Forum addresses disaster lessons

The Hanwang Forum was held in Beijing and Deyang, Sichuan province, from May 9 to 13 with the theme of global disaster prevention, relief and sustainable development.

Held during the fourth anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake, the forum shared the experience of disaster prevention and treatment from different countries.

It also touched upon China's model for post-disaster reconstruction, emergency relief, clean energy and sustainable development, as well as the ecological agriculture, medical and cultural sectors.

Last May, the Deyang municipal government and the Sustainable Development Specialty Committee of the Beijing International Exchange Association hosted the Sustainable Development Forum 2011 – Disaster Prevention and Reduction and Post-Disaster Reconstruction Seminar.

Participants from the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Singapore, Malaysia, China's Taiwan and Hong Kong reached the consensus that it is a key priority to address the issue of natural and man-made disasters, as well as to foster sustainable development from a society-wide perspective urgently and at scale.

With this background, representatives adopted the suggestion to establish the Hanwang Forum to create international public-private partnerships to address these issues in collaboration, said Deyang Mayor Chen Xinyou.

It was agreed to hold the Hanwang Forum from May 9 to 10 in Beijing and May 12 to 13 in Deyang, Chen said.

The forum is named after Hanwang, a town in Deyang City which was hard hit in the Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008.