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April-May
2004
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ON
THE ROAD TO KOBE, HYOGO
World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR),
Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, 18-22 January 2005
1st session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom 1) for the WCDR
PrepCom 1 directly followed the IATF/DR meeting, attracting over 300 participants
representing UN Member States and a number of UN agencies and programmes and
NGOs. Documentation presented at PrepCom 1 is available on the ISDR website (http://www.unisdr.org),
with further details on the Conference to appear shortly on the WCDR website.
A summary of the session compiled by the Earth Negotiations Bulletin is available
at http://www.iisd.ca/isdr/wcdr/prepcom1
National inputs for the WCDR - reminder
National reporting and inputs is an essential component in the lead up to and
for the elaboration of outcomes of the WCDR. UN Member States are urged to participate
and submit their inputs to the ISDR secretariat by 15 June 2004. Numerous countries
have indicated their preparation of reports, with India being the first to submit
its input to the secretariat.
For further information and the outline for national inputs, please refer to
http://www.unisdr.org/eng/wcdr/national-inputs/wcdr-national-imputs.htm
For any enquiries relating to the Conference, please contact the WCDR Special
Unit on
isdr-wcdr@un.org |
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9th session of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction
(IATF/DR)
During the 9th session (4-5 May, Geneva) the IATF/DR a panel
discussion on the future challenges in the implementation of
disaster risk
reduction in relation to the WCDR was held, chaired by Under-Secretary
General of Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland and other high-level
representatives of WMO, UN University and the IFRC. A first draft
of the review of the Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action (adopted
in 1994) was presented and recommendations were made for its
refinement as well as for the development of WCDR programme outcomes.
Implementation
mechanisms at the national level were emphasized as being a key
area for integration of disaster reduction within their "daily
work". The IATF/DR work programme for 2004 was revised and
new working groups on Africa and climate change and risk reduction
were established. On-going work on risk, vulnerability and impact
assessments, as well as urban risk assessment methodologies and
challenges is continuing towards the establishment of networks,
programmes and partnerships, similar to those of the wildland
fire network and early warning platform.
Session records and related documents are available at
http://www.unisdr.org//eng/task%20force/tf-meeting-9th-eng.htm
What is the
GLIDE?
The GLIDE (GLobal unique disaster IDEntifier number) is a tool
for effective disaster information sharing and management, issued
on GLIDEnumber.net according to occurrence of new event and used
by an increasing number of organizations interested in disasters.
A recent meeting reviewed progress in promoting the use of GLIDE
numbers, in particular at the national level.
For more information about GLIDE, please refer to http://www.glidenumber.net
2004 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction
Nominations are still being accepted for the 2004 UN Sasakawa Award
for Disaster Reduction until 18 August. Join us in rewarding individuals
and institutions from around the world who contributed, through
innovative practices and outstanding initiatives, to reducing the
risk and vulnerabilities of communities to natural hazards!
To download the nomination form (available in English/French/Russian/Spanish),
please refer to http://www.unisdr.org
For further information on the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction,
please refer to http://www.unisdr.org/eng/sasakawa/sk-about-eng.htm
Commission on Sustainable Development's 12th meeting (CSD-12) highlights
the need for comprehensive approach to disasters
Held on 14-30 April in New York, CSD-12 commenced with a preparatory
meeting for the ten-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
to be held in Mauritius in August-September 2004. A number of other
items were addressed, with related documentation available at http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/csd12.htm
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ISDR
Highlights is a monthly email update on current news in disaster
reduction published by the Inter-Agency Secretariat of the
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR).
Please direct all enquiries (including subscription requests) to: isdr@un.org
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