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News Archive
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128 Items
| Title | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
Mentoring programme for young researchers launched in BangkokA mentoring programme created by UNISDR and the Stockholm Environment Institute trained its first batch of young researchers, most in the mid-20s to mid-30s, in response to a request from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for more peer-reviewed literature by authors from developing countries. > View full story |
21 Oct 2010 | News briefs |
Call for nominations for the 2011 Sasakawa Award for Disaster ReductionFrom promoting women’s empowerment in Indonesia, to teaching architects to build structures resilient against hurricanes and earthquakes, the Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction has helped fund innovative disaster reduction work by a range of professionals from geologists to engineers for the past 23 years. Nominations are now open for the 2011 Sasakawa Award to be given to an individual or organization for outstanding and internationally recognized action that contributes to building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters. |
25 Oct 2010 | News briefs |
First Asia-Pacific Disaster Report launched by ESCAP and UNISDRPeople in the Asia-Pacific region are four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than those in Africa and 25 times more likely than those in Europe or North America, says a UN report released at the Fourth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR). The region generated one quarter of the world’s GDP, yet it accounted for 85 per cent of deaths and 38 per cent of global economic losses due to natural disasters over the last three decades. |
26 Oct 2010 | Press release |
Five-year roadmap to cope with weather-related hazards in AsiaOfficials meeting at the Fourth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction have approved a five-year regional roadmap to establish climate resilient disaster risk management systems by 2015 that will contribute to sustainable development at the regional, national and community levels. |
28 Oct 2010 | Press release |
Call for good practices and lessons learned for the “Making Cities Resilient – My City is Getting Ready!” campaignUNISDR is launching a call for "good practices" and lessons learned by cities/local governments in support of the "Making Cities Resilient – My City is Getting Ready!" campaign. Selected examples will be published by the end of 2011, and others will be showcased during the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction on 8-13 May 2011. |
9 Nov 2010 | News briefs |
World Bank-UN Report Charts Path to Prevent Death and Destruction from Natural HazardsA new joint report from the World Bank and the United Nations says that annual global losses from natural disasters could triple to $185 billion by the end of this century, even without calculating the impact of climate change. Climate change could then add $28-$68 billion more in damages each year from tropical cyclones alone. The report also says that the number of people exposed to storms and earthquakes in large cities could double to 1.5 billion by 2050. |
11 Nov 2010 | Press release |
Covering disasters from a DRR perspectiveNational media organizations play an important role in promoting national disaster risk reduction policies and programmes. They need to know about disaster risk reduction and to establish contact with their national disaster risk reduction representatives who can provide them with accurate and timely information. To support this, UNISDR, Thomson Reuters Foundation, UNRIC and ECHO, are organizing a two-day media training in Brussels from 15 to 16 November 2010 with ten media organizations and national platform representatives from European countries. |
15 Nov 2010 | News briefs |
Killer year caps deadly decade - reducing disaster impact is "critical" says top UN disaster officialGeneva – Some 373 natural disasters killed over 296,800 people in 2010, affecting nearly 208 million others and costing nearly US$110 billion, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). The top two most lethal disasters -- the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, which killed over 222,500 people, as well as the Russian heat wave in summer, which caused about 56,000 fatalities made 2010 the deadliest years in at least two decades. |
24 Jan 2011 | Press release |
Killer year caps deadly decade - reducing disaster impact is "critical" says top UN disaster official |
24 Jan 2011 | Press release |
Reducing vulnerability to natural hazards must become top international priority says General Assembly PresidentAddressing journalists at the Palais des Nations on 28 February, General Assembly President Joseph Deiss said that reducing vulnerability to natural hazards must be a top priority of the international community. “Reducing disaster risks is essential if we are to consolidate progress made in development and poverty reduction,” he said, briefing correspondents on the outcome of the General Assembly Thematic Debate on disaster risk reduction, held on 9 February at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. |
28 Feb 2011 | News briefs |
To build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, we need equal and active participation of men and women in disaster risk reduction.Disasters affect men and women differently, and so we will continue to lobby for gender-sensitive vulnerability, risk and capacity assessments. Studies show that women’s vulnerabilities during and after disasters is linked to their role and status in society, making women and children 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster. |
8 Mar 2011 | News briefs |
In times of dwindling resources, disaster risk reduction is an easy winA new report from the United Nations confirms what governments already hear but are slow to believe: that disciplined public sector involvement in “disaster risk reduction” can significantly reduce setbacks brought by hundreds of droughts, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes and other hazards that befall the world each year, on average. |
9 Mar 2011 | Press release |
Top UN officials speak about the importance of disaster risk reduction following a massive earthquake off Japan's coastSpeaking to UN Radio, two of the UN's top officials on disaster reduction weigh in on the devastation caused by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale that struck northeastern Japan on Friday and triggered a tsunami that engulfed coastal towns and cities along Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures. In the interviews, they highlighted the importance of disaster risk reduction and Japan's disaster preparedness. |
14 Mar 2011 | News briefs |
Statement by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction on World Meteorological DayToday’s observance of World Meteorological Day with its theme of “Climate for You”, highlights the direct link between climate change, weather variability and the increase in the frequency as well as severity of weather related natural hazards. |
23 Mar 2011 | Statements & speeches |
Two days until the official opening of the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk ReductionThe final touches are being added to the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 8-13 May. The Global Platform will be opened officially by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on May 10. |
8 May 2011 | News briefs |
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to open the latest session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk ReductionThe Global Platform will be opened today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will also launch a report entitled 2011 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction – Revealing risks, redefining development. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro will chair the forum in Geneva. |
10 May 2011 | News briefs |
Economic Disaster Losses Increasing, Threatening All Regions, Rich and Poor Countries, Warns New United Nations ReportDisaster-related economic losses are increasing across all regions, critically threatening the economies of low-income countries and even outstripping wealth creation across many of the world’s richer nations, says a United Nations report titled Revealing Risk, Redefining Development to be launched today by the United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Third Session of the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction. |
10 May 2011 | Press release |
UN Secretary-General announces a discussion on nuclear energy in SeptemberThe international community must “risk proof” development because disasters are taking a heavy toll on rich and poor countries as well as outpacing their ability to respond, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates today, at the foremost gathering of stakeholders on reducing disaster risk which opened this afternoon in Geneva and will run until Friday, 13 May. |
10 May 2011 | Press release |
Panel at World Reconstruction Conference calls for stronger framework to coordinate disaster activitiesSri Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank Managing Director, yesterday called for a stronger framework to coordinate disaster activities with greater transparency, at a high-level policy panel on “responding to natural disasters: a long-ignored development challenge.” |
11 May 2011 | News briefs |
Scientists make recommendations to better address the science and technical needs of the UNISDRMembers of the Scientific and Technical Committee of UNISDR prepared a statement during the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction that sets out a clear agenda to better align existing science and technical knowledge with the efforts to implement the Hyogo Framework for Action. |
12 May 2011 | News briefs |
Calls for 'coalition of action' to address link between natural hazards and nuclear safety at Global Platform for DRR ending todayIn a year marred by disaster losses over US$300 billion, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called, at the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, for a “coalition of action” and a high-level meeting during the next General Assembly to address the link between natural hazards and nuclear safety. |
13 May 2011 | Press release |
Chair's Summary sees disaster risk reduction as key to preserving and protecting environment and ensuring sustainable developmentHalf of humanity is now living in cities - commitment to resilience is urgently needed, said Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the Third Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in her final summary. |
3 Jun 2011 | News briefs |
Anticipating and reducing risk needed as some of the world's most populated countries face severe drought and floodingOver 10 million people from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda will be severely affected by severe drought, with no likelihood of improvement until 2012, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of humanitarian Affairs warned in an alert yesterday. |
28 Jun 2011 | News briefs |
Forests are a vital natural resource and ally for reducing disaster risks, says UN special representative over concerns of wildfire riskAs Europe and North America move into the summer season, the risk of wildfires will increase. While these natural hazards may not get the attention of earthquakes, tsunamis and cyclones, their destructive potential is considerable and reducing the risks they present should be a priority. |
4 Jul 2011 | News briefs |
Viet Nam Ministry plans to implement a community-based disaster risk management programme in 6,000 communes by 2020The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dao Xuan Hoc said the Ministry is working with relevant national and local departments to enact a law on disaster risk prevention and reduction, clearly defining the roles of the Government and to assure that citizens had access to information on disaster risks. |
21 Jul 2011 | News briefs |
Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management launches UN report warning of rising economic losses due to disasters and climate changeThe Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR11) titled Revealing Risk, Redefining Development will be launched today in Auckland (New Zealand) at the Third Session of the Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management which is the main gathering of disaster risk management experts and decision makers in the Pacific region. |
3 Aug 2011 | News briefs |
The Wave That Eats People – The Value of Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk ReductionAs the United Nations today commemorates the 17th International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples under the theme of "Indigenous designs: celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future", it is perhaps timely to flag the positive contributions such cultures are able to make to DDR and CCA. |
9 Aug 2011 | News briefs |
Water, too little or too much – a resource that can improve or destroy life: smarter water management needed to reduce disaster risksOn the opening day of the World Water Week taking place in Stockholm, Sweden this week, speakers called for increased investments in disaster-resilient infrastructure and smarter water management to avoid drought, floods and other water-related disasters, particularly in urban areas. |
24 Aug 2011 | News briefs |
Award-winning mayor organizes first-ever Asian city-to-city study tour and learning event with Sri Lankan mayorsVice-Mayor Al Arquillano from San Francisco, a small town in the Cebu municipality, has been showing off. He has been demonstrating the ingenious ‘Purok system’ which won worldwide attention and the 2011 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction. Four mayors from the Sri Lankan cities of Balangoda, Mannar, Tangalle and Puttalam recently participated in a three-day practical study visit to learn from the town’s experience. |
26 Aug 2011 | Press release |
Bridging the gap between climate scientists and disaster risk reduction experts, during Fifteenth Southern Africa Region Climate Outlook ForumThe Southern Africa Development Community Disaster Risk Reduction Unit, GFDRR and UNISDR are conducting a disaster risk reduction stakeholders training workshop from 27-28 August 2011. |
27 Aug 2011 | News briefs |
Upcoming Event
The Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction will take place in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2013.
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Evidence, monthly UNISDR newsletter: issue 16, April 2013
This monthly newsletter highlights UNISDR activities around the world. This issue reports on: (i) the Global Platform 2013 ...
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