Coordinated by:
International Red Cross / Red Crescent Centre on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness,
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR)
DRCCinfolink@un.org

1. More dialogue on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation

This second edition of the DR+CC infolink, is produced based on positive feedback on the pilot edition. The three initiating partners feel encouraged by the comments received which address both the format and the scope of this newsletter.

The second edition is therefore persevering in addressing the intersection of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, to promote disaster risk reduction as an adaptation strategy, and to clarify the role of climate change in disaster risk management.

Since the first DR+CC infolink, more bridges were built between the two subjects. Climate change experts participated actively in the Second International Conference on Early Warning (EWC-II), Bonn 16-18 October, recognising that ongoing work of the disaster risk reduction community is a contribution to adaptation efforts to climate change. The World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002 called for a greater commitment to include disaster and risk reduction, along with strengthening early warning systems and networks, within the framework of sustainable development policies and action plans. This conference addressed these issues through an interdisciplinary discussion that focused on the following three themes: emerging issues, early warning and sustainable development, and sustaining the early warning dialogue. Other examples include the recent Climate and Technology Bazar and Conferences, held in New Delhi, India, November 10 - 13, 2003. At this event two conferences organised by UNEP and the UNFCCC respectively on Adaptation Research and Local Coping Strategies and Technologies for Adaptation, provided an opportunity for greater exchange of views between disaster risk management experts and adaptation experts. The conclusions of these discussion will be included in future DR+CC infolinks.

DR+CC infolink is a collaboration between the International Red Cross / Red Crescent Centre on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR).

We intend to publish this newsletter on a quarterly basis and would highly appreciate any contributions and comments regarding both the content as well as suggestions for new readers who are not yet included in this mailing.

Email: DRCCinfolink@un.org

2. UNFCC COP 9: 1-12 December, Milan, Italy

The upcoming Ninth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP9), 1 - 12 December 2003 Milan, provides a number of formal sessions and side events that address disaster risk reduction issues within the climate change agenda. The agenda of the COP9 is on http://unfccc.int/cop9/latest/cop9_ag.pdf and a tentative schedule of side events and list of exhibits is available at: http://regserver.unfccc.int/seors/new/finalreport/report.html

3. Pre-COP Workshops
Pre-COP Workshop on Insurance and Climate-Related Extreme Weather Events, 28 November : the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) and UNDP hosted a workshop for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Milan.
Pre-COP Workshop for LDC Climate Change Negotiators, 26 and 27 November: FIELD and IIED hosted a workshop in Milan, for Least Developed Country Delegates on Negotiation and Implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. http://www.field.org.uk



4. Preparedness for Climate Change

On 4 December, the Netherlands Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies will sign an agreement that confirms the cooperation for the RC/RC Centre on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness. During the International Red Cross Conference that takes place from 2-6 December the document ´Preparedness for Climate Change´is presented. The paper informs about climate change and the impacts it is likely to have on vulnerable people. It also advises the RC/RC national societies on the ´seven steps for risk reduction´; activities to be undertaken to include the risks of climate change in ongoing Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction work.
The document can be ordered from the Climate centre or found at http://www.climatecentre.org

5. Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness: Five assessments completed, first two programmes implemented

During 2002 and 2003 the Red Cross Climate centre and the NLRC conducted five Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness assessments, in cooperation with the national societies in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Ethiopia and the Pacific. Leading questions in these assessments were whether and how these countries are vulnerable to the likely impacts of climate change and how they can, through more cooperation with the climate change experts and institutions improve the resilience of communities against these risks. With the support of the Netherlands Government the programmes that were developed during these pilot assessments in Nicaragua and Vietman started in the last couple of months. Mozambique and the Pacific are expected to start in the first half of 2004.
Contact: http://www.climatecentre.org

6. Nicaragua DP and CC programme

In May, the Nicaraguan Red Cross (NRC) started the national DP and CC programme. The NRC choose to focus the pilot programme on the 2 autonomous regions in the Atlantic Coast, which is the region most prone to weather related disasters. In cooperation with the local NRC branches in Puerto Cabezas and Bluefields three communities were chosen to start the pilot programme.

Elements of the programme are:

• At community level: awareness raising and education about the new risks of climate change, first aid training and the design of risk reduction measures (evacuation plans, shelters, waste management and reforestation)
• At the municipal land provincial level: training of volunteers to assist the communities, new partnerships with organisations like the civil defence and environmental department of the local government, the local radio and other media, the education system, including the University.
• At the national level: new or strengthened partnerships with the national meteorological office, Ministries of Environment and Education, National Disaster Management Organisation and others.
  

Some of the first lessons are:

• “ Working with Climate Change gives us a better and broader vision of the type of work connected with Risk Management.”
• “ Coordination with other institutions requires a process of awareness raising about the role of the Red Cross in changing the traditional vision of its functions into a more comprehensive one. “
• “ The Climate Change issue allows implementing a series of actions with the Red Cross volunteers. It also encourages new volunteers to join us and stay longer”
• “ It is important to raise awareness within and outside the Red Cross. The Climate Change issue was unfamiliar to the Red Cross and the Communities; it will take more time to work on the project.”
  Contact: http://www.climatecentre.org

7.CAPaBLE Programme

The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) has launched a call for proposals under its CAPaBLE Programme. The five-year CAPaBLE programme is expected to develop and enhance scientific capacity in developing countries to improve their decision making in the target areas related to climate change and water and food security. The specific call for proposals focuses on - " Integrated study of climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation opportunities in vulnerable countries/areas such as Small Island Developing States, mountainous states and regions, and highly populated coastal areas with low altitudes For more information http://www.apn.gr.jp or contact Martin Rice, Programme Manager mrice@apn.gr.jp

8. Mesoscale Forecasting Workshop/Future of Real-Time Forecasting

Boulder, Colorado: 8-12 December. The development and delivery of accurate, reliable, and useful mesoscale atmospheric forecasts present special needs, challenges and opportunities that are currently not consistently satisfied. As the resolution of atmospheric forecast models has increased there has been a corresponding but smaller increase in forecast skill and utility to end-users. These workshops will identify challenges, needs and opportunities involved in developing improved, economically viable, integrated atmospheric mesoscale observing, modeling, and information-delivery systems. For more information contact Tom Schlatter, NOAA/OAR Forecast Systems Laboratory, Boulder,Colorado:
tom.schlaltter@noaa.gov
http://www.mmm.ucar.edu/uswrp/upcoming_meetings/regform.html

9. Reports now available from recent National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) Workshops

Thimphu, BHUTAN: 9 -11 September. For the following Asian LDCs: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Maldives, Myanmar and Nepal.
http://www.unitar.org/ccp/bhutan
For more information email: ccp@unitar.org

Ougadougou, BURKINA FASO 28-31 October. For the following Francophone LDCs: Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Central African Republic, Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Mali, Madagascar, Mauritania, Niger, Sao Tome-and-Principe, Senegal, Sudan and Togo.
http://www.unitar.org/ccp/bhutan
For more information email: ccp@unitar.org



10. Reports available from recently held conferences and workshops

Managing Risk and Liability in a Changing Climate and Climate Change Management 3 December 2003, Royal Geographical Society, London, UKCIP Director, Chris West addressed this conference, along with speakers from the Carbon Trust, the Greater London Assembly and academics from the Oxford University, Middlesex University and University College London. Topics to be covered include: flood management, implications for planning and regeneration, climate change and the construction industry, climatic monitoring and prediction, climate change - obligations and liabilities and transport trends and policies.
For further details visit http://www.climatecm.com/conferences or contact Selena Hannagan, tel + 44 (0)20 8969 1008 or email selenahannagan@newzeye.com.

XI World Water Congress: Water Resources Management in the 21st Century. Madrid: 5-9 October, 2003. The major themes include: water planning under uncertainty (climatic variability and change), valuing water, impact of new technologies, and the influence of socioeconomic, cultural, and religious factors in water resource policies.
Contact: mwwater2003@cedex.es;
http://www.cedex.es/iwracongress2003/en/hoja2_en.htm

The 30th Pacem in Maribus: A Year after Johannesburg: Ocean Governance and Sustainable Development, Ocean and Coasts: a Glimpse into the Future, Kiev, Ukraine, 27-31 October 2003. Topics included: emerging environmental threats, climate change, disaster preparedness, coastal management and education and training. For more information, contact Dr. V.N.Radchenko, radalpin@ibss.iuf.net
http://www.30pim.sevinfo.net

World Conference on Disaster Management, Infrastructure, and Control Systems (DMIC) Hyderabad, India: 29-31 October, 2003. This conference focused on the mitigation of disasters through control systems and infrastructure development. It was aimed at a wide, interdisciplinary audience with the goal of providing a common platform to discuss and plan disaster preventive measures, and broadly disseminate information. Conference themes included disasters that are geologic, medical, terroristic, water and climate related. Email: dmic2003@schanisj.com or jntuenviron@satyam.net.in ; http://www.schanisj.com

First Young Scientists' Global Change Conference, Trieste, Italy, 16-19 November 2003. Contact: Kristy Ross, Climatology Research Group, University of the Witwatersrand kristy@crg.bpb.wits.ac.za
http://www.start.org

11. Special Field Report: A new NGO in Costa Rica (by Carlos Raul Gutierrez, Founder of Anaphysis)

“Connections, instead of divisions: After my first experience in a large Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project (cement sector), I found out that most initiatives, even small scale projects, focus on the energy supply side only. So there is little to date in terms of changing consumer behaviour. On the other hand, the strict separation of the mitigation activities from adaptation issues gets blurred in the real life of small scale projects. While the climate change community complains about lack of funds for emission reduction projects or low prices of carbon, there are many initiatives on poverty alleviation, natural resource management and disaster risk reduction that do actually recognize the importance of the issue and for a long time have defined who is vulnerable to climate change on the micro level. Many of those efforts are already beneficial to adaptation, even if developed under other objectives, so maybe climate change is only as a new face of poverty, an additional issue to be considered to improve welfare of already vulnerable populations. The international community has recognized the links between climate and natural resource management, disaster prevention and poverty. Now is the time to integrate efforts and use climate change as one of the most comprehensive frameworks for analysing environmental impact. Anáphysis is a new non profit, non political, non confessional, NGO registered in Venezuela and Costa Rica and planning to register in Switzerland soon. It works in collaboration with international and local agencies. Its mission is threefold, namely to: provide active and direct assistance to vulnerable communities; reduce direct impact and improve capacities to cope with climate change; and adapt to new risks without compromising the ability to improve their quality of life in a sustainable manner. In the short term, this will be achieved in part, with the development of an Ecolitereacy module on climate change, and later, and increasingly, by implementing adaptation projects that hopefully, in some cases, would qualify under the small scale activities of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).”

http://www.anaphysis.org is being constructed and info@anaphysis.org should be operational soon. For the time being please email anaphysis@hotmail.com or crgutierrez@ghp.co

12. Climate change, drought and wildland fire disasters

Working Groups of the Inter-Agency Task Force of the UN/ISDR, presented a statement on drought and disasters. The chairman of WG-4 highlighted the following issues concerning the interconnectedness of drought and wildland fire disasters. This report includes discussions on short-term climate variability / climate extremes and wildland fires, long-term climate variability / climate change and short- to long-term prevention and preparedness measures.
http://www.unisdr.org

13. Global warming mortality estimated at upwards of 150,000 per year

About 160,000 people die every year from side-effects of global warming ranging from malaria to
malnutrition and the numbers could almost double by 2020, a group of scientists said. The study, by scientists at the World Health Organization (WHO) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said children in developing nations seemed most vulnerable. "We estimate that climate change may already be causing in the region of 160,000 deaths...a year," Professor Andrew Haines of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told a climate change conference in Moscow in October. Most deaths would be in developing nations in Africa, Latin America and South-east Asia, which would be hardest hit by the spread of malnutrition, diarrhoea and malaria in the wake of warmer temperatures, floods and droughts. Milder winters, however, might mean that people would live longer on average in Europe or North America despite risks from heat waves this summer in which about 15,000 people died in France alone.
(Source: Reuters, October 2003)
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/10/01/warming.deaths.reut/index.html

14. Pacific Islanders Feel Brunt of Climate Change

Pacific island nations are feeling the brunt of climate change in the shape of increasingly frequent and intense storms the United Nations has been told. President of the Federated States of Micronesia Joseph J. Urusemal has told the 58th session of the UN General Assembly the world cannot afford to lose the war against climate change. He says the frequency and intensity of storms in the Pacific has increased tremendously over the years, with typhoons killing whole families and sweeping away community cemeteries. He says everything that people in the Federated States of Micronesia
have and hope to achieve is under grave threat because of global climate change.
(Source: ABC Radio Australia News, September 29, 2003)
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newstories/RANewsStories_956232.htm

15. UNDP, Swiss Re and Harvard to assess disaster risks of climate change and biodiversity loss

An innovative partnership will investigate the risks posed by climate change and loss of biodiversity — the variety of all life forms and ecosystems — that can contribute to natural disasters, the spread of diseases and other health hazards that often hit poor communities hardest. The partnership responds to concerns by developing countries about the need for assistance in analyzing and mitigating the impact of these risks on poor communities. UNDP's experience indicates that better risk management could help extend disaster-related insurance to countries where it is not available with four working groups assigned to assess four areas: heat waves and air pollution, emerging infectious diseases, extreme weather events and impacts on ecosystems.

Weather-related insurance losses have increased five-fold since the 1950s, currently reaching $40 billion a year. These losses are expected to grow to $150 billion a year within the next decade. Although 96 per cent of disaster-related deaths occur in developing countries, insurance against such risks is not available in an estimated 90 per cent of those countries, making this a central issue in poverty reduction efforts. The assessment will promote sound environmental management, such as restoring forests for flood and erosion control, watershed protection, and other risk-mitigating activities needed for wider availability of disaster insurance — measures that are important for progress towards poverty eradication and the other Millennium Development Goals.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2003/october/9oct03

16. Earth Simulator Delights Scientists

A new era in the accuracy of climate prediction has come closer with the presentation of the first results from the largest supercomputer in the world. The Earth Simulator, housed in Japan, has produced what scientists are calling "very exciting" information. At the Earth Simulator Center, the AFES, OFES, Global atmospheric circulation, and Global oceanic circulation codes have been developed. The 10km horizontal resolution global runs of AFES were successfully carried out reproducing fairly well the generation and propagation of typhoons and the formation of the Baiu rainy front. The 10km resolution OFES runs have superiorly visualised the meandering Kuroshio, the Gulf stream, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Agulhas rings streaming along the southern coast of the African continent.
http://www.es.jamstec.go.jp/esc/eng/index.html

17. Australian climate change justice program launched

The Australian Climate Justice Program was launched by the environmental group Climate Action Network Australia (CANA). Acting on CANA’s behalf, the law firm Maurice Blackburn Cashman (MBC) today notified the directors of selected Australian companies of the financial risks that climate change presents to their companies, and of their legal obligations to deal with those risks appropriately. “What we're seeing is an emerging area of climate litigation. As the impacts of climate change worsen, the number of potential plaintiffs, and the range of legal actions available to those plaintiffs, will undoubtedly increase,” said Dr. Peter Cashman, General Counsel of Maurice Blackburn Cashman. The notice initiated today warns of the various financial risks (together referred to as Climate Risk) faced by corporations that fail to address climate change. Major emitters and facilitators are notified that they are particularly exposed to risks posed by regulation of greenhouse gases and “climate litigation”. Directors are then informed that it would be prudent for them to assess and, if necessary, address Climate Risk.
http://www.climatelaw.org

18. Extreme weather costs U.S. $20 Billion in 2002

WASHINGTON, DC, October 9, 2003 (ENS) - Extreme weather events cost U.S. citizens some $20 billion in 2002, a cost that could increase if the U.S. does nothing to curb global warming, according to a report released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). The organization analysed data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Flood Insurance Program, Army Corps of Engineers, Small Business Administration, Farm Service Agency, and the Property Claims Service to determine the $20 billion figure. The environmental group issued its report as the U.S. Congress wrestles with U.S. energy policy, which critics say is doing little to change the nation's energy consumption patterns. The report says that clean energy technologies could cost U.S. consumers billions of dollars and reduce global warming pollution.

"People say we can not change the weather, but due to global warming we may already have," said U.S. PIRG Global Warming Advocate Beth Lander. "While the U.S. does nothing to curb global warming, consumers are losing out on the money saving benefits of clean energy solutions, and we all pay the price to deal with the consequences."
http://uspirg.org/uspirg.asp?id2=10915&id3=USPIRG&

19. Contribution of the World Council of Churches

A Consultation on Climate Change and on Water Issues – Building Blocks for an Eco-Justice Network which was Co-sponsored by the World Council of Churches (Justice, Peace and Creation) and the Heads of Agencies Network (HOAN)was held, September 23-27, Geneva. The WCC’s Programme on Climate Change is premised on this ethical framework and has included theological and ethical reflection, the production of educational resources, advocacy and encouragement of regional initiatives. Over the past several years, the advocacy work that is directed primarily at industrialised nations to reduce the causes of human-induced climate change has been expanded to include more of a focus on how climate change is threatening communities and the needs of peoples and eco-systems to adapt, particularly in the south. In 2002, the WCC prepared an ecumenical statement “Call to Action in Solidarity with those Most Affected by Climate Change” in conjunction with denominational and ecumenical relief and development agencies that are represented in the Heads of Agencies Network (HOAN) and the European Christian Environment Network (ECEN). The statement has been endorsed by many WCC member churches, HOAN agencies and other ecumenical ecological associations and was a focus of WCC work at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg September 2002 and the 8th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP8) in New Delhi in November 2002.The April 2003 meeting of the Heads of Agencies Network (HOAN) adopted a recommendation to work with the WCC-JPC to develop a plan for follow-up of the ecumenical statement. The consultation participants proposed a next gathering of interested churches and agencies in September 2004 and ecumenical groups in The Netherlands have tentatively agreed to co-sponsor and host this event.

For further information please contact: Dr. David G. Hallman, Climate Change Programme Coordinator, World Council of Churches and Energy & Environment Programme Officer, United Church of Canada.
dhallman@sympatico.ca

20. Useful Websites

Adaptation and Impacts Research Group
http://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/airg/index_e.cfm
Part of the Meteorological Service of Canada. Researches climate issues including climate change, climate disasters and vulnerability.

Climate Prediction Center
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov
NOAA assesses and forecasts impacts of short-term climate variability, emphasizing enhanced risks of weather-related extreme events, for use in mitigating losses and maximizing economic gains.

Environmental and Societal Impacts Group
http://www.esig.ucar.edu
Based in Colorado, conducts extensive research on climate issues, particularly disaster and vulnerability aspects.

Extreme Weather Links
http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/pielke/camille/weatherlinks.html
Economic and other societal impacts related to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, lightning, and other U.S. weather phenomena from consortium of U.S. scientific research groups

Government of Canada: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations Projects Database
http://adaptation.nrcan.gc/home2_e.asp?CaID=14&PqID+23
An extensive database of relevant projects in Canada categorized in sectors- agriculture, coastal zones, communities, crosscutting, ecosystems, fisheries, forestry, health, landscape hazards, tourism, transportation and water resources.

Hurricanes: Nature's Greatest Storms -- NOAA
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/hurricane/links.html
Information of Hurricanes including regional events, risk prediction initiatives, links with climate variability, dynamics and modelling, histories, databases and datasets and other background information.

Island Vulnerability
http://www.islandvulnerability.org
A website linking island characteristics with climate risk and disaster issues. Climate change features on islands that are low-lying and/or highly dependent on their coastlines.

Living with Flooding
http://www.livingwithflooding.co
A suggested approach to live with flooding, rather than trying to separate ourselves from the environment. Focused on the U.K., but written by a disaster and development practitioner with several decades of international experience, particularly in the less-developed world.

21. Publications

1. Ashford, Graham and Jennifer Castleden. 2003. Inuit Observations of Climate Change final Report. IISD, 27 pp. Observations by the Inuvialuit of Sachs Harbour support what has long been predicted, that climate change would be felt first in the Polar Regions. This community’s way of life is at risk, an urgent warning of the negative impacts of climate change predicted to occur elsewhere in the world.
   On Banks Island in Canada’s High Arctic, Inuvialuit hunters and trappers have a close relationship with nature. As they travel over the tundra or harvest fish from the sea, they notice even the smallest changes in their environment. Recently, the changes have been significant and troubling. The climate has become unpredictable; the landscape unfamiliar. http://www.iisd.org/casl/projects/inuitobs.htm
   
2. Clay, Edward et al. March 2003. Malawi and Southern Africa : Climate Variability and Economic Performance. World Bank, Disaster Management Facility, Working Paper Series No. 7. 112 pp.
   A comprehensive report detailing climate variability in Southern Africa, links to wider climatic processes, the linkages with drought, the socio-economic impacts of extensive drought in Malawi and Southern Africa, and potential applications in climate forecasting.
   http://www.worldbank.org/dmf/files/malawi_full_doc.pdf
   
3. Conference/Workshop on Climate and Health in the Caribbean: A report is now available on the conference/workshop on climate and health in the Caribbean that was held in Barbados in 2002. This report is the product of a collaboration led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The full text is online. Major health issues highlighted were vector-borne diseases (dengue, malaria), waterborne diseases, heat stress, asthma, and disaster response to climate and weather phenomena. CRN (collaborative research network) members participated in the event.
   http://chiex.net/publications_2003.htm (English and Spanish)
   For additional information, see WHO and NOAA below:
   http://www.who.int/peh/climate/climate_and_health.htm
   http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/archive/spot_barbados.html
   
4. The Disaster Research (DR) electronic newsletter is a moderated e-mail newsletter published by the Natural Hazards Center. DR comes out approximately twice monthly and comprises some of the news items that appear in center's printed newsletter, the Natural Hazards Observer, as well as other timely articles. In addition, it contains queries and messages from DR's many subscribers. DR is distributed worldwide via the Internet to over 2,600 people. The latest issue and back issues and subscription forms for Disaster Research are available at:
   http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/dr/dr.html
   
5. IUCN, IISD, SEI-B and Intercooperation Information Papers, 2003
   In an effort to encourage the use of ecosystem management and restoration activities in climate change adaptation strategies, have produced a series of Information Papers to highlight successful examples of where such activities have decreased community vulnerability to climate-related hazards such as droughts and floods.
   Paper 1: Increasing Community Resilience to Climate-Related Disasters through Sustainable Livelihoods
   Paper 2: Increasing the Resilience of Tropical Hillside Communities through Forest Landscape Restoration
   Paper 3: Sustainable Drylands Management
   http://www.iisd.org/publications/publication.asp?pno=593
   
6. Jolly, Dyanna and Igor Krupnik. 2002. The Earth is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of Arctic Environmental Change. ARCUS. 384 pp. The Earth is Faster Now reviews major individual studies on indigenous knowledge and climate change undertaken during the past few years, primarily in North America. The text is accompanied by local observations, quotations from interviews, personal observations, illustrations and photographs. Contributors include well- known academic researchers and native people from Canada, Finland, and the United States. The publication is designed to be useful to both researchers and communities as a tool for networking and communication. sue@arcus.org
   
7. National Academy of Sciences, National Academies Press, Ocean Studies Board (OSB), Polar Research Board (PRB), Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC). 2002. Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises. (pdf), 238 pp.
   A thorough and rigorous study of the underlying reasons behind abrupt climate change, its predicted social and ecological consequences and recommendations for effective adaptation for policy makers.
   http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074347/html
   
8. The Natural Hazards Observer is the bi-monthly periodical of the Natural Hazards Center. It covers current disaster issues; new international, national and local disaster management, mitigation and education programs; hazards research; political and policy developments; new information sources; upcoming conferences; and recent publications. Distributed to over 15,000 subscribers in the U.S. and abroad via printed copies and our web site, it focuses on news regarding human adaptation and response to all natural hazards and provides a forum for concerned individuals to express opinions and generate new ideas through invited personal articles.
   http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/o/o.html
   
9. Proceedings of the XIVth Global Warming International Conference & Expo: May 27-30, 2003, Boston, USA. 76 pp. This report includes information on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, extreme events and global warming, ocean circulation, sea surface temperature rise and coral reefs, human health in a changing climate and policy, strategy and economics for effective action. http://www.globalwarming.net/gw14-proceedings.asp
   
10. Richards, Michael. 2003. Poverty Reduction, Equity and Climate Change: Global Governance Synergies or Contradictions? Published by the Overseas Development Institute – Globalisation and Poverty Programme, U.K. 14 pp. This report links the vulnerability of the poor to climate change impacts and emphasizes the synergy between climate change and poverty reduction agendas, and observes that without urgent action climate change is likely to undermine the UN Millennium Development Goals poverty reduction targets.
    http://www.odi.org.uk/iedg/publications/climate_change_web.pdf
    
11. Secretariat of the 3rd World Water Forum. 2003. The 3rd World Water Forum Final Report , Tokyo.
    268 pp. CD ROM available. Very comprehensive final report from the 3rd World Water Forum, 16-23 March 2003, Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka, Japan including reports on the link between climate change and effective water resource management and adaptation to climate change.
    http://www.world.water-forum3.com/en/finalreport_pdf/fr001_005.pdf
    WWF. 2003. Global Warming Contributes to Australia's Worst Drought.
    Details new research that has found that human-induced global warming is a key reason why the
    Australian drought of 2002 has been so severe (pdf) 8 pages.
    http://www.panda.org/downloads/climate_change/wwf2002drought_ut3s.pdf

22. DR+CC infolink Partners

International Red Cross / Red Crescent Centre on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness.
Based in the Netherlands, the Climate Centre will support National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the attempt to reduce the loss of life and the damage done to the livelihoods of people affected by the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. The Climate Centre aims to strengthen Red Cross and Red Crescent relief aid programmes by making better use of scientific data on climate change and extreme weather and by facilitating an exchange of ideas between the worlds of meteorological science and emergency relief. http://www.ifrc.org/what/disasters/dp/climate/centre.asp

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commitment to achieve its goals of sustainable development implies the protection of development achievements from climate-related risk and the assurance that climate risk is factored into all new development projects. The integrated climate risk management approach of UNDP projects and programmes in disaster reduction, in cooperation with national and regional institutions, can prove beneficial in multiple areas. The Adaptation Policy Framework (APF) principles explicitly state the need to pay greater attention to recent climate experience, impacts and adaptation and to ensure adaptation to climate variability and extreme events as a step towards reducing longer-term vulnerability. The Disaster Reduction Unit (DRU) of UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) provides technical and advisory support to UNDP's Country Offices in disaster reduction and recovery. The DRU support various efforts for integrating climate change issues in disaster risk reduction.
http://www.undp.org/erd/disred/climate.htm

Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR)
The ISDR is a UN-led initiative dedicated to the building of disaster resilient societies by promoting increased awareness of the importance of disaster reduction initiatives and supporting such initiatives in order to reduce human, economic and social losses due to natural hazards and related technological and environmental disasters. The disaster reduction and climate change policy agendas cannot remain separated. Several activities, such as the holding of side events in conjunction with meetings of the climate change convention (New Delhi, October 2002 and Bonn, June 2003), have been initiated by the ISDR secretariat to bridge the gap between the two communities. At the latter occasion, the concept of a multi-stakeholder process to assess and report on the linkages between disaster reduction and climate change and to identify opportunities to mainstream disaster reduction into adaptation activities was launched. The active involvement of disaster reduction scientists in the next IPCC assessment, due in 2007, is also being promoted. The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) of the ISDR is composed of four Working Groups, some of whose activities, and cross-cutting thematic discussions relate to the intersection of climate change and disaster reduction.
http://www.unisdr.org

23. Thank you to this issue’s contributors

Joan Aron
David Crighton
Carlos Gutierrez
Ilan Kelman
Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center University of Colorado
Janice Wormwood