International Day for Disaster Reduction
Celebrations in Asia and the Pacific
Events to highlight the International Day for
Disaster Reduction (“Invest in Disasters”),
were held in many Asian countries, including
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. In Thailand,
the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
(DDPM) of the Ministry of Interior hosted a public
awareness campaign, and UNESCAP organized its
Annual Forum on Disaster Reduction, in cooperation
with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC)
and relevant UN Agencies. The UN/ISDR Asia and
the Pacific supported the organization of the
events, in particular the annual ceremony of
delivery of the United Nations Sasakawa Award
for Disaster Reduction and the panel discussion
on “Disaster Risk Management in Asia and
the Pacific: Learning from Recent and Innovative
Experiences”.
For more information, please contact santucci.unescap@un.org and rosec@un.org
Concluding Regional
Workshop on Methodologies to Assess Socio
Economic Impacts of Natural
Disasters, 19-21 October, UNESCAP, Thailand
The workshop grouped together representatives
from China, Lao PDR, Pakistan, Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam and UN Agencies
(UNESCAP, ECLAC, UNDP, FAO, ADPC, UN/ISDR and
the World Bank among others). The discussions
focused on a recent assessment of regional
trends on disasters impact in selected countries
from Asia-Pacific carried out by UNESCAP as
well as ECLAC experiences in the region, the
aim of the exercise being to harmonize assessments
methods for flood/typhoons and drought, based
on the case studies presented during the meeting.
A brief presentation was made on the ISDR Asian
Partnership on Disaster Reduction (IAP)’s
initiatives to assist developing countries
in the region in the formulation of their National
Strategic Action Plans (SNAP) for the implementation
of the Hyogo Framework for Action.
This workshop came as a direct follow-up to
the five roundtable workshops organized by
UNESCAP in Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Pakistan, Sri
Lanka and the Philippines to assess the socio-economic
impact of hydro-meteorological disasters in
these countries where standard templates for
floods/typhoon and drought were developed to
incorporate existing disaster impact assessments
into ECLAC’s conceptual approach. It
also complemented the UNESCAP Socio-economic
Impact Assessment of Typhoon-related Disasters
and Risk Management towards Millennium Development
Goals Workshop (5-9 September 2005, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia) during which the conclusions of UNESCAP-UNDP-ECLAC
Project on Assessment of Socio-economic Impacts
of Hydro-meteorological Disasters were presented,
recommending the adoption of the ECLAC methodology
for the standardization of assessment methodology
for typhoon-related disasters. A workshop on
hydrology is being planned for 2006, which
will link activities of the Typhoon Committee
to the global efforts on disaster reduction,
in particular to the Hyogo Framework for Action:
2005-2015. The 38th session of the Typhoon
Committee will be held from the 14-19 November
2005, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
For more information, please contact: ti.unescap@un.org
Government of Thailand Contributes Ten Million
USD for New Multi-donor Voluntary Trust Fund
on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements in the
Indian Ocean
An agreement was signed on 26 September 2005
between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Thailand and UNESCAP to create a regional trust
fund to support tsunami early warning arrangements
in the Indian Ocean and Southeast. The Government
of Thailand has contributed ten million USD
to support this fund, which will be managed
by UNESCAP, and will contribute to the broader
United Nations response to the tsunami by supporting
the development of a regional early warning
system, through a network of national and regional
centres. The fund will assist these centers
in building technological and organizational
capacity and expertise. Thailand is cooperating
with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre
(ADPC) in establishing one regional center.
This fund will complement the current fund
released through the UN Flash Appeal for the
development and strengthening of an early Warning
system for the Indian Ocean, which is currently
being managed by the UNESCO/IOC and the UN/ISDR.
For further information, please contact Department
of International Organizations, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, at 0-2643-5000 ext. 2544 or
2299 or UNESCAP at 0-2288-1935
UNESCAP Receives One Million USD from the Republic
of Korea for Technical Cooperation on Disaster
Preparedness
The Government of the Republic of Korea has
provided UNESCAP with a one million USD contribution
for technical cooperation in tsunami affected
countries. UNESCAP will use this contribution
to implement regional projects as part of the
UN’s response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.
The projects will focus on improving the co-ordination
and effectiveness of regional practices and
policies, and integrating regional disaster
preparedness and management into public policy
and national systems in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition, UNESCAP will facilitate the exchange
of experiences and good practices within the
region in areas such as education and awareness
raising, as well as mitigation strategies and
pilot programmes for populations affected by
the tsunami.
For further information please contact unisbkk.unescap@un.org
News from the Indonesian Society for Disaster
Management (ISDM)
The Indonesian Society for Disaster Management
(MPBI) conducted series of activities for the
International Day for Disaster Reduction. In
collaboration with the Provincial government
of Jakarta Capital Region, MPBI conducted a
workshop for community leaders on local disaster
risk mapping, an exhibition and parade, and
a drill exercise. A workshop on the Exploration
of Microfinance in Reducing Disaster Vulnerability
was also held.
Cooperation is also underway between the ISDM
and the UN/ISDR Asia-Pacific to translate Living
with Risk into Bahasa.
For more information, please contact pujiono@aseansec.org
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