FEALAC Symposium on Pan-Oceanic Cooperation for Disaster Risk Reduction
The Government of Thailand hosted the First ever “FEALAC Symposium on Pan-Oceanic Cooperation
for Disaster Risk Reduction”, held in Bangkok and Phuket, Thailand, during 9 to 12 November 2009.

The regions of East Asia and Latin America are facing similar natural hazards such as earthquake,landslide, pandemic outbreak, and extreme hydro-meteorological events.In 2008 alone, nearly a hundred million people in these two regions were affected by natural hazards and economic loss totaling over $150 billion. WitWh the increasing intensity and frequency of natural hazards vis-a-vis climate change, it is expected that the number of people affected globally and the property loss may increase dramatically over the next few years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand in close collaboration with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) organized this FEALAC Symposium on Pan-Oceanic Cooperation for Disaster Risk Reduction with the senior officials’ participation of the competent authorities on disaster risk reduction (DRR) from 33 member countries of the Forum on East Asia and Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), as well as senior experts from relevant international organizations and diplomatic missions based in Bangkok. The Symposium aims at strengthening cooperation on information and sharing experiences and best practices in DDR issue as well as exploring opportunities for future cooperation among FEALAC member countries. As part of the Symposium, a panel of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) addressed issues on the H1N1 pandemic outbreak and reduction of health consequences of emergencies. To conclude the Symposium, a visit to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami site in Phuket, Thailand, will also be arranged.