OBJECTIVES

The conference will have the following objectives:

• To make the participants acknowledge the need for disaster management and its incorporation in the developmental process;

• To encourage corporate sector participation in all aspects of disaster management;

• To enable the corporate sector to appreciate that investment in disaster management planning always pays in the long run;

• To identify specific activities that the corporate sector can undertake for risk reduction and disaster management;

• To disseminate the global best practices of the sector for different types of disasters;

• To share best practices and lessons learned and to use this knowledge to further disaster reduction and to identify gaps and challenges;

• To focus on the need of networking and aligning resources;

• To list out measures the corporate sector can undertake in future, contributing to vulnerability reduction of the society.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Clearer understanding on the importance of involvement of the corporate sector in the disaster mitigation process

• Increased awareness, recognition and endorsement for mobilizing the sectors' local, national and international resources and supplementing the governmental effort in providing effective response

• Initiate proposals for the following key documents. These will be put for deliberations and discussions which will help in the process of their development;

1. The diary of “Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)” for Corporate Executives on disaster preparedness and response. SOPs will draw from the vast knowledge of the key participants, professional disaster managers on the latest technology and best practices available in the world to meet the disasters

2. Guidelines and Checklist for CEOs

3. Reference Manual for corporate sector

4. A Corporate-Community Interface Handbook on Disaster and Environmental Management is being developed with Kyoto University.

• A framework for the Platform for Public-Private Partnership (P4PPP) would be launched and the ‘Mumbai Declaration 2005' will sum up the future course of the conference.