Early warning - from concept to action: the conclusions of the third international conference on early warning (EWC III), 27-29 March 2006, Bonn, Germany

Through these outcomes, the Third International Conference on Early Warning (EWC III) contributes to the translation into concrete measures of the “Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters” adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in January 2005 in Kobe, Japan.

Building on the two previous international early warning conferences in 1998 and 2003, the conference was an initiative of the German Government to respond to the devastating effects of the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004 and in the recognition that had an effective early warning system been in place, many lives would have been saved.

Guided by the motto “from concept to action”, the conference took place in Bonn, Germany, from 27 to 29 March under the auspices of the United Nations. It convened more than 1,250 participants active in the field of early warning from 132 countries, including ministers, senior government officials, as well as representatives of international organizations, experts, and members of civil society.