From Taiwan to Southeast Asia: Advancing Disaster Resilience and Preparedness Through Smart Technologies
摘要
This paper introduces a successful regional disaster risk reduction initiative launched under Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy,” which aims to strengthen disaster resilience and preparedness in nine New Southbound partner countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Palau, and the United Arab Emirates. It promotes Taiwan's advanced humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) strategy, particularly its integration of disaster risk management technologies in these countries. The project focuses on applying smart technologies—including IoT-based sensors, multi-hazard early warning systems, and real-time decision-support tools—to enable data-driven disaster management and ensure rapid responses that deploy innovative tools and collaborative frameworks to address complex challenges. This context highlights Taiwan's proactive efforts to export earthquake and hydrometeorological early warning systems, implement advanced decision-support mechanisms, and enhancing disaster resilience through well-designed capacity-building initiatives. By exploring case studies from the New Southbound countries, the study emphasizes the critical role of environmental monitoring technologies, community empowerment, and multi-stakeholder partnerships in reducing disaster vulnerabilities. These initiatives reflect Taiwan's commitment to promoting regional stability, driving sustainable development, and fostering technological innovation in disaster preparedness. Through joint implementation, capacity building, and knowledge exchange, the initiative demonstrates how Taiwan's advanced disaster management experience can be localized to support developing countries. The manuscript highlights implementation strategies and showcases outcomes from each sub-project.