ASEAN realises the importance of innovation in enhancing regional knowledge capacities. Beyond ASEAN’s risk outlook, herein lies a region that is a rich source of disaster-related science and research, indigenous knowledge, good practices, and other forms of tacit knowledge across the disaster management spectrum.  To remain relevant with resilience building of the future, a robust and agile knowledge management system is crucial to address strategic information needs by respective ASEAN stakeholders across sectors. One of the most critical and often overlooked areas in disaster management is communications exchange between all stakeholders. Therefore, moving forward, ASEAN will continue to enhance the existing comprehensive disaster communication master plan based on Information and Communication Technology such as the ASEAN Roadmap on ICT that allows for accurate and timely communication exchange amongst all stakeholders collaborating with ASEAN in disaster management.  This will help expedite the disaster management process and keep the public informed of what ASEAN is doing for the disaster-affected population thus enhancing ASEAN’s visibility in the region, and position ASEAN as the pioneer in this area.

ASEAN adopted the Declaration of ASEAN Concord I and the ASEAN Declaration on Mutual Assistance on Natural Disasters on 26th June 1976, followed by the Declaration of ASEAN Concord II in October 2003, and the Declaration on Action to Strengthen Emergency Relief, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Prevention in the Aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster on 26 December 2004. The ASEAN Charter, signed in 2007 and entered into force in 2008, supports the promotion of regional resilience and sustainable development through greater cooperation among Member States. The ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), as the legally-binding regional agreement in ASEAN, came into force on 24 December 2009, reiterated ASEAN’s commitment to reducing disaster losses and responding collectively to disasters that support resilience-building of the ASEAN Community.  The AADMER Work Programme was first developed in 2010 to translate the spirit of AADMER into more practical actions and charts the priorities of the ACDM in disaster management in 5-year cycles. The Work Programme outlines the key initiatives of ASEAN in strengthening the regional mechanisms for joint response and disaster risk reduction.  Over the years, the implementation of AADMER Work Programme is supported by an increasing number of stakeholders and a vast network of partners at various levels.