Jakarta (ANTARA) - Collaboration among the countries of the world can expedite disaster handling and mitigation, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) head Laksana Tri Handoko said during the 2022 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR).

"Because all disasters know no national border, including pandemic disaster, such as COVID-19 within the last two years," he noted in a written statement issued on Friday.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has made various countries worldwide realize the importance of cooperation to expedite its handling," he added.

With the pandemic plaguing the world, countries have shared genome data on the SARS-CoV-2 variant through Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID).

This has enabled the world to accelerate the development and provision of vaccines to help everyone mitigate the pandemic.

Collaboration among countries in handling disasters should not only be limited to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also cover other disasters such as tsunamis, Handoko said.

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Disaster mitigation is always related to and based on scientific evidence and data. To this end, research is necessary, such as basic research to understand the mechanism of how various types of disasters occur, he remarked.

Applicative research for the development of early detection technology, in accordance with the disaster type and characteristics, along with the study of social, cultural, and local wisdom, have become the primary foundation for building disaster reduction capability, he added.

BRIN's researchers and experts have played an active role in representing Indonesia in dissecting and encouraging multilateral disaster reduction agreements within GPDRR.

One of the researchers is Nuraini Rahma Hanifa, who is among the judges of the Lifetime Achievement Sasakawa Award.

BRIN's senior engineer, Andi Eka Sakya, emphasized the importance of collaboration for realizing the goal of safe society and oceans by bolstering science, technology, and innovation, which aligns with the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

GPDRR is the biggest global event on disaster risk reduction, which focuses on strengthening cooperation and collaboration for reducing the impact of disasters.

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Translator: Martha H S, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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