Subscription

Over the last few years, the Government of Myanmar has strengthened its policy, capacity, and institutional landscape for disaster risk management (DRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA). Actions includes the adoption of the National Disaster Management Law, 2013; formulation of the Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction, 2009 (currently being updated) and the National Adaptation Programme of Action, 2009; development of the Nationally Determined Contribution; ongoing formulation of the National Climate Change Strategy; ongoing formulation of the Myanmar National Framework for Community Disaster Resilience; establishment of the National Disaster Management Fund and the Disaster Management Training Center.

While these advancements demonstrate the commitment of the government to adopt a proactive approach towards strengthening climate and disaster resilience, there remain further needs to strengthen resilience to extreme weather events, including improving the understanding of disaster and climate risk, undertaking investments (structural and non-structural) at all levels to reduce risk, and strengthening the financial management of residual disaster risk. In particular, there has been limited effort to develop disaster risk financing (DRF) instruments for post-disaster response. The primary ex ante DRF instrument in use the budgetary reserve for post-disaster response is insufficient, thus requiring the government to rely heavily on international assistance and budget reallocations in the event of a major disaster. There has been no assessment of disaster risk from a fiscal perspective or associated financing gap analysis, which is a pre-requisite for designing sustainable comprehensive disaster risk financing strategies and individual instruments, such as insurance mechanisms. The limited financial capacity of agricultural farmers and small and medium enterprises to manage disaster risk including highly limited insurance coverage places additional contingent liability on government. Moreover, the current legislative and regulatory environment further puts the private insurance companies and microfinance institutions at risk and reduces their interest in expanding coverage in hazard-prone areas. For example, the current legislative and regulatory environment does not allow insurance companies to price their policies according to risk in a specific area, thereby reducing their interest in expanding coverage in hazard prone areas.

The CDTA aims to address these issues by taking a comprehensive approach of combining disaster risk reduction, CCA, and DRF. It will include outputs related to (i) strengthening climate and disaster risk governance; (ii) enhancing capacity to undertake disaster-resilient investments in agriculture and rural development; and (iii) increasing awareness and capacity for disaster risk financing. Recognizing the novelty of DRF in Myanmar, this comprehensive approach will help establish the building blocks that are prerequisites for identifying disaster risk financing policy priorities and developing solutions, while at the same time catalyzing climate- and disaster-resilient development. Activities will be primarily implemented at the national level and with specific pilots in Ayeyarwady region, because of its high risks to natural hazards (floods, tropical cyclones, tsunamis); high socioeconomic vulnerabilities, such as high population density (being among the three most populous region in Myanmar) with 32% of population below the poverty line; and high dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods.

Disasters triggered by natural hazards floods, tropical cyclones, landslides, and droughts affect the lives and livelihoods of a significant share of Myanmar's population. For example, Cyclone Nargis in 2008 affected the lives of more than 1.5m people in the Ayeyarwady delta and resulted in a loss of 74% of the gross domestic product of Ayeyarwady division. Modeling estimates by the United Nations indicate that Myanmar experiences an average annual loss from disasters of $2.1 billion, equivalent to 3.23% of the country's 2014 gross domestic product over the long term. The impacts of disasters derive from both large-scale events and the accumulated effects from many localized small-scale events, such as flash floods and landslides, are largely confined to local communities and especially absorbed by the poorer households, smaller businesses, and marginalized members of the community.

The interaction of natural hazards with existing socioeconomic vulnerabilities in the lives and livelihoods of local people further increase disaster risk. And with poverty remaining a key development challenge in Myanmar, the 76% of the poor living in rural areas have heightened vulnerability to natural hazards due to limited access to land and social and financial services, and a high dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods. Women are likely to be particularly vulnerable and have least ability to cope with and recover from disasters reflecting their exclusion from land ownership; limited access to credit, trainings, and information technology (such as mobile phones); and poor representation in decision making and leadership.

With climate change, the hazard patterns in Myanmar are altering, thereby further increasing the disaster risk. It is anticipated that the potential climate change impacts could lead to higher hazard levels for tropical cyclones in coastal regions with a history of cyclone landfalls, floods in low flat regions, torrential rains in regions with long exposure to the southwest monsoon flow, and extreme temperature and drought in the Central Dry Zone. Sector vulnerability is also expected to increase in agriculture, water resources, public health, forestry, and coastal systems.

The Government of Myanmar has identified in its DRM- and CCA-related policy frameworks the increasing suffering of the population from climate-related disasters, and the need for support in strengthening resilience to extreme weather events. Accordingly, since 2015, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has supported the Government of Myanmar develop a National Framework for Community Disaster Resilience, which identifies potential opportunities for strengthening resilience of communities through investments in key sectors and themes of development, such as, agriculture, rural development, and financial inclusion, among others. The proposed technical assistance (TA) project responds to the request from the Government of Myanmar to support its implementation of the National Framework for Community Disaster Resilience.