Former Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction
Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction - Functions and responsibilities - Membership - Working groups - Discussion groups -Meeting records
2007
 Working Group:
 
Climate Change and
 Disaster Risk Reduction
 
Finished 2005
 Working Group:
 
Disaster Reduction
 in Africa
 Working Group:
 
WCDR
 Working Group 3:
 Risk,  Vulnerability &
 Disaster  Impact
 Assessment
Finished 2003
 Working Group 1:
 Climate and Disasters
 Working Group 2:
 Early Warning
 Working Group 4:
 Wildland Fires; Wildland
 Fire Advisory Group
 (since 2004
)
Working Group 1
Reports to IATF/DR
8th meeting
5-6 November 2003
6th meeting
24-25 October 2002
5th meeting
25-26 April 2002

4th meeting
15-16 november 2001

For more information see Meeting Records
 
 

 


Working Group 1: Climate and Disasters

Chair: World Meteorology Organization (WMO)

The working Group builds on the work of the IATF on El Niño - to support international cooperation to reduce the impact of climate variables such as El Niño and La Niña. The Working Group carries out, reviews and supports activities in this specific area.

The most recent occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon occurred during 1997 and 1998. In recent decades, El Niño phases have been occurring on average every three and a half years, with large events occurring every seven to eleven years. Probability on this basis would therefore suggest that we are presently closer to the next El Niño event than to the previous. This highlights the need to continue efforts within an international concerted platform for a comprehensive strategy towards the integration of the prevention, mitigation and rehabilitation of the damage caused by future El Niño phenomena. The 1997-1998 El Niño was followed by a cold phase, La Niña, which also appears to have affected weather patterns in many regions of the world, in some cases with intensities equal to or greater than that observed under the El Niño phase. La Niña started in late 1998 and persisted through 1999 and well into 2000. The need for a joint consideration of both El Niño and La Niña is reflected in the scientific community by the use of the term El Niño/Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. The improved understanding of the ENSO has provided key impetus to the international co-operation on the prevention, mitigation, and preparedness for natural disasters.

Members

Institution Name e-mail
ISDR Yuichi Ono onoy@un.org
WMO Ken Davidson davidson_k@gateway.wmo.ch
MunichRe Gerhard Berz, gberz@munichre.com
UNDP Kamal Kishore kamal.kishore@undp.org
IRI Neil Ward nward@iri.ldgo.columbia.edu
UNEP Renate Christ Christ_R@gateway.wmo.ch
FAO Rene Gommes rene.gommes@fao.org
SADC Laban Ogallo laban.ogallo@meteo.go.ke
UNDP Andrew Maskrey andrew.maskrey@undp.org
IOC/UNESCO Art Alexiou a.alexiou@unesco.org
PAHO Marlo Libel libelmar@paho.org
UNU Zafar Adeel adeel@hq.unu.edu
IICA Manuel Paulet mpaulet@iica.ac.cr
SOPAC Atu Kaloumaira atu@sopac.org.fj
ADPC Vivian Raksakulthai Vivian@adpc.net
  © UN/ISDR