KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) secretariat appointed Senator Loren Legarda of the Philippines as the first "champion" for disaster risk reduction, UNISDR announced here on Tuesday.

    This is the first time UNISDR, the UN body which promotes disaster prevention, is engaging a high level parliamentarian to champion and support its advocacy work.

    UNISDR Director Salvano Briceno announced the appointment at a news conference in conjunction with the Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which began in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

    Speaking to reporters, Legarda said, the appointment would inspire her to work harder.

    "There is no more fitting time to say that reducing disaster risks is a moral imperative, a social responsibility, than in these times of growing vulnerabilities and persistent poverty and suffering caused by disasters," she said.

    Now was the time to translate political commitment into concrete actions at national and local government levels, as countries were still far from achieving the goals of the Hyogo Framework for Action, she said.

    Legarda, a former broadcast journalist, founded the "Green Philippines" in 1998 to promote public awareness on various issues concerning the environment and had also received the Philippines' Ten Outstanding Young Men and Women Award.

    In October this year, Legarda together with UNISDR, convened the first consultative meeting with parliamentarians on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Manila.

    The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.