1. Key Elements of Legislation For Disaster Risk Reduction Second Meeting of Asian Advisory Group of Parliamentarians for DRR 5-7 February, 2014, Vientiane, Lao PDR

2. Contents 1)Entitling the law 2)Objectives and scope 3)Definition of key terms and concept 4)Principles and guidance in the law 5) Integration of disaster risk reduction into development 6)Governance for disaster-resilient development 7)Institutional arrangements and responsibilities 8)Compliance and enforcement

3. Entitling the law I t is highly recommended to make two separate laws, each of which reinforces the other: A Disaster Management Law which mainly focuses on emergency management, humanitarian assistance and recovery, and A Disaster Risk Reduction Law (or ‘disaster-resilient development Law’) which mainly focuses on managing disaster risk through development planning and practices to ensure that socio-economic development will not generate exposure and vulnerability of countries and communities to natural hazards and reduce disaster risk to the minimum. The title ‘Disaster-Resilient Development Law’ is recommended as it indicates more clearly that the law is about resilience and development, and not about disaster management.

4. Objectives and scope The objective is to make new socio-economic development resilient to natural hazards and climate extreme events to protect people, promote social equity, sustain economic growth and protect the environment and natural resources in the respective country. The scope of the law will cover all major areas of socio- economic development policies and initiatives so that disaster risk assessment will be used as a precondition for development planning and programmes, with more attention to public facilities, including schools, health facilities, power plants and bridges – so that these facilities can continue to provide services, including humanitarian services, during disasters. for effective response

5. Definition of key terms and concepts 1.Group one includes the terms hazards, exposure to natural hazards, vulnerability to disasters, hazard mapping, vulnerability assessment (from the perspectives of gender, social equity, and economic capacity of each community to deal with imminent disasters), disaster risk assessment, disaster risk reduction, disaster risk management, disaster risk transfer, disaster risk insurance and reinsurance, risk sharing, risk monitoring and risk resilience. 2.Group two includes the terms climate change, extreme events, climate risk, climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation. 3.Group three includes the terms national development plan, sustainable development, social equity, environment protection, gender equality, disaster risk-sensitive development, disaster risk- insensitive development, government liability for sustainable development, governance, accountability to risk resilience, transparency, empowerment and inclusion.

6. Principle guidance in the law The disaster risk reduction or (Disaster-resilient development) law may consider whether to:  Establish a national committee for coordinating and providing policy guidance for disaster-resilient development  Strengthen or develop a institutional framework for disaster- resilient development which enables a multi-hazard approach and multi-sector cooperation and collaboration for reducing risk and building resilience through development planning and activities  Set-up a scientific and technical committee to ensure that national policies and plans for disaster-resilient development will be scientifically sound  Allocate adequate resources for the coordination, compliance and enforcement of the law and national policies and regulations for disaster-resilient development.

7. Integration of DRR into development  Focus on reducing the underlying risks of disasters, old and new, through risk-sensitive development policies and regulations, requiring development agencies and ministries to make a paradigm shift from disaster risk-insensitive development to disaster risk- resilient development planning and practice,  Integrate DRR into development planning process supported by multi-hazards mapping, evaluation of population exposure to natural hazards, human and economic vulnerability analyses and disaster risk assessments – done in a coordinated and coherent manner, with the technical support of national experts and technical institutions,  Provide policy guidance, regulations, benchmarks and indicators for disaster-resilient development planning and programmes, based on vulnerability analysis and risk assessment,

8. Integration of DRR into development  Request the national committee for disaster-resilient development, in cooperation with national disaster management agencies, to coordinate the collection and dissemination of disaster risk information from and to each line ministry involved in development, and to other organizations,  Request each line development ministry or organization to develop measures and indicators on DRR that enable them to make their respective development sector resilient to natural hazards and thus to advance development sustainably,  Hold the national committee for disaster-resilient development responsible to coordinate and ensure coherence in risk-sensitive development policy,  Request the national committee for disaster-resilient development to coordinate a review of long-implemented development policies and regulations to ensure their effectiveness for nurturing the new development paradigm – risk-sensitive and disaster-resilient development

9. Governance for disaster-resilient development  Governance describes the pathways of authority through which nations and communities make their risk-sensitive choices in development planning and programmes. Governance for disaster -resilient development can be enhanced by applying universal principles of accountability and transparency, through rule of law, inclusion, participation and equality.  Governance for disaster-resilient development is crucial for risk-resilient development planning and implementation. The success of governance for disaster- resilient development will be the substantial reduction of human and socio-economic losses to disasters, as well as the considerable reduction of new exposure, vulnerability and risk of natural hazards in the development process.

10. Institutional framework/arrangements and responsibilities  Establishment of a national committee for disaster-resilient development, with officially designated representatives from each line development ministry.  The coordinator of the national committee for disaster- resilient development will be an integral part of the National Authority for the coordination for national five or ten-year development planning, who is better positioned for the challenge.

11. Institutional framework/arrangements and responsibilities  The main task of the national committee for disaster-resilient development is to provide policy guidance on disaster risk reduction in development, including mechanisms, procedures and roles and responsibilities….  The main task of the committee members is to coordinate his/her respective ministry-wide actions and indicators to ensure that disaster risk assessment is an official requirement for any development project under the Ministry’s authority in which the principle of governance will be applied, including transparency, accountability, inclusion and empowerment.

12. Institutional framework/arrangements and responsibilities The national committee for disaster-resilient development will : organize evaluation and monitoring missions with the participation of government officials and experts. carry out advocacy and public awareness on disaster risk reduction in close cooperation with the existing national committee for disaster management, with its accumulated experience, and thus contribute to the paradigm shift from disaster management only to disaster risk reduction. coordinate information sharing and exchange of knowledge and experience in pursuing disaster risk-resilient development towards sustainable development. ensure the similar institutional arrangements and responsibilities will be set up at provincial/local levels to ensure the legislation and policy guidance for risk-resilient development will be endorsed at local level and implemented.

13. Compliance and enforcement. The following elements, among others, are suggested for consideration:  Conduct advocacy among development policy makers and raise awareness among the public on disaster risk reduction for disaster –resilient development legislation to create an enabling environment for ‘risk-investigative development’.  Provide training for capacity building for the compliance and enforcement of the legislation for disaster risk-resilient development.  Develop new regulations and measures as necessary to enhance the legislation on disaster risk-resilient development and promote good practices in compliance with the legislation and insist upon accountability for noncompliance.

14. I Political leaders and legislators hold the primary responsibility protecting the lives and livelihoods of their country's citizens from disasters

15. Thank you