IBF Toolkit Workshop Side Event: 5th ESCAP Disaster Resilience Week
- November 26, 2025
- 13:00-14:00 (UTC+7)
- UN Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
Building heat resilience through subregional and regional cooperation: Learning and perspectives from South Asia
- Wednesday | Nov 26, 2025
This side session will cover the following areas:
- Showcasing Regional Cooperation and Transferable Learnings:
- Highlight the achievements of South Asia Hydromet Forum (SAHF) as a model for regional cooperation and discuss how these learnings can be adapted and applied to other regions, as well as discussing challenges and successes in the adoption of regional and subregional approaches at national levels.
- Integrating Initiatives for Enhanced Resilience:
- Explore how platforms like SAHF can complement and integrate with other regional initiatives, such as Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs) and emerging Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) regional hubs – focusing on integration strategies which could support improved resilience to extreme heat in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Capitalizing on Regional Approaches for Service Delivery and Policy Integration:
- Discuss the benefits of regional approaches and how they can be integrated into broader policy, planning, and investment strategies. Provide recommendations for:
- Building disaster and climate resilience through regional cooperation in science and technology innovations in the context of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).
- Incorporating heat-related issues into regional strategies and national roadmaps for strengthening early warning systems in the context of the Early Warning for All (EW4All) initiative.
- Discuss the benefits of regional approaches and how they can be integrated into broader policy, planning, and investment strategies. Provide recommendations for:
DAY 3: 26th November 2025 5th ESCAP Disaster Resilience Week Building heat resilience through subregional and regional cooperation: Learning and perspectives from South Asia 13:00 PM – 14:00 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) |
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|---|---|
| Agenda | Time |
| OPENING SESSION Opening remarks: His Excellency Abdulla Ziyad, Minister of State for Tourism and Environment, Maldives. Session overview by moderators Mr. David Corbelli, Regional Manager Asia Pacific, Met Office Ms. Madhurima Sarkar-Swaisgood, Economic Affairs Officer, ESCAP | 13:00 PM – 13:05 PM |
| PROMOTING THE BENEFITS OF REGIONAL COOPERATION FOR STRENGTHENING HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL SERVICES AND EARLY WARNING SAHF - overview & learnings (5 mins) Dr. Anshul Agarwal, Team Leader Hydrology, RIMES Panel/Floor Discussion (10 mins) How do we realise the benefit of (sub)regional initiatives at a national level and ensure policy and planning integration? Panelists Dr. K J Ramesh, SAHF Advisor, RIMES Dr. Rupa Kumar Kolli, Expert Member, GHHIN; Honorary Scientist, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Dr. Orrapan Untimanon, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand | 13:05 PM – 13:20 PM |
| ENHANCING DATA AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE Learning and future direction from SAHF Knowledge Hub for regional digital and data exchange (7 mins) Ms. Danna Valdez, Expert, RIMES Mr. Rahul Kumar Suman, Expert, ESCAP Panel/Floor Discussion (8 mins) How can we effectively leverage the diverse range of data and tools available to enhance our adaptive strategies for extreme temperature events at national and regional levels? Panelists Dr. Quamrul Hassan. Deputy Director, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) Dr. Orrapan Untimanon, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand | 13:20 PM – 13:40 PM |
| ENHANCING REGIONAL/SUB-REGIONAL COORDINATION FOR EXTREME HEAT Overview of the SAHF Impact-Based Forecasting (IBF) Working Group (5 mins) Ms. Helen Caughey, Deputy Chief & International Meteorologist, Met Office Panel/Floor Discussion (15 mins) - How can we connect and leverage across related platforms and initiatives such as regional climate outlook forums and GHHIN regional hubs? - How can we collaborate and share learnings effectively across regions? Panelists Dr. Jochen Luther, Technical Coordinator, Regional Office for Asia and South-West Pacific, WMO. Dr. Rupa Kumar Kolli, Expert Member, GHHIN; IITM Dr. Madhurima Sarkar-Swaisgood, Economic Affairs Officer, ESCAP | 13:40 PM – 13:55 PM |
| CLOSING REMARKS AND WAY FORWARD Mr. Ben Churchill, Director, Regional Office for Asia and the South-West Pacific, WMO Ms. Tiziana Bonapace, Director, Information & Communications Technology & Disaster Risk Reduction Division, ESCAP | 13:55 PM – 14:00 PM |