Eleventh Session of the Inter-Agency
Task Force on Disaster Reduction
The Eleventh Session of the Inter
Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction (IATF/DR-11), and
the first since the World Conference on Disaster Reduction
(WCDR), took place at Geneva from 24 to 26 May 2005. The
Session was co-Chaired on the first day by Margareta Wahlstrom,
Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Humanitarian Affairs
and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator (DERC) and Kathleen
Cravero, Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and Director,
Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP. Jan Egeland,
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs chaired
the second day.
The Task
Force welcomed three new members, Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), International Labor Organization
(ILO) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV), while UNICEF
and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
have recently expressed interest in joining. Amongst other
things, the session agreed on strategic directions for
the ISDR system to assist in the implementation of the
Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. The session also
discussed a number of suggestions for strengthening the
modus operandi of the Task Force. For a full list of decisions
and related documents, please consult: http://www.unisdr.org
The Third Early Warning Conference due in Bonn
next March
At the IATF/DR 11th session on 26 May, the Government of Germany announced
that the third Early Warning Conference (EWC-III) would be held in Bonn, in
March 2006 (exact dates to be confirmed). The 3-day international conference
convened by Germany under the auspices of the United Nations will mobilize
efforts to implement the outcome of the Second International Early Warning
Conference (EWC-II) and of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (mainly,
the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015). It will contribute to the development
of the International Early Warning Programme (IEWP), launched at the WCDR in
Kobe, and to discuss on proposals for a global early warning system.
The result-oriented conference will aim at launching comprehensive
national early warning projects, with priority themes for
global early warning advancement initiatives, focused on
high-priority countries and issues.
A task force is being established in the German Foreign Ministry
in Berlin, to work in close cooperation with DKKV (German
committee for disaster prevention) in Bonn, while a UN conference
secretariat is being put in place at ISDR in Geneva, to work
in close cooperation with the ISDR/PPEW (Platform for the
Promotion of Early Warning) in Bonn.
Disaster Risk Reduction in Cuba
The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) together with UNDP/BCPR,
OCHA, the Civil Defence of Cuba and the ISDR secretariat
have organized a seminar “on risk management policies” in
Cuba on 1-3 June. The three days meeting called “Seminar
Workshop for National Authorities: Risk Management Policies,
Systems and Successful Experiences in the Caribbean” had
three main objectives: First, to rationalise policies, systems
and positive experiences of the Caribbean regarding risk
and disaster management. Second, to evaluate progress made
in technologies and building materials Third, to encourage
exchange and co-operation in the area of risk management
among the countries of the Caribbean, with support from the
United Nations and Co-operation Agencies.
First Meeting of the Advisory Panel of the ADPC Regional
Consultative Committee (RCC) Programme for Mainstreaming
Disaster Risk Management into Development Policy, Planning
and Implementation in Asia
The
Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) Regional Consultative
Committee
(RCC) on Disaster Management has developed a Programme
on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management
into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation in
Asia (MDRD) that aims to integrate
disaster risk management into national development plans
of RCC member countries as well as focusing on specific priority
sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, housing, financial
services, education and health. Through the support of the
Government of Australia (AusAID), requests for submission
of priority implementation projects have been initiated and
are already at an advanced stage of finalization.
In order to guide the implementation of the programme, an
MDRD Advisory Panel was formed and a First
Meeting of the Advisory Panel of the Regional Consultative
Committee (RCC) Programme for
Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management into Development Policy,
Planning and Implementation in Asia was convened by ADPC
on 23-24 March 2005 in Bangkok, with the support of the Australian
Government (AusAID). A review of successful national experiences
of integration of disaster reduction into development planning
highlighted the importance to articulate national strategies
around the priority areas identified by the Hyogo Framework
for Action.
The Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management
(RCC) was established by ADPC in 2000 and comprises heads
of national disaster management offices (NDMOs) of 25 Asian
countries.
5th Meeting of the ADPC Regional Consultative Committee
on Disaster Management, Hanoi, Vietnam
The 5th Annual RCC Meeting of the ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness
Center) took place in Hanoi, 18-20 May 2005. The meeting
was attended by a total of 64 participants comprising of
representatives from NDMOs of 18 RCC Member Countries and
observers from local and regional organizations, UN Agencies,
and bilateral and multilateral funding agencies. The meeting
gave opportunity to participants to exchange information
on the challenges of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, response,
recovery and improving Early Warning and to share lessons
learned from regional and national programs on preparedness
and mitigation. The special session on the progress of the
RCC Initiative on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into
Development (MDRD) Policy, Planning and Implementation in
Asia, discussed in detail ways to mainstream DR management
into development and included the showcasing of MDRD in RCC
Member Countries A Special Consultative Session for the Asian Region on the
Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action, provided
an overview of current actions and initiatives related to
the WCDR follow-up; allowed a good exchange on practices
and lessons learnt from the Asian region and recognized the
ISDR secretariat as a main partner for the implementation
of the Hyogo Framework in the Asian region.
ISDR starts a new collaboration with ABU on the role of media
in education and disaster prevention
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), a professional
association of 102 radio and television broadcasters in the
Asia-Pacific region, is partnering with the ISDR secretariat
for developing radio and television broadcast information
flows in reducing the impact of natural disasters in Asia-Pacific
Countries. The ABU, the ISDR secretariat and other specialists
will organize two media workshops in Bangkok between the
13 and the 16 June with 30 broadcasters coming from the tsunami
affected countries including Tanzania and Somalia. The first
workshop starting the 13 to 14 will be more technical in
nature and will involve Technical, News and Programming Directors
from broadcast companies and Operational Directors from meteorological,
oceanographic and geographic organizations to review the
rate and accuracy in getting information from meteorological,
oceanographic and geographic organizations to broadcasters.
The second workshop will address education and public awareness
issues and stimulate broadcasters to produce more programmes
on disaster reduction with educational contents. Four UN
ISDR video case studies on education, traditional knowledge
and preparedness will be shown to participants as examples
of educational stories. The last tsunami tragedy will be
also an opportunity to see how disaster reduction is including
in the recovery. Broadcasters will be invited, six months
after the tsunami tragedy, to go to the affected areas and
produce reports on the issue.
United Nations System and the Private Sector:
Focal Points Meeting co-hosted by UN Global Compact and UN System College,
Geneva, 26-27 May 2005
Looking toward the future and the growing interest of the impact of disaster
risk reduction, the ISDR secretariat was invited to participate to the Focal
points meeting held in Geneva, the 26-27 May along with external officers from
31 other UN organizations dealing with developing a comprehensive and more
coherent approach to adopt partnerships specially with the private sector.
The Director of the ISDR secretariat took the opportunity to encourage more
deliberate process to build relationship with the commercial sector to address
risk issues and community engagement with hazards, before they become disasters.
Discussions at this workshop jointly organized by the UN Global Compact and
UN System College emphasized the importance of building relationships over
a period of time, which relates to developing capacities rather than looking
at from only a philanthropic or resources driven prospective.
International Recovery Platform in Kobe, Japan
The International Recovery Seminar, in support of the IRP,
was held at the JICA center in Kobe, Japan, 10-14 May 2005.
The seminar was organized by UNDP/BCPR, the ISDR Secretariat,
OCHA, ILO, Cabinet Office (Government of Japan), Asian Disaster
Reduction Center, Hyogo Prefecture and the World Bank.
The seminar was very well attended by international organizations
(all the above as well as UNEP, UNV, UN/HABITAT, UNOSAT and
IFRC), donors (Australia, Italy, Japan, UAE, and USA) disaster
prone programme countries (Algeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia,
Iran, Maldives), World Bank as well as NGOs and academics.
Other participants from India, Turkey, Philippines joined
the meeting through the World Bank video-conference facility.
It was agreed by all parties that the IRP would be the inter-agency
mechanism for taking forward the agenda of the Hyogo Framework
of relating to post-disaster recovery. The IRP will thus
be a major thematic pillar of the ISDR system. The IRP will
be organized around three components: Knowledge Management
and Advocacy; Training and Capacity Building and Enhancing
Recovery Operations.
The 12the Regional Disaster Management Meeting in Madang,
Papua New Guinea
The 12th Regional Disaster Management Meeting was held
6-8 June 2005. The theme was “Investment for Sustainable
Development: Building the Resilience of Nation’s and
Communities to Disaster”, which focused on the Draft
Pacific Framework for Action 2005-2015, modeled closely on
the Hyogo Framework and designed to reflect the special needs
of the Pacific Small Islands Development State (SIDS). For
more information, please consult with: http://www.sopac.org/community+risk
Asia Pacific All Hazards Workshop, Honolulu Hawaii, USA
United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US/NOAA)
held the Asia Pacific All Hazards Workshop 6-10 June 2005,
in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum. The theme of the workshop was “Realizing
Tsunami and Disaster Resilience through New Partnerships
and Technologies”. This workshop brought together experts
from US/NOAA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the
U.S. Geological Survey, other U.S. government agencies and
U.S. companies with disaster/emergency management officials
from APEC and Indian Ocean tsunami-affected economies, and
provided an in-depth overview of the elements of an “All
Hazards” early warning system.
Dr. Laura Kong, Director, UNESCO/IOC International Tsunami
Information Centre informed on the ISDR activities and also
made a presentation on behalf of the ISDR secretariat.
For more
information, please consult with: http://www.trademeetings.com/ssMeetingDetails.asp?meetingId=139
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