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Natural Disasters and the Promotion of Business

Continuity Planning for Private Sector in Thailand

Jerry Velasquez Senior Regional Coordinator

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)

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2Historical flood events 1970-2010

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Flood risk for Thailand

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2010 GDP distribution in Thailand

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Flood as observed

UNOSAT

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Global Flood Model

UNEP/GRID-Geneva

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Difference observed

versus modelled

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Four-month total precipitation from June to September 2011 was 120% – 180% of the normal. Four-month total precipitation amounts to 921mm (134% of the normal) at Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and 1251mm (140%) at Bangkok (the capital of Thailand), It is unusual that heavier-than-normal rainfall continued through the rainy season over the entire area of the basinsThe heavier-than-normal rainfall over the basin of the Chao Phraya River continued in the first half of October 2011.

Heavy rainfall over the Indochina Peninsula for June to September 2011, JMA, 2011

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Climate Vulnerability Monitor 2010 – the State of the

Climate Crisis, DARA, 2010

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Thailand is ranked 5th with the largest total climate-related

economic losses by 2030

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Increasing disaster impacts• Demand from shareholders and clients, that critical

operations should be continued and if suspended, then should be resumed asap.

• Need to protect companies from losing customers, minimizing market share decline, and negative impacts of a company’s reputation.

• To respond to these needs, companies can develop “Business Continuity Plans” or BCP whose goals are to continue business within a permissible limit of operations, and to recover operational capacity within a permissible time limit.

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Good Practice on BCP• Plan is developed in anticipation of great damage that

might significantly affect business• Recognition that after disasters, resources are limited

– thus selecting critical operations is important• Analysis of critical operations and possible effects of

the anticipated disaster to these operations• Bottlenecks are identified to ensure continuity of

critical operations, and dealt with selectively• Target recovery time is selected• One management system for the disaster is set up.

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Japan Good Practice• Japan developed a simplified set of guidelines

and training materials, including for small and medium sized industries. – most damaging possible hazard is selected, – using existing company resources for BCP

development, – even limited, integrate a practical number of supply

chain companies into the BCP, and– linking the BCP with securing safety and preventing

secondary disasters, and cooperation and contribution to communities to reduce disaster risks.

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APEC Ministerial Initiative• APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Disaster

Resiliency, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 11, 2011, chaired by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton– called on all APEC member Governments to promote and

facilitate the use of Business Continuity Plans especially for small and medium sized industries by appropriate means, including legal, market-oriented and social measures.

• Government of Japan supported with a survey of BCP adoption by companies in APEC economies. 33 companies participated from Thailand, through the Thai Chamber of Commerce, mostly SMEs. – The survey showed that of the 33 companies, only 3 have BCP

in the process of development.

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Proposal for Development of BCP in Thailand

• Discussion of BCP in the Flood Working Group of the Thai Chamber of Commerce

• Development of a training programme on BCP with the TCC University

• Development of a forum for discussing the development of BCP for private sector, which can also serve a place for dialogue between private sector and the government on BCP and risk management. This Forum can be linked to existing industry forums, such as the Davos Forum on Risk in May 2012.

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http://www.unisdr.org

Disaster risk reduction is everybody’s business!