Under the theme: “Together for Improved Coordination and Effective Response”

The activities of the First Arab Regional Forum on Early Warning Systems and Disaster Preparedness were concluded in Cairo, at the headquarters of the Secretariat of the League of Arab States. Held under the theme “Together for Improved Coordination and Effective Response,” the forum brought together a wide range of experts, officials and regional and international institutions concerned with disaster risk management, including the Arab Network for Environment and Development (RAED), which played an active role in shaping the forum’s recommendations and proposals aimed at strengthening early warning systems across Arab countries.

The forum’s Final Statement, issued following a series of discussions and interactive sessions, emphasized that advancing early warning systems is a regional priority. It called for integrating the forum’s outcomes into policy-making mechanisms within the League of Arab States to enable their adoption and implementation by Member States. The statement further noted that aligning national disaster risk management plans in Arab countries, particularly in the sectors of communications technologies, agriculture, water and health, with global and regional frameworks, including the “Early Warning for All” initiative, would significantly enhance the efficiency of disaster risk reduction efforts.

The statement also underscored the need to address existing gaps that hinder the development of effective multi-hazard early warning systems, including deficiencies in monitoring, forecasting and analysis, to ensure greater accuracy and effectiveness in protecting communities from potential risks. The forum highlighted the importance of investing in modern technologies to strengthen these systems, with a focus on adopting a unified alert and warning protocol and emergency communication systems based on advanced cellular broadcasting and instant messaging technologies, to guarantee the rapid and effective dissemination of information to all relevant stakeholders.

The First Arab Regional Forum further stressed the critical linkage between early warning, preparedness and response, affirming that efforts should not be limited to issuing alerts alone. Rather, they must include clearly defined and pre-agreed procedures and integrated contingency plans, encompassing anticipatory capacities and financing mechanisms that ensure immediate and effective implementation during emergencies, thereby reducing human and material losses.

RAED’s participation in the forum, represented by Dr. Emad Adly, General Coordinator of the Network, and Dr. Yasser Baazab, RAED Coordinator in Yemen, focused on strengthening regional and international cooperation between the League of Arab States, international organizations and key partners. This cooperation aims to develop comprehensive and effective early warning systems and facilitate the exchange of expertise and modern technologies to enhance preparedness and response capacities in disaster situations.

As a member of the Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Risk Reduction, RAED’s participation in the Arab regional forum represented an important step toward expanding cooperation among stakeholders in the fields of environment and risk management across the region. It also opened new avenues for applying global and regional best practices in early warning and disaster preparedness, thereby enhancing the protection of communities and natural resources and mitigating the impacts of disasters on economic development and sustainable growth.

The Network also emphasized the importance of integration across sectors and between governmental and community levels to ensure the development of coherent and effective plans that incorporate media, technological, and awareness-raising components. Such integration is essential to empower communities to better cope with crises and to strengthen decision-makers’ capacity for rapid and effective response when disasters occur.

In this context, the final statement highlighted that the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, in cooperation with its regional and international partners, will prepare a regional roadmap based on the forum’s outcomes. This roadmap will be built around two main pillars: improving early warning systems and strengthening preparedness and effective disaster response capacities, ensuring the practical and realistic activation of these systems in Member States.

At the conclusion of the First Arab Regional Forum, participants reaffirmed that sustained cooperation and coordination among Arab countries and regional and international organizations, including RAED, constitute the foundation for building advanced and effective early warning systems capable of addressing natural, human-induced and environmental risks, while enhancing national capacities for planning, implementation, and rapid response to crises and disasters.