This Special Report was developed by Rucha Shrikant Mapari, Research Intern with IPCS’ Southeast Asia Research Programme (SEARP), for the purpose of the IPCS-BIMSTEC-HD Track 1.5 Policy Implementation Workshop on HA/DR in the Bay of Bengal held on 24-25 October 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. It is intended as a turnkey document that summarises the primary set of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) guidelines applicable to the Bay of Bengal as a subset of the Indian Ocean Region. The primer is therefore a collation of best practices on HA/DR preparedness, response, and recovery as outlined in these guidelines. It covers the Hyogo Framework; Sendai Framework; SAARC Comprehensive Framework; ASEAN Agreement; and BIMSTEC Guidelines.

The publication is part of the 2021-2026 IPCS-Clingendael Institute collaboration on climate security in Southern Asia.