Letters | How Asean can build disaster resilience through public-private partnerships

Readers discuss how the private sector can play a role in disaster management, and an example of excellent service during a rainstorm

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People wade through a flooded road, due to monsoon rains and the recent typhoon Doksuri, in Balagtas, Bulacan province, Philippines, on July 29. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:30am, 16 Sep 2023

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Public-private partnerships can accelerate the building of a disaster-resilient Association of Southeast Asian Nations community. This was discussed at the inaugural Asean Disaster Resilience Forum in August, where a whole-of-Asean approach was mobilised.

Participating in the forum were Asean sectoral bodies and centres, entities associated with Asean, external partners, United Nations agencies, NGOs, the private sector and other non-Asean organisations.

While public-private partnerships should be led by the government, several features have to be considered to make such partnerships successful. This includes a clear appreciation that the private sector represents profit-making entities, thus shared values should be agreed upon first.

In addition, multi-stakeholder involvement in such partnerships goes beyond the private sector, encompassing civil society organisations, NGOs, academia and the media.

A drastic change in mindset is also required, which includes taking a pragmatic approach, being more people-centric, embracing risk governance and anticipatory risk management, among others. Besides this, an open and transparent selection of private sector entities on a continuous basis should be ensured.