Dear Readers,
It is with great pleasure that I present to you,
in my new function as Director of the UN Interagency Secretariat
of the International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), the information kit
of the 2001 World Disaster Reduction Campaign on “Countering
Disasters; Targeting Vulnerability”, with its three sub-themes,
namely “The Role of Science and Technology in Disaster Reduction”, “Building
Disaster Resistant Infrastructures”, and “ Mobilizing
Local Communities in Reducing Disasters”.
The information available in this kit is intended to help you
understand the concept of disaster reduction and related issues
used in our jargon, and to learn about the practical aspects of
disaster reduction through concrete examples of what people do
at the local, national, regional and international level to build
a safer world. The negative impact of natural disasters and related
environmental and technological disasters is increasing, mainly
due to a correlation of rapid population growth and poverty in
disaster prone areas.
The field of disaster reduction is ever-growing, multi-sectoral
and cross-cutting. It is not only the business of disaster and
development specialists, it goes beyond this, and touches upon
new fields every day, aiming at sustainable development. The ISDR
belongs to all, present and future stakeholders, and the reaching
of its goals can only succeed through concerted action. Therefore,
the role of the ISDR Secretariat is to promote and support the
widest array of efforts made in disaster reduction, to link up
people and entities who can benefit from shared experiences and
facilitate public commitment globally as well as improved scientific
knowledge.
What follows my introductory note is a set of definitions of key
terms, together with a series of questions and answers related
to disaster reduction. We have also added the guidelines for two
risk mapping contests, for children and local communities, which
are ongoing, and which were first published in the campaign announcement
earlier this year.
On behalf of the ISDR Secretariat, I wish to express my most sincere
gratitude to the contributors to the current kit who all gave their
valuable time to write their contributions. Due to size constraints,
we have not been able to include all the material in the current
kit. The ISDR Secretariat will, however, publicize the received
material through other means, either through the monthly ISDR Highlights
or through the website (www.unisdr.org) for example. Some of the
described cases also fit in more than one category, as disaster
reduction is an allencompassing issue. As the work progressed on
the current information kit, we rapidly realized that we would
never cover all the enthusiastic endeavors currently undertaken
to reduce the negative impact of natural disasters worldwide. Please
therefore look at this kit as a showcase of some practical aspects
in disaster reduction worldwide. The ISDR Secretariat is embarking
on a global review of disaster reduction initiatives worldwide
and expects to publish a report by early 2002.
From the first two articles in this information kit (Natural Disasters:
Counting Costs and Counting People-Warning: Global Warming Ahead,
Climate Change and Disasters) we hope to show current trends related
to natural disasters today. Each sub-theme then has its own (color-coded)
section in the kit, in which you will find a general introductory
section on the main issues at stake, followed by a series of examples
of disaster reduction in practice, as related to the specific sub-theme.
Just as the ISDR Secretariat is there to support you, we will
need your help on the best ways to achieve the goals which concern
us all. Please contact us with feedback or more information on
any issue of your interest.
I wish you a pleasant and informative read.
Sálvano Briceño
Director
UN/ISDR Secretariat
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