including strengthening drought risk assessment, monitoring, and early

warning systems; fostering multi-sectoral approaches and innovations in drought risk financing.

Enhancing the understanding of the linkages between drought and migration is also highlighted.

10) Selected news articles about the Dialogue are attached as Annex 3.

Tentative Agenda

Date - (18-11-2019)

Venue - Park Royal Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw

No Time Subject Organization

1 (10:00) - (10:30) Arrival and Registration - All Participants

2 (10:30) - (10:40) Welcome Remarks - Union Minister,

MoSWRR

3 (10:40) - (10:45) Remarks - Chief of Space Applications,

ESCAP

4 (10:45) - (11:30) National perspectives on drought-

related challenges and policy

response options

- Recent droughts in Myanmar,

improvements and challenges in

monitoring and early warning

- Managing the humanitarian

impacts of drought

- Managing the impacts of

drought on agriculture and water

sectors

Question and Answer

- Department of Meteorology

and Hydrology

- Department of Disaster

Management

- Ministry of Agriculture,

Livestock and Irrigation

5 (11:30) - (12:10) Presentations on key findings and

messages of the Ready for the Dry

Years and Asia-Pacific Disaster

- ESCAP secretariat

representative

Report 2019

Reflections on how to strengthen

ASEAN-Level action on drought:

next steps

- ASEAN secretariat

representative

6 (12:10) - (13:20) Stakeholder perspectives:

General discussion

(Notes: As representatives of

various sectors, participants will

offer their brief perspectives on the

issues, sectoral response options,

and recommendations for actions at

the ASEAN level. The

recommendations may, but not

exclusively, focus on learning, data

access, capacity building and

technical support to build long-term

resilience to drought.)

7 (13:20) - (13:30) Closing Remarks - Department of Disaster

Management

8 (13:30) Meeting adjourn (Lunch)

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