2006

2005
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2004
2003
 
 
May 2005
 

POST KOBE, HYOGO
Follow up to the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR)
Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, 18-22 January 2005

The Report of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (A/CONF.206/6 of 16 March 2005) has now been completed in the six official UN languages. It includes the ”Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters” (HFA) and is available on the Conference website: http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr/.

The ISDR secretariat is currently preparing a compilation of all documents produced for the WCDR which is expected to be available in June.



Pacific prepares a Disaster Risk Reduction Framework for Action 2005-2015
The South Pacific Applied Geosciences Commission (SOPAC) will host a Pacific Regional Stakeholders Consultation Meeting in Suva on Wednesday 4 May 2005 as part of the preparations for the 12th Pacific Regional Disaster Management Meeting to be held in Madang, Papua New Guinea, 6-8 June 2005. The consultation meeting will consider a draft regional Disaster Risk Reduction Framework for Action 2005-2015 that was prepared to reflect the outcomes of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Kobe, Japan 18-22 January 2005). For further details please contact Alan Mearns, Manager, Community Risk Programme, SOPAC Secretariat. Email: alan@sopac.org, Web site: <http://www.sopac.org/>


First Consultative Meeting on National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction in Africa, Nairobi 21-23 April 2005
The consultative meeting was attended by representatives of existing national platforms (NPs) for disaster reduction in Africa (Comoros, Republic of Congo Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar; Ugand, Zambia) and candidate countries (Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal) and two regional consultants from South Africa and Ghana. UNDP/BCPR supported the organization of this meeting and was represented by its regional advisor, Dr. Kenneth Westgate. The meeting provided a fine opportunity for exchanging experiences and lessons learned among NPs, as well as plans and activities for the future establishment of NPs by candidate countries. In overall terms, the experiences and initiatives undertaken by NPs were very illustrative of the added value of these mechanisms for advancing Disaster Risk Reduction at national and regional levels. One of the main outcomes of these discussions is a concrete Plan of Action of African National Platforms for disaster reduction for 2005, agreed by all representatives. Information will be soon available on the ISDR Africa website. (http://www.unisdrafrica.org/)


Meeting in Mauritius for a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean
Representatives from Indian Ocean countries affected by the 26 December 2004
tsunami gathered in Grande Baie, Mauritius 14-16 April with other countries and experts in early warning systems on the occasion of the Second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean. Co-organized by the UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO/IOC) and UN/ISDR, the meeting elaborated plans for a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean and made progress on the implementation of the system in the region. The meeting adopted the "Mauritius Declaration" that complements the Paris Communiqué and further outlines the way forward towards the development of the IOTEWS . For further details refer to:http://ioc.unesco.org/indotsunami/mauritius05/mauritius05_outcome.htm

To know more about early warning activities, do not forget also to consult ISDR’s new section on tsunami. http://www.unisdr.org/ppew/


SIDA seminar on Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction
The Swedish Environmental Secretariat for Asia (SENSA) and the Swedish international Development Aid (SIDA) Regional Advisor for Humanitarian Assistance in Bangkok jointly organized a one-day seminar in order to strengthen the environment-disaster risk reduction agenda within SIDA. The seminar was held on 27 April 2005, and was attended by SIDA professionals from headquarters and embassies in South and Southeast Asian countries where SIDA has development cooperation programmes. The workshop provided an opportunity to identify challenges and possibilities for capitalizing on the synergies between disaster risk reduction and sustainable development and natural resource management.

For more information please contact Eva Mellgren (eva.magdalena.mellgren@sida.se) and/or Glenn Dolcemascolo (glennd@pdc.org)


DIPECHO Regional Consultative Meeting for South East Asia, Bangkok, 22 April 2005
The DIPECHO consultative meeting provided an opportunity to discuss DIPECHO initiative in South East Asia. The meeting also provided for exchanges of views amongst partners in the region on difficulties encountered in developing a disaster risk reduction agenda and how to enhance collaboration to respond to the priorities identified in the Hyogo Framework for Action.

The meeting brought together over 20 organizations and bilateral agencies, active in this field in the region. The participants acknowledged the need for continued interaction and referred to the ISDR Asia Partnership, initiated by ADPC, ADRC, UNDP, UNESCAP, OCHA and the ISDR secretariat as a useful mechanism to facilitate such dialogues.

For more information please contact Marc Gordon (ta02@echo-bangkok.org) and/or Joe Chung and Christel Rose (joemchung@un.org, rosec@un.org)


WHO Conference on the Tsunami
Conference on Health Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster in Asia
Phuket, Thailand 4-6 May 2005

Participants looked at the impact of the tsunami in the health sector and at lessons learned on ways to integrate disaster reduction in the health sector. Salvano Briceño recalled that the Hyogo Framework for Action provides a clear focus on Risk Reduction in the Health Sector. He explained how disaster risk reduction could be introduced into future health sector policies and shared good practices such as theCADHI (Central American Network for Disaster and Health Information) which has been implemented by a partnership including PAHO/WHO, ISDR, the US National Library of Medicine and ECHO. (http://www.crid.or.cr/crid/ing/index_ing.html).


OCHA and ISDR participated in the 10th International Scientific and Practical Conference: "Vital Problems of Natural and Technological Safety Regulations in the XXI century" held in Moscow from 19-21 April 2005.
The conference gathered experts from EMERCOM of Russia, the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Scientific Society for Risk Analysis to discuss risk identification, risk management, organisational mechanisms and safety regulations. ISDR made a presentation on "natural" disaster data and trends, including information on the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The results of the WCDR were presented as well its implementation and follow-up process. The presentation was translated into English and Russian by OCHA-Moscow and is available on the following OCHA website. : http://www.ocha.ru.


REMINDER: 2005 nomination process for the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction

Join us in rewarding individuals and institutions from around the world that contributed, through innovative practices and outstanding initiatives, to reducing the risk and vulnerabilities of communities to natural hazards. Nomination forms are available in English, French and Spanish at http://www.unisdr.org and must be submitted to the ISDR Secretariat by 29 July 2005.

For further information on the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction, please refer to http://www.unisdr.org/eng/sasakawa/sk-about-eng.htm or contact rosec@un.org

 

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