HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam should improve the country’s institutions and legal documents to enhance efficiency in natural disaster prevention and control, said Hoàng Văn Thắng, deputy minister of agriculture and rural development.

He said this during the second consultation meeting in Hà Nội on Wednesday mainstreaming the content of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction in the context of the national strategy for natural disaster prevention and control till 2030, with a vision to 2050.

The meeting was co-organised by the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Thắng said disaster management should have integrated solutions and that disaster risk management should be a priority, adding that mass participation should be mobilised at all levels.

According to him, investment is currently mainly focused on response solutions and due attention is not being paid to disaster mitigation solutions.

In fact, development without sustainable solutions has resulted in the increase of natural disasters. For example, the construction of infrastructure without proper planning has caused floods and flash floods to recur.

The pressure of population growth and the expansion of the economy have also heightened the risk of natural disasters. Thắng said it was necessary to consider between development goals and natural mitigation activities.

Sustainable development should be closely linked with disaster risk management and climate change, he added.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction sets out seven targets that countries need to achieve, including information access, international co-operation and national and local strategies with a vision to 2020.

Based on the nature of the disaster and the targets of the Sendai Framework, Việt Nam has strived to minimise economic losses caused by natural disasters, particularly storms, floods and droughts, by focusing on disaster prevention.

Việt Nam has set forth six priority programmes, which include strengthening the capacity of central and local agencies as well as the community, establishing a disaster management information system and restructuring of production and livelihoods for sustainable development of the Mekong Delta to adapt to climate change.

Addressing the consultation, Takeya Kimio, technical adviser to the president of JICA, said since the Sendai Framework was formulated, Việt Nam had taken initiative and made great efforts to improve its institutions to increase resilience and persistence for disasters.

JICA would support the country in the first five years to strengthen its institutions, develop strategic plans and implement them as well as in setting up plans on disaster prevention in localities, Kimio said. — VNS