The APTERR Secretariat was invited to attend the 6th ASEAN Joint Disaster Response Plan (AJDRP) Workshop held on 12-14 November 2025 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The event was supported by the Global Affairs Canada through ASEAN-PRIME and ASEAN-BRACE Projects while the administrative arrangement was organised by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre). The workshop was participated by ASEAN Member States (AMS), related organisations from United Nations (UN) and other partners of AHA Centre.
In this regard, Dr. Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, General Manager, has attended the workshop as the representative from APTERR Secretariat which is partner of AHA Centre under ASEAN. The previous workshops have identified 3 disaster scenarios based on their high probability and significant humanitarian impact as shown below.
(1) a 7.2M earthquake in Metro Manila, Philippines
(2) a megathrust tsunami on the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia
(3) a tropical cyclone in rural areas in Myanmar
This time at the 6th AJDRP workshop, the 4th disaster scenario is Transboundary Flooding in the Lower Mekong Basin. The scenario was developed considering the facts that certain disaster in Southeast Asia transcend national boundaries which require different cooperation. The Lower Mekong Basin which includes some part of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, was focused due to it unique characteristics that if there is flooding in one area, its impact can affect across borders, disrupting supply chains, displacing populations, and triggering emergencies.
Dr Karnjanakesorn has exchanged view and experience on this specific disaster scenario as the APTERR’s goal is to strengthen food security and nutrition, poverty alleviation, and malnourishment eradication that the APTERR would contribute to the disaster management in this scenario by providing rice assistance through Tier 3 programme implementation which is the most active and successful activity of APTERR.
