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UN: Asia-Pasific disasters sequence a ‘sign of things to come’
23.08.2019 13:11 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Changing patterns and worsening impacts of natural disasters within Asia and the Pacific, coupled with environmental degradation and climate change, are not only making efforts to predict such catastrophes more difficult, but are also a «sign of things to come», UN Radio says referring to the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 issued by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) yesterday.
As to the Report, the annual economic losses due to disasters cost the region nearly US$675 milliard, about 2.4 per cent its gross domestic product.
Besides, in addition to the impact of disasters on human lives, the economic losses also threaten to reverse hard-won development across the Asia-Pacific region.
In meanwhile, while commenting on the Report, ESCAP Head Armida Alisjahbana has said the region countries cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, if their people are not protected from disasters.
«This means not just building resilience in the priority zones but doing so across the entire region reaching the most marginal and vulnerable communities,» Alisjahbana admitted.
As to her, investments into disaster risk reduction and resilience building will be «far smaller than the damage and losses» from unmitigated.
«Moreover, these same investments will deliver co-benefits in the form of better education, health, social and infrastructure services, and higher agricultural production and incomes,» she added.
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