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As a pillar of regional connectivity, the telecommunication infrastructure is now seen as the enabler to facilitate the movements of goods, people, money, services and knowledge within and across national borders. Thus, reliability, diversity, speed and resilience of regional (and national) ICT infrastructure, in particular broadband networks, is a critical development priority of the region. In recognition of the prominence of this infrastructure, new emphasis has been placed on the concept of e-resilience. The resilience of ICT backbones, networks and systems should be considered as the priority in network and infrastructure development. At the same time, ICT plays a pivotal role in enabling timely disaster response, management and reconstruction after disasters and in promoting disaster risk reduction and preparedness.

Given the importance of these issues, ESCAP has pursued an active research agenda to identify ways in which the region’s telecommunications networks can be strengthened and the use of ICT for disaster management be expanded. This has included a series of country-level case studies, a cohesive regional review, and a data gathering exercise within ICT for DRM initiatives, including examples at the national, subregional and regional levels. These analytical exercises provided evidence of the importance of ICT for promoting inclusive and disaster resilient development in Asia and the Pacific, whilst allowing for comparison and analysis with other countries.

In this context, this technical brief aims to identify critical factors which can contribute to enhancing resilience of ICT infrastructure, especially in the area of protecting the vital ICT infrastructure and networks taking into account various disaster risks as well as promoting the use of ICT in disaster risk reduction to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time.

As a pillar of regional connectivity, the telecommunication infrastructure is now seen as the enabler to facilitate the movements of goods, people, money, services and knowledge within and across national borders. Thus, reliability, diversity, speed and resilience of regional (and national) ICT infrastructure, in particular broadband networks, is a critical development priority of the region. In recognition of the prominence of this infrastructure, new emphasis has been placed on the concept of e-resilience. The resilience of ICT backbones, networks and systems should be considered as the priority in network and infrastructure development. At the same time, ICT plays a pivotal role in enabling timely disaster response, management and reconstruction after disasters and in promoting disaster risk reduction and preparedness.

Given the importance of these issues, ESCAP has pursued an active research agenda to identify ways in which the region’s telecommunications networks can be strengthened and the use of ICT for disaster management be expanded. This has included a series of country-level case studies, a cohesive regional review, and a data gathering exercise within ICT for DRM initiatives, including examples at the national, subregional and regional levels. These analytical exercises provided evidence of the importance of ICT for promoting inclusive and disaster resilient development in Asia and the Pacific, whilst allowing for comparison and analysis with other countries.

In this context, this technical brief aims to identify critical factors which can contribute to enhancing resilience of ICT infrastructure, especially in the area of protecting the vital ICT infrastructure and networks taking into account various disaster risks as well as promoting the use of ICT in disaster risk reduction to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time.

Contact
Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division [email protected]