Despite decades of rapid socio-economic development, Asia Pacific remains the most disaster-prone region in the world. In 2017 alone, more than 6,500 people lost their lives following more than 200 disasters that affected 66.7 million people.

From 3-6 July, the Mongolian government will host the 2018 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) which takes place in the capital Ulaanbaatar. Co-organised with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the AMCDRR aims to accelerate efforts in the region to reduce and prevent disaster losses through implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

Mongolia faces a range of disaster threats including earthquakes, floods, forest fires and drought. One weather-related phenomenon unique to the country is the Dzud, caused by the twin impacts of drought in the summer and severe freezing weather and storms in the winter. One-third of Mongolia’s population depends entirely on pastoral farming and the loss of pasture caused by Dzuds, leads to widespread starvation amongst livestock, devastating the herds and livelihoods of nomadic herders.

The AMCDRR in Mongolia will provide a platform that brings together a wide range of actors. Government ministers will come together with representatives from UN agencies, NGOs, the private sector and also civil society groups representing women, children and youth and people with disabilities.

Over the last 50 years the Asia Pacific region has suffered nearly USD1.3 trillion in economic losses to disasters. Losses in the region could exceed USD160 billion annually by 2030.