ON
THE ROAD TO KOBE, HYOGO
World Conference
on Disaster Reduction
(WCDR), Kobe, Hyogo,
Japan, 18-22 January
2005
Updated
WCDR programme outcome document
The proposed WCDR programme outcome document "Building
the resilience of nations and communities to disasters,
in support of sustainable development" is now available
on-line. This version will be discussed and further refined
at the upcoming PrepCom 2.
The programme outcome document is available on-line at http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr
PrepCom
2 - 11-12 October, Geneva
Advance copies of documentation to be discussed at the
Second session of the preparatory committee for the WCDR
(PrepCom 2) are now available on-line. Translations of
official documents will be made available by the end of
September.
Further information on PrepCom 2 is available at http://www.unisdr.org/eng/wcdr/preparatory-process/pc2-participate.htm
Deadline
for applications for
WCDR thematic segments
and public forum over
31 August was the deadline for applications for the organization
of thematic sessions and public forum at the WCDR. A listing
of all WCDR sessions will be made available in October
on the WCDR website.
Upcoming
meetings in preparation
for the WCDR
The on-line forum on community based disaster management
(CBDM) organized by the UN Centre for Regional Development
commenced on 13 September and will continue until 6 October
2004. The forum is intended to expand ideas of governance,
civil society and education in the context of CBDM for
further discussion at the WCDR.
Further information is available at http://www.hyogo.uncrd.or.jp/e-forum/
The European Commission Joint Research Centre and the Swedish
Rescue Services Agency in collaboration with the OECD International
Futures Programme is organizing a seminar on systematic
risks and lessons learned on 20 September in Karlskoga,
Sweden. For further information on this meeting, please
contact ana.vetere@jrc.it or visit the password-protected
web site (User name: lessons/Password: learned) http://webdomino1.oecd.org/comnet/env/Workshops.nsf/Documents/lessons/$File/index.htm
For any enquiries relating to the Conference, please refer
to the official WCDR website http://www.isdr.org/wcdr or
contact the WCDR Special Unit on isdr-wcdr@un.org
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"Recovery
from Catastrophic Disasters" public forum
Transitional recovery from major or medium size disasters is a grey area
which represents the opportunity to focus on introducing risk reduction
measures. Media attention and interest from authorities and the international
community is great in the early aftermath of a major disaster; however,
lessons from the past show that the opportunity is quickly lost if not
acted upon based on previous planning. On 24 August a public form on
recovery on catastrophic disasters was held at UN University in Tokyo
(Japan), attracting over 250 participants, including H.I.H.the Crown
Prince of Japan, and held on the occasion of Japan's Disaster Prevention
Day and the Disaster Prevention Week. The event was organized by ADRC
with the Cabinet Office of Japan, UNU, UN/ISDR UNDP in cooperation with
USAID, NHK and Hyogo Prefectural Government.
For further information on the public forum, please contact tsunozaki@adrc.or.jp
Education and disasters
On 7-9 September OAS, UNESCO, UNICEF and UN/ISDR organized a regional
meeting on education for disaster risk reduction in San Andrés,
El Salvador. Over 100 participants from 17 countries in the region attended
the meeting, requesting that the resulting declaration be taken into
consideration at PrepCom 2 and at the WCDR.
The San Andrés Declaration is available at http://www.eird.org
The Regional Disaster Information Center for Latin America and the Caribbean
(CRID) produced a CD with information on education and disasters that
was presented at the Latin American Meeting on Education and Disaster
Risk Reduction.
To access the CD on-line, please refer to http://www.crid.or.cr/crid/CD_Educacion/index.htm
UNESCO, in collaboration with Kyoto University, and other partners is
working on the identification of best practices and case studies on education
for disaster reduction. A compilation of such studies will be prepared
for the WCDR as well as in the lead up to the UN Decade of Education
for Sustainable Development.
Submissions should be sent to cluster3wcdr@yahoo.com by
31 October 2004.
For further information, please contact B.Rouhban@unesco.org
Communication and public information in
the Americas
On 24-26 August a regional meeting on communications and public information
for disaster reduction was held in Antigua, Guatemala) co-organized by
PAHO, UNESCO, IFRC and the UN/ISDR regional office for Latin America
and the Caribbean. The meeting reviewed the current situation in the
region and highlighted areas for attention such as the development and
implementation of communication policies and strategies; the role of
the media; and science, technology and communication, which in turn will
contribute to the discussions to be held at the WCDR.
Further information on the meeting including the final proceedings are
available on request from eird@eird.org
Gender equality and
disaster risk reduction
On 10-12 August a workshop was held in Honolulu, Hawai'i that provided
a forum for dialogue and strategizing across disciplines, sectors, regions
and all other boundaries that divide those with shared concerns about
women's empowerment, social equality and the risk of disaster.
For further information on the meeting, please contact eenarson@earthlink.net
El Niño and its
global impact
The International center for research on the El Niño phenomenon
(CIIFEN) and the European Geosciences Union are organizing on the El
Niño phenomenon and its global impact on 16-20 May 2005 in Guayaquil,
Ecuador.
Further information is available at
http://www.ciifen-int.org/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=27
Hurricane season continues
Early warning demonstrated its value in recent major storms and hurricanes
affecting the Caribbean, with losses of lives a tiny fraction of what
they might have been. As hurricane Ivan continues its destructive path
across the Caribbean, media reports demonstrate the value of investing
in disaster risk reduction thanks to measures taken by populations living
in Ivan's and future hurricanes' paths.
For more on risk reduction and early warning see
http://www.unisdr.org/eng/risk-reduction/early-warning/rd-early-warning-eng.htm
Up-to-date news on this season's hurricanes is available at the following
websites:
http://www.reliefweb.int
http://www.noaa.org
http://www.cdera.org
New national platforms
for disaster reduction
The month of August saw the creation of three new national platforms
in Africa: Gabon, Republic of Congo and Kenya. The Congolese, Gabonese
and Kenyan ISDR National Platforms will join the worldwide network of
platforms that along with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction,
the ISDR secretariat and ISDR regional offices and partner organizations,
form part of the global implementation of the ISDR.
For further information on national platforms, please refer to
http://www.unisdr.org/eng/country-inform/ci-guiding-princip-eng.htm
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