Globally, slow and rapid onset disasters are increasing in number and intensity. The effects of climate change induced disaster events are being felt more heavily while economies still strive to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, China has continued to provide support to other countries within its ability, in coping with major disasters and improving the global governance system in that regard. At the same time, Germany is cooperating with many countries and the United Nations (UN) Office of Disaster Risk Reduction in the fields of risk management, risk governance, disaster risk financing and the establishment of disaster resilient infrastructure.
Within the regional approach of SRECA working on agricultural trade with lesser developed countries like Mongolia, the impacts of human-made or climate change disasters are stronger noticeable than in more developed economies To provide complementary support for the development of Cambodia, Laos and Mongolia, SRECA and the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) of China as well as its National Disaster Reduction Center China (NDRCC) joined forces in 2021 on the topic of disaster risk reduction to develop and initiate triangular cooperation modalities. Coordination and planning meetings with partners from Cambodia, Laos and Mongolia showed a high demand and interest in all countries, to improve disaster risk resilience and management on various levels.
On 22 March 2022, MEM, NDRCC and GIZ together with the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) Cambodia, the Laos Secretariat of Central Disaster Management Committee (CDMC) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) of Mongolia successfully held the official Kick-Off Ceremony of the triangular cooperation pilot online. The meeting was held back-to-back with a technical workshop led by Chinese and German experts to present good practices and lessons learned from both countries. CDMC and NCDM presented on the situation of disaster risk management systems in Cambodia and Mongolia.
With combining the technical know-how, expertise and funding of China and Germany, the triangular pilot project aims to create practical added value for all three beneficiary countries. The kick-off event also marked the upscaling of the pilot project into the broader framework of the Sino-German Center for Sustainable Development for further activities this year. The pilot phase will be conducted until November 2022 and include topics such as financial mechanisms for risk transfer, supply chain resilience and approaches for early warning systems. A potential longer-term follow-up will be evaluated and discussed with all partners involved.