China, the Republic of Korea and Japan decided to form a joint research project to make disaster data and terminology more compatible across the region. Representatives agreed to establish national focal points to support work progress.
After the three-day "Expert Meeting on Disaster Loss and Disaster Risk Reduction Technology Sharing for North-East Asia" the countries asserted in their declaration the importance of disaster statistics and their integration into decision making process.
The forum made several recommendations including: the establishment of a working group to define and categorize disasters under a common terminology; exploring the possibility of a disaster data repository; and the compilation of a reference guide on procedures and protocols pertaining to collection, processing, analyzing and disseminating disaster statistics. UNISDR and other institutions from the region were asked to support the future work in this area.
