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Forum Report Out Now: “From Risk to Readiness: Sharing Best Practices in Disaster Resilience”

On September 24, 2025, APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Philippines, in partnership with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and Liveable Cities Philippines, organized a virtual forum, “From Risk to Readiness: Sharing Best Practices in Disaster Resilience,” assembling disaster resilience leaders, experts, organizations, and stakeholders from around the globe.

This culminating report highlights the key insights and recommendations from the forum, informing ABAC strategies and advocacy towards disaster resilience and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific. Key takeaways include:

  • Preparedness pays off – National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) – Chinese Taipei showed how decades of investment in codes, retrofits, and drills cut quake deaths dramatically.
  • Collaboration drives resilience – ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre) and National Disaster Prevention and Response Service – Chile (SENAPRED – Chile) proved that regional coordination and catastrophe bonds strengthen response.
  • Governance and communities matter – Office of Civil Defense – Philippines, PDRF, and United Nations OCHA-UNDP Connecting Business initiative stressed that strong institutions and last-mile action ensure real safety.

Read the Forum Report below or via this link: https://abac.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/From-Risk-to-Readiness-Forum-Report.pdf

The report also includes copies of the forum recording and speakers’ presentations.

We express our sincerest gratitude to our partners and attendees for their shared determination to spur innovation and foster collaboration towards a resilient future for our economies, communities, and households.

From Risk to Readiness – Forum ReportDownload

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APEC Member Economies: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; and Viet Nam. 

ABAC was created by APEC Leaders in 1995 to be the primary voice of business in APEC. Each economy has three members who are appointed by their respective Leaders. They meet four times a year in preparation for the presentation of their recommendations to the Leaders in a dialogue that is a key event in the annual APEC Economic Leaders Meeting. 

Under Korea’s leadership, ABAC is pursuing a work program under the theme “Bridge. Business. Beyond.” to respond to the challenge of maintaining the economic vitality of the Asia-Pacific Region and ensure it benefits all. 

ABAC 2025 Chair is Kyuho Lee (Korea) and the Co-Chairs are Julia Torreblanca (Peru) and Fanrong Li (China), with five (5) working group chairs, namely: Anna Curzon (New Zealand), Regional Economic Integration Working Group (REIWG); Junichiro Ikeda (Japan), Sustainability Working Group (SWG); Michaela Browning (Australia), Finance and Economic Working Group (FEWG); Jan De Silva (Canada), AI and Digital Innovation Working Group (AIDIWG); and Kyuho Lee (Korea), Bio and Healthcare Working Group (BHWG).

For further information, please contact ABAC Philippines Secretariat at secretariat@abac.ph via email.