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ISDR Informs - Issue 1, 2005 1

DisasterReduction in

ISDR INFORMSIssue 1, 2005

International Strategyfor Disaster Reduction

Disaster Reduction in Asia2

Intr

oduc

tion Since its inception in late 2003, the ISDR Asia Partnership has evolved and proved

itself a valuable collaboration among member organizations the Asian DisasterPreparedness Centre (ADPC), the Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC), theUNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR), the UN Economic andSocial Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the UN inter-agencysecretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR). Indeed, thePartnership has generated a great deal of interest across the region, and I am pleasedto announce the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as a newmember to contribute to the development of concrete initiatives in disaster reduction inAsia.

Following the launch of Issue 0 in late 2003, this issue of Disaster Reduction in Asia –ISDR Informs focuses on the region’s preparations for the World Conference onDisaster Reduction (WCDR), presenting a range of activities that have taken placethroughout 2004 which in turn will contribute to the discussions at the WCDR. Theseactivities also represent a process that will continue beyond the Conference, buildingon existing capacities and ongoing initiatives through coordination and inter-regionalexchange of experiences.

A product of the ISDR Asia Partnership, Disaster Reduction in Asia – ISDR Informs isan opportunity to strengthen the regional dialogue on disaster risk reduction. I take thisopportunity to thank our partners for their support and collaboration.

Sálvano BriceñoDirector, Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for DisasterReduction (UN/ISDR)


Welcome to the WCDR

The WCDR will take place in Kobe, Hyogo (Japan) in January 2005. Exactly ten years after the GreatHanshin-Awaji earthquake that killed and injured tens of thousands of people in the Kobe area, theconference will open on a stark reminder that disaster reduction concerns us all, whether from wealthynations or poor countries, from the South or the North. Up to now, the year 2004 has been an illustration ofprecisely that point: from Japan to Haiti, from Florida to Grenada, extreme climate events have unleashedthe spectrum of horrendous tragedies in communities and households irrespective of their place on theglobal economic scale, in industrialized countries as well as in the developing world. The scenario andspecial effects in the movie “The Day after Tomorrow” bear a look of almost realistic relevance.

When the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene this conference in Kobe, accepting theinvitation of the government of Japan, it intended to take stock of and build on progress achieved since theYokohama Conference in 1994. Among its objectives are the identification of good practice in disasterreduction, the definition of challenges and opportunities, the examination of emerging issues and newrisks, and the development of a new plan of action for disaster risk reduction for the next ten years.

During five days in Kobe, Hyogo, the international community will have a real opportunity to sensitise alllayers of authority and all avenues of development planning, to move determinedly to build a new culture ofresilience for communities and individuals around the world. This is expected to be the fundamental driveof the framework for action that is being negotiated by Members States of the United Nations andinternational, regional and national organisations, governmental and non-governmental. Much of theexisting knowledge, expertise and competence to tackle complex issues of risk management will bepresent in the conference halls in Kobe. This unique forum presents an opportunity not to be missed tomake a strong commitment to manage risk and reduce disasters.

On the eve of the WCDR, this first issue of “Disaster Reduction in Asia” is a timely and welcome initiativefrom UN/ISDR and the ISDR Asia Partnership. In grouping their efforts to exchange views, ideas,experience and good practice, its main sponsors and partners, ADPC, ADRC, UNDP/BCPR, UNESCAPand OCHA are leading the way to building and strengthening regional partnerships. While most issues atthe heart of the discussions in Kobe will have a global resonance, regional specificity will be addressed,from the perspective of cross-fertilization both between different parts of the world, and within regions andgroups of countries. Partnerships are essential to capitalize on the experience gained during the past tenyears since Yokohama.

No conference will ever control hazards or stop disasters from occurring, but the wealth of understanding,knowledge, expertise and competence to tackle complex issues of risk management, the determination ofindividuals and groups to reduce vulnerability, and the political will of States and local government toactually make things happen, this combination will lead to the world becoming a safer place.

John HorekensCoordinator of the WCDR

World Conference on Disaster Reduction18-22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan



Disaster Reduction in Asia - ISDR Informsis a collaborative effort of the Asian Disaster

Preparedness Center (ADPC), AsianDisaster Reduction Center (ADRC), UN

Economic and Social Commission for Asiaand the Pacific (UNESCAP), UN

Development Programme (UNDP), UNOffice for the Coordination for Humanitarian

Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Inter-agencysecretariat of the International Strategy for

Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), who togetherrepresent the ISDR Asia Partnership.

Further information on the ISDR AsiaPartnership is available at

www.unisdr.org/asia

The information and opinions expressed inthis newsletter do not necessarily reflect

those of the ISDR secretariat.

Credits:Editorial Board: Aloysius J. Rego, Etsuko

Tsunozaki, Ti Le-Huu, Kamal Kishore, TakakoIzumi and John Harding

Editorial Consultant: Glenn DolcemascoloProduction Coordinator: Nicole Rencoret

Graphic Design: Mario BarrantesCover Photo: China Floods, Thorir

Gudmundsson/International Federation ofRed Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Disaster Reduction in Asia - ISDR Informs isproduced on a bi-annual basis. Please sendcomments, contributions and subscription

requests to:[email protected]

UN/ISDR (headquarters)Palais des Nations

CH 1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 917

Fax: +41 22 917 0563Email: [email protected]

www.unisdr.org

ISDR Asia Partnershipwww.unisdr.org/asia

UN/ISDR Dushanbe, TajikistanC/- UNDP

39 Aini Street,Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734024

Tel: +992 (372) 21-06-70VSAT: +47 241-36-929

Fax: +992 (372) 51-00-21Email: [email protected]

UN/ISDR Kobe, JapanC/- OCHA

Hitomiraikan 5F, 1-5-2Wakinohamakaigan-dori

Chuo-ku, Kobe 651-0073 JapanTel: +81-78-262-5550Fax: +81-78-262-5554Email: [email protected]

UN/ISDR Africawww.unisdrafrica.org

UN/ISDR Latin Americaand the Caribbean

www.eird.org

UN/ISDR Platform for thePromotion of Early Warningwww.unisdr-earlywarning.org

ISDR Global News• New UN/ISDR Outreach Office in Central Asia ............... 5• New ISDR focal point in Kobe, Japan ........................... 5• Learning to live with risk ................................................ 6• Media contributions to disaster reduction recognized .. 6• ISDR Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning ........ 7• Linking the disaster reduction and climate change

communities ................................................................... 7• Disaster reduction and SIDS ......................................... 7• Beijing Declaration on the 2005 World Conference

on Disaster Reduction ................................................... 7

Asia Regional Partners• ADPC Regional Consultative Committee Meets

in Bangladesh ................................................................ 8• Building Capacity for Landslide Impact Mitigation ....... 10• Disaster and Development Course Focuses

on Health ...................................................................... 10• New Executive Director at ADRC ................................. 10• ADRC Utilizes Range of Venues to Promote

Risk Reduction ............................................................ 10• Public Forum ............................................................... 10• Thematic Sessions ...................................................... 10• Poster Sessions ...........................................................11• International Symposium (Pre-event) ...........................11• Conference on Disaster Reduction 2004 held

in Cambodia ..................................................................11• Public Forum on Recovery ......................................... 12• UNDP Sees WCDR as a Means to Build

Capacity in Asia ........................................................... 13• UNESCAP prepared for WCDR ................................... 15• OCHA Promotes Preparedness For

Effective Response ..................................................... 16

Contributions• UNESCO Works to Reduce Natural Disasters ............ 17• UN Centre for Regional Development

gears up for WCDR ...................................................... 18• Lessons from Bam inform WCDR ................................ 19

Table of contents

ISDR Informs - Issue 1, 2005 5ISDR Informs - Issue 1, 2005 5

New UN/ISDR OutreachOffice in Central Asia

UN/ISDR has established a new CentralAsian outreach office based in Tajikistan,covering the five CIS states: Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan andUzbekistan that are all prone to a varietyof disaster triggered by natural hazards.According to the European CommissionHumanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), naturaldisasters have killed about 2,500 peopleand affected some 5.5 million (almost 10percent of the total population) in CentralAsia over the past decade. The majorityof disasters caused by natural hazardsknow now boarders and regionalcooperation will be a key in preventingdisasters.

It is difficult to identify a single approachto disaster risk reduction among themany cultural, social, and politicaldistinctions in Central Asian societies.However, there seems to be anincreased interest in focus on knowledgesharing, networking, developing commonstrategies and platforms that would resultin strengthen national capacity ondisaster prevention which in turn wouldstrengthen the social and economicaldevelopment. This fundament gives aprospect of fruitful work in the regiontogether with the governmental bodies aswell as NGOs, IGO and other parts of theUN system.

With the WCDR coming up in January –it will be particular interesting to follow upand build upon regional activities in Kobeand beyond.

UN/ISDR Dushanbe, TajikistanC/- UNDP39 Aini Street,Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734024Tel: +992 (372) 21-06-70VSAT: +47 241-36-929Fax: +992 (372) 51-00-21Email: [email protected]

New ISDR focal point inKobe, Japan

As the focal point of its activities in Asia, UN/ISDR hasestablished a joint post with OCHA in Kobe, Japan in July2004. Designated to the post, Ms. Takako Izumi works onregional issues and concerns relating to disaster reductionwithin the framework of collaboration between UN/ISDR andOCHA. In close consultation with relevant organizations,she helps promote and maintain inter-agency networks andinter-sectoral cooperation to achieve ISDR goals for Asia.

Asia has been a region most prone to all kinds of naturalhazards. However, disasters from these hazards are notinevitable. On the contrary, they can be managed, reduced orprevented. In order to address this concern in Asia, numerouscollaborative activities in disaster reduction and responsehave been pursued at the national and regional levels. Thisincludes the promotion of Total Disaster Risk Management, aholistic approach to disaster reduction and response involvingall stakeholders across all sectors and disciplines. A morerecent initiative is the collaboration between and amongADPC, ADRC and UN/ISDR, together with UNDP andUNESCAP, for an open-ended regional partnership in disasterreduction in Asia. This initiative is also meant to enhanceregional cooperation on disaster reduction and pursue therecommendations of the forthcoming WCDR.

Set in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, the WCDR coincides with thecommemoration of the destructive earthquake that hit theprefecture ten year ago. The many significant lessons drawnfrom this catastrophic earthquake shall be shared at theWCDR. These include their enormous experience in disasterrecovery and reconstruction that has been widelyacknowledged for their creative and innovative approach todevelopment planning and community development. As ahost to WCDR, the Government of Japan has extended itsgenerous support to holding this important world conferencein Kobe, Hyogo. This milestone event is expected toincrease global awareness and promote cooperation andcollaboration in disaster risk reduction as a majorprerequisite of sustainable development.

UN/ISDR Kobe, JapanC/- OCHAHitomiraikan 5F, 1-5-2 Wakinohamakaigan-doriChuo-ku, Kobe 651-0073 JapanTel: +81-78-262-5550Fax: +81-78-262-5554Email: [email protected]

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ISDR global news

Learning to live with risk“In the aftermath of a disaster,

government authorities,businesses, community groups

and individuals should all askwhether appropriate actions,such as early warning, were

taken to save life and property.

Young people should also beencouraged to learn these

lessons – in school, atuniversity, and through

community networks. Byparticipating in educational

activities, engaging incommunity risk mapping

exercises, and sharing goodpractices, young people can

learn lifelong lessons, and helpmake their communities more

disaster resilient.”

Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General

On Wednesday 13 October the world commemorated the International Dayfor Disaster Reduction, in line with the theme for 2004: “learning fromtoday’s disasters for tomorrow’s hazards”.

On the occasion of the International Day, UN/ISDR, UNICEF and theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)held a press conference in Geneva that highlighted the importance oflearning and education for disaster risk reduction and marked the officiallaunching of the boardgame and video “Riskland”. Jointly produced byUNICEF and UN/ISDR, the game teaches players about what they can doto reduce disaster impacts by answering questions and advancing alongthe board’s winding path. The game is currently being translated in over 35languages worldwide.

Another activity related to learning for disaster risk reduction organized bythe UN/ISDR is an international art contest for young people aged 16 andunder, which attracted almost 500 submissions from around the world, ofwhich the best 14 will appear in the 2005 ISDR calendar. Numerousartworks will also be exhibited in the WCDR Public Forum.

Further information on education and learning for disaster risk reduction(including the “Riskland” video) is available at http://www.unisdr.org/eng/public_aware/world_camp/2004/pa-camp04-inter-day-eng.htm

Will Your Provisions and Reserves Be Fine?We lie side-by-side with disaster. We don’t have any ways to know when natural disaster likeearthquake, tsunami, and thunderstorm hit us. Will our provisions and reserves be fine?Submission for international art contest by Saya Takashima, 14 of Japan.

Media contributions todisaster reduction

recognized

On the occasion of theinternational day for disasterreduction, ADPC andUNESCAP in collaboration withthe Department of DisasterPrevention and Mitigation of theRoyal Thai Governmentpresented awards to sixjournalists and media personson excellence in reporting ondisasters and emergencies.This scheme, introduced in2004, covering media inThailand will be expanded tocover other countries inSoutheast Asia in 2005.


ISDR Platform for the Promotionof Early Warning

Early warning gets a boost with the establishmentof the new ISDR Platform for the Promotion ofEarly Warning (PPEW), in Bonn, Germany. A childof the Second International Conference on EarlyWarning (EWC-II), held in Bonn in October 2003,the Platform will promote the development of moreeffective early warning systems to save lives,livelihoods and property. The Platform recentlylaunched its new website as well as a newsletterhighlighting news in early warning.

To receive the newsletter, contact [email protected] or refer to www.unisdr-earlywarning.org

Linking the disaster reduction andclimate change communities

DR+CC infolink is a newsletter that represents the collaborationbetween the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Centre onClimate Change and Disaster Preparedness, UNDP and UN/ISDR.

The main focus of the DR+CC infolink is the intersection ofdisaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, to promotedisaster risk reduction as an adaptation strategy, and to clarify therole of climate change in disaster risk management. It will provideinformation on key issues, upcoming events, publications andlinkages with other like-minded organizations and individuals.

Issue 3 of DR+CC highlights inter-governmental and policyprocesses including those activities held at the Tenth Conferenceof the Parties (COP-10) to the UN Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentinain December 2004. These will also feed into high-level events andthematic sessions that are of relevance to climate change andadaptation, including a round table entitled “Emerging Risks: Whatwill tomorrow hold?” and within the thematic segment “Disasterprevention and adaptation to climate change.”

DR+CC is available on-line at http://www.unisdr.org/eng/risk-reduction/climate-change/rd-cch-infolink3-04-eng.htmPlease direct all subscription enquiries to [email protected]

Disaster reduction and SIDS

The upcoming International meeting for the reviewof the Barbados Plan of Action for the sustainabledevelopment of small island developing States(SIDS), to be held on 10-14 January in Mauritius isstrongly linked to the discussions to be held at theWCDR. Indeed, both processes play an integral rolein ensuring that the specific needs of SIDS areaddressed, thus contributing to the achievement ofthe Millennium Development Goals, theJohannesburg Plan of Implementation and other UNdevelopment objectives.

The meeting will discuss emerging threats relatedto risks and vulnerability in SIDS, includingurbanisation, local environmental degradation andclimate change.

Further information on BpoA+10 is available athttp://www.un.org/smallislands2005/ or contactJohn Harding, UN/ISDR, [email protected]

Beijing Declaration on the 2005 WorldConference on Disaster Reduction

An International Conference on Disaster Reduction was held inBeijing, People’s Republic of China, from 25 to 27 May 2004. Co-organized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republicof China and UN/ISDR, the Conference was part of thepreparatory process for the WCDR.

More than 100 delegates from 18 countries and six internationalorganizations attended the Conference to further promote regionalcooperation and collaboration in disaster reduction, and theintegration of disaster reduction into development planning,policies and implementation.

At the end of the Conference, the delegates issued the “BeijingDeclaration on the 2005 World Conference on DisasterReduction”. The full text is available online at:http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr/meetings/docs/Beijing-Declaration.doc


ADPC Regional Consultative CommitteeMeets in Bangladesh

The fourth Meeting of the ADPC RegionalConsultative Committee on DisasterManagement (RCC4) was held in Dhaka,Bangladesh from 29-31 March 2004, incollaboration with the Government of thePeople’s Republic of Bangladesh. The Meetingwas attended by 20 delegates from 15 RCCMember Countries comprising heads of NationalDisaster Management Offices from Bangladesh,Cambodia, China, India, Iran, Jordan, Laos,Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan,Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, andsenior officials from Embassies of Myanmar andPhilippines. In addition, 24 observers consistingrepresentatives from regional organizations, UNAgencies, and bilateral and multilateral fundingagencies: ADRC, AusAID, East West Center(EWC), International Center for IntegratedMountain Development, Kathmandu (ICIMOD),Melbourne Fire and Emergency Services Board(MFESB), Mekong River Commission (MRC),USAID/OFDA, Swedish InternationalDevelopment Agency (SIDA), UNDP,UNESCAP, UN/ISDR, UN-Habitat and WorldFood Programme (WFP), senior officials fromthe Government of the People’s Republic ofBangladesh and ADPC’s NGO partners fromBangladesh.

The Honourable President of the People’sRepublic of Bangladesh, Professor Dr. IajuddinAhmed inaugurated the meeting. Keynoteaddresses were delivered by Professor KrasaeChanawongse, Chairman of ADPC Board ofTrustees Mr. Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf,Honorable Minister for Disaster Managementand Relief (MDMR), Mr. Asadul Habib Dulu,Honorable Deputy Minister and , Mr. FaruqAhmed, Secretary-in-charge MDMR, Mr.Sálvano Briceño, Director UN/ISDR, and Dr.Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director, ADPC. Theceremony was attended by 700 peoplecomprising Ambassadors, senior officials fromUN agencies, representatives of internationalorganizations, delegates from RCC member

Asia

regi

onal

par

tner

scountries, senior officials from the variousMinistries, NGOs and the media.

The Meeting consisted of seven substantivesessions, namely:1. Recent work of ADPC and follow up actions

since RCC 32. Asian Consultation in preparation for the

WCDR 2005.3. Introduction of the RCC program on

Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management(DRM) into Development Practice.

4. Challenges and Experiences of UrbanDisaster Risk Management withpresentations by the RCC member countries,the ADPC-UDRM team and UN-Habitat.

5. Bangladesh Experiences on DRM coveringinnovative legal and institutionalarrangements, Natural Risk Reduction andCyclone Preparedness Programs, CDMP andUrban Risk Reduction initiatives.

6. Experiences of recent disasters andpresentations by UNESCAP and UNDP’sReducing Disaster Risk: A challenge fordevelopment report.

7. Future directions of the RCC mechanism andADPC.

Outcomes of RCC-4Key outcomes of the Meeting were therecognition by all RCC member countries of:• the importance of political will and

commitment from the highest levels ofgovernment to support DRM initiatives andprogrammes.

• the need for enhancing the role and activitiesof the national disaster managementagencies by building their capacities; and

• a greater role played by the media inpublicising the benefits of pre-disaster riskreduction activities.

• that regional activities should present a menuof issues from which national governmentscould select activities that are pertinent totheir priorities.


Recommendations on WCDR, Kobe 2005

In relation to the WCDR, break-out discussionsfocused on i) the constraints faced by the variouscountries for effective DRM ; ii) processes forNational Reporting for WCDR; and iii) priorities tobe addressed at the WCDR.Reporting on constraints, countries identified lack offinancial and technical resources, the difficulties ininvolving other agencies in DRM work and theconsequent need for synergies between agenciesand coordination, increased information exchangeand communication, enforcement and effectiveimplementation of policies, political commitment,training and increased awareness of risks andvulnerability amongst decision makers as well asthe populations at risk, and the lack of effectivedisaster risk assessment. They also identified theneed to integrate DRM with poverty reduction andraise its awareness to the current level of theintegration of gender issues, the need for technicalassistance in DRM, the use of technology andknowledge networks, increased access toinformation and regional cooperation and sharing ofgood practices among developing countries facingsimilar constraints.

The priorities that RCC Members recommendedbe addressed at the WCDR were the provision oftechnical and financial assistance; increasedlinkages with and coordination between the differentUN agencies, NGOs, private organizations, LocalGovernment Units and the community, need forcapacity building by the provision of skilled andtrained technical expertise and for effectiveadvocacy including the integration of DRM into thedifferent levels of the educational curriculum. Callswere to formulate performance indicators tomeasure the success of DRM programmes and thatclimate change concerns should be integrated inDRM programmes.

Outcomes of the RCC4 were reported at the 9th

session of the Inter-Agency Task Force on DisasterReduction in Geneva and at the InternationalConference on Disaster Reduction held in Beijing inMay 2004. This influenced the formulation of theBeijing Declaration on the WCDR.

Launch of the RCC Program onMainstreaming DRM into DevelopmentPractice

The Meeting provided clear direction for thedevelopment of the RCC program on“Mainstreaming disaster risk management intodevelopment planning” (MDRM) which seeksto systematically promote the integration ofDRM into sustainable development policiesand practices amongst RCC members basedon the recommendations of earlier RCCMeetings.

The program to be implemented from 2004-2007 with funding from AusAID and otherdonors has two key objectives to:

1. Increase the awareness and politicalsupport for mainstreaming DRM intothe development practice in the RCCMember countries (Regional Focus),and

2. Enhance the capacity of NationalDisaster Management Systems todevelop and implement national plansto mainstream DRM in ongoingnational development work (NationalFocus).

The concept for the program as endorsed bythe meeting focuses on the integration of DRMinto national development plans, nationalPoverty Reduction Strategy Papers, NationalDonor Strategies, the development of theNational DRM Plans including implementationof the WCDR outcomes, the UN FrameworkConvention for Climate Change NationalAdaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) and DisasterImpacts Assessments. The program calls forDRM to be integrated across and in all sectors,but identified infrastructure, health, education,agriculture and micro-finance as prioritysectors to initiate mainstreaming of DRM.

The RCC Members look forward to theprogram as an opportunity to advance a keydimension of the wide-ranging agenda that theRCC set for itself at its series of meetings heldsince 2000.


Asia regional partners

Building Capacity for LandslideImpact Mitigation

In July 2004 ADPC in collaboration with theNorwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), starteda three-year program for Regional CapacityEnhancement for Landslide Impact Mitigation(RECLAIM). With core funding from the RoyalNorwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, theprogram was developed with a long-termobjective of reducing the landslide disastervulnerability of human settlements, infrastructureand critical facilities in the targeted countries ofBhutan, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, andThailand.

The program, which is being implementedunder ADPC’s Urban Disaster Risk Management(UDRM) Team, started with a regional workshopfor Landslide Risk Reduction in Asia, from 13 -15 September 2004 in Bangkok.

For more information on the program [email protected] and [email protected] orvisit http://www.adpc.net/udrm/reclaim/introduction.html

Disaster and Development CourseFocuses on Health

The first International Training Course onDisasters and Development (D&D) with focus onhealth was held in Bangkok from 1-12November 2004. Attended by 24 participantsfrom 9 countries, the course addressed health-related issues in the context of disasters anddevelopment. It was conducted by ADPC’sPublic Health in Emergencies Team in linewith the WHO-UNDP/BCPR pilot project thatcouses on the promotion of effective publichealth risk/emergency management as acontribution to sustainable development.

For more information on the trainingactivities under the team contact Dr MarcelDubouloz, Team Leader at [email protected].

New Executive Director at ADRCIt is my great pleasure to introduce the activities of the AsianDisaster Reduction Center (ADRC) for the WCDR to the readersof the ISDR Informs Asia in my new capacity as the ExecutiveDirector of the ADRC. Appointed by the Chairman of ADRC, Prof.Shigeru Itoh, I took office on 1 July 2004, as a successor to Mr.Satoru Nishikawa. Seizing the opportunity, I would like to confirmmy intention to further promote ADRC’s activities in cooperationwith member countries and partner organizations.

ADRC Utilizes Range of Venues toPromote Risk ReductionADRC plans to disseminate the basic disaster reduction concept“TDRM (Total Disaster Risk Management)” and its tools such as“Community-Based Hazard Mapping” and “GLIDE (GLobal uniquedisaster IDEntifier)”, which have been developed and promoted byADRC, and to contribute to knowledge sharing by organizing apublic forum, thematic and poster sessions and a symposium. Iwould like to introduce to you, hereinafter, our activities which aremy first and breathtaking challenges towards our common goal.

Public ForumADRC, in cooperation with OCHA Kobe, developed a holisticapproach to disaster reduction, TDRM, which involves allstakeholders and addresses all phases of disaster riskmanagement, i.e. prevention/mitigation, preparedness, responseand rehabilitation/reconstruction. ADRC will organize a publicforum “Sharing of Experiences for Safer Asia - TDRM and itsGood Practices -” on 19 January (9:20-12:00) to provide thegeneral public as well as the WCDR participants with anopportunity to share the concept and a variety of good practices inAsian countries. Views and comments from the floor will bewelcome.

Thematic SessionsADRC plans to be actively involved in thematic sessions, inparticular, on risk communication and post-disaster recovery.ADRC, which promotes Community-Based Hazard Mapping as atool for risk communication and public awareness, will play an

Masayuki KitamotoExecutive DirectorAsian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)


active role in the session on riskcommunication. In the session on recoverycoordinated by UNDP, importance of disasterrisk reduction considerations and internationalcooperation in the recovery phase will bediscussed. ADRC will contribute to otherthematic sessions, to mention a few, thesessions addressing disaster data and earthobservation for effective disaster reduction.

Poster SessionsADRC will organize two poster sessions onGLIDE and Community-Based Hazard Mapping.

International Symposium (Pre-event)On 17 January 2005 (15:30-17:30) ADRC willorganize an International Symposium “Living withRisk - disaster reduction for future generations -”co-organized with Cabinet Office, Governmentof Japan, UN/ISDR, Hyogo Prefecture, andOCHA Kobe, in cooperation with JICA, NHK,IFRC, and WMO. The symposium has a specialsignificance because it coincides with the day ofthe tenth anniversary of the Great Hanshin-AwajiEarthquake and the day before the WCDR. It isplanned that high level representatives from theUN, ADRC member countries as well as headsof Japanese and international organizations willbe invited to serve as the guest speakers of theSymposium. It will play a catalytic role tostimulate active discussions at the WCDR andwill provide the general public with anopportunity to understand the importance ofcooperation and collaboration in disasterreduction.

Throughout these events, an active exchange ofviews and knowledge will take place on varioussubjects. I believe that ADRC and its membercountries, regional organizations in Asia, UN andother institutions/organizations will cooperatepositively and actively towards the success ofthe WCDR. After the WCDR, needless to say,ADRC will pursue the implementation of itsoutcome with our partners.

Conference on Disaster Reduction 2004 heldin Cambodia

The Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 2004, consisting ofthe 6th ADRC International Meeting and the 3rd ISDR AsianMeeting, was held from 4 to 6 February 2004 in Siem Reap,Cambodia, co-organized by the Governments of Cambodia andJapan, UN/ISDR, and ADRC. More than 130 people includinghigh dignitaries and officials from Cambodia and other countries,representatives of UN/ISDR and various UN and internationalorganizations participated in the Conference. It was honoured bya commemorative keynote speech by H.E. Mr. Samdech HunSen, Honourable Prime Minister of Cambodia, expressing hissupport for disaster reduction. Co-chaired by H.E. Mr. NihmVanda, Senior Minister and First Vice President of NCDM,Cambodia, and H.E. Mr. Tatsuo Sato, Special Adviser to thePrime Minister and Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office, Japan,the Conference issued a Chair Summary.

The Conference aimed to build a framework for disasterreduction in Asia, within which short-term and longer-termmeasures to reduce risk and vulnerability could be proposed,including concrete solutions that could be incorporated intonational and local policies. It stressed that the major challengeis how to translate the concept into practice, institutionalizedisaster risk reduction programmes at the community level, andfill in the existing gaps in the disaster reduction cycle. Concretemeasures, tools and mechanisms need to be improved toachieve this aim. Conceptual frameworks must lead to specificprograms of action focused on people and the actual needs ofthe community.

In order to respond to the emerging issues, concerns andchallenges, and to address them adequately and effectively, theconference agreed that the following actions are especiallyimportant. 1) a comprehensive review of national disastermanagement situation, 2) evolution of national policies fordisaster reduction, 3) investment in disaster reduction bothstructural and non-structural, including development of humanresources, 4) communication and information management, and5) enhancement of partnerships at all levels.

This Conference was held as part of a series of internationaland regional events serving as preparatory consultations for theWCDR. In this context, it provided a platform to identifychallenges and concrete future actions to mitigate the negativeimpact of disasters in our region by way of importantcontribution to the WCDR.


Asia regional partners

Public Forum on Recovery

On 24 August 2004, commemorating the Disaster Prevention Day (1 September) and Disaster PreventionWeek (30 August–5 September), a Public Forum “Recovery from Catastrophic Disasters - towards a saferworld for all-” was held at UNU in Tokyo, co-organized with UNU, Cabinet Office of Japan, UN/ISDR,UNDP and ADRC, in cooperation with USAID, NHK and Hyogo Prefectural Government. It was the third ofa series of forums conducted with UNU, Cabinet Office and other partners; first one on earthquake riskmanagement held on 4 October 2003 and second one on flood risk management held on 23 March2004.

The Forum addressed the important issue of how to enhance the understanding among the generalpublic to further strengthen disaster reduction capacities and how to further promote internationalcooperation in disaster reduction, focusing on the recovery phase of disaster.

Ms. Helena Molin Valdes, Deputy Director of UN/ISDR made a keynote speech “World Conference onDisaster Reduction-A new milestone event for reducing disasters,” followed by presentations: 1)“Disaster Recovery: Faster, Better, or Safer?” by Dr. Patricia Bolton, Senior Research Scientist of BattelleSeattle Research Center, 2) “Challenge of Bam Earthquake - road map for safer communities” by Mr.Kamal Kishore, Regional Disaster Reduction Advisor for South and Southwest Asia, UNDP/BCPR, 3)“Recovery and Reconstruction towards Disaster Resilient Communities - from Lessons Learnt in Japan -”by Mr. Tadashi Harada, Deputy Director General for Disaster Management, Cabinet Office, and 4)“Sustainable Post-Disaster Recovery - Turning Disasters into Opportunities for Development” by Mr.Andrew Maskrey, Chief, Disaster Reduction Unit, UNDP/BCPR.

After the presentations the Coordinator of panel discussion, Prof. Kishie Shigekawa, Fuji-TokohaUniversity, pointed out that development of a mechanism for sharing lessons and experiences ofdisasters, especially in the phase of recovery and reconstruction, should be pursued with an aim to buildsafe communities through effective disaster risk management.

The Forum was honoured by the presence of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan, whichmade it exceptionally important.


UNDP Sees WCDR as a Meansto Build Capacity in Asia

Supporting National Participation at WCDRUNDP’s cooperation for Asian participation at the WCDR isreflected in its provision of financial and advisory support toUNDP Country Offices’ for the preparation of national reports.It has supported consultative and preparatory meetings tohelp consolidate key national, sectoral and regionalconcerns of countries. UNDP is also supporting WCDRparticipation of stakeholders from governments and civilsociety organizations, ensuring a representative gathering ofpeople at the event.

Governance for Risk ManagementOver the past decade UNDP played a significant part inencouraging countries to develop institutions for disastermanagement and reduction. As part of a global study onInstitutional and Legislative Systems (ILS) for Disaster RiskReduction; UNDP conducted an Asian review on institutionalcapacity building for risk reduction that focused on theimpact of UNDP’s support to national institutions in disasterrisk management. The review captured key strengths, gapsand lessons related to building disaster managementsystems in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the PacificIslands, and the findings will guide UNDP and other actors infuture risk reduction activities. It will also guide thedevelopment of a UNDP policy paper and strategy oninstitutional capacity building for disaster risk reduction;potential pilots for selected countries and practical tools fornational risk reduction capacity building. Findings will bepresented at the UNDP-hosted panel on ‘National Policies,Institutional Development and Legislation’ at the WCDR.

Local Level Risk Management (LLRM)In a similar light a global analysis of local level riskmanagement initiatives (LLRM) was conducted by UNDP,with a view to extracting lessons and best practices that canguide its future disaster reduction programming with locallevel interventions. The study reviewed results of UNDPpast and ongoing assistance to LLRM initiatives in India,Nepal and Sri Lanka, capturing the role of volunteers(especially United Nations Volunteers – UNV) in buildinglocal risk management capacity. While, Phase I of this studywill involve compilation and presentation of results at theWCDR, Phase 2 (post WCDR) will expand the analysis to

other stakeholders representing the (inter)national,regional and local agencies, sharing experiences ofgovernment, voluntary and civil society actors., Theresults of the study will feed back into UNDP’s ongoingand future work in LLRM to increase its effectiveness forlocal level risk management capacity building.

Volunteers for Disaster Risk ManagementUNDP and UNV recently organized a workshop on‘South-South Cooperation for Disaster RiskManagement’ (October 2004) in India, to facilitate sharingof experiences related to the contributions of volunteersfor disaster risk reduction in India and Sri Lanka. Theworkshop involved participation of 50 UNVs and disastermanagement focal points from 7 Asian countries,contributing to the consolidation of past experiencesand future directions for the use of volunteers (especiallyUNV) for the strengthening of disaster management. Theworkshop discussed partnerships with local volunteersin Asia to build sustainable local human resources forrisk reduction, concluding with a firm commitment tofurther strengthen the UNV mechanism within DRM inIndia and develop a strategy to instill similarmechanisms within countries in Asia. The findings of thisworkshop are being packaged for wider disseminationduring the WCDR.

UNDP advocates for change and connects over 166countries to knowledge, experience and resourcesto help people build a better life, through their ownsolutions to development challenges. Supportingover 16 programme countries and regional entitiesin Asia, its Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery(BCPR) works to ensure that development choicesreduce disaster risk and that disasters serve asopportunities for development. Its global objectivesin disaster reduction and recovery are to a) achievesustainable reduction in disaster risks; b) reduceloss of life and livelihoods due to disasters; and c)ensure that disaster recovery serves to consolidatesustainable human development.

UNDP believes that WCDR and its preparatoryactivities have much potential in strengthening riskreduction in AsiaSome broad areas of potentialcooperation in the region are disaster riskinformation management systems, communitybased disaster management approaches, integratedclimate change risk management approaches,gender implications for risk management andearthquake risk mitigation strategies.


Asia regional partnersUnderstanding Gender Dimensions of Disaster RiskManagementUNDP is supporting Intermediate Technology DevelopmentGroup (ITDG), South Asia to produce the India imprint of aSouth Asian publication on gender and disasters entitled:Gender Dimensions in Disaster Management; a Guide forSouth Asia. This initiative is timely to bridge the gap betweenthe current sensitivity on factoring gender concerns in mostvoluntary programmes and the actual practice of it. This bookaims to address the dearth of specific information on thesubject of ‘gender issues in disasters’, particularly in theSouth Asian countries. The primary objective of compilingthis Guide is to introduce the subject, and to raise awarenessin policy/decision makers and the many thousands ofdevelopment practitioners across South Asia, whosecontribution is crucial for effective disaster management andsustainable development. Excerpts from the book will informthe WCDR deliberations. Based on the interest generated,the guide will be published in local languages Hindi, Bengaliand Urdu in the coming year.

Disaster Risk Management Inventories and InformationSystemsLack of information on existing and emerging patterns ofdisaster risk is recognized as a major constraint foreffective disaster management policy and programmedecisions in South Asia. In order to address this gap,UNDP with the support of LA RED (Network for SocialStudies on Disaster Prevention in Latin America) adaptedand implemented an existing methodology calledDesInventar, to help build systematic disaster inventories inAsia. These inventories capture time-series, local-levelimpacts of disaster events (specially small and mediumscale disasters) and help map trends in emerging disasterrisks and in making policy, programme design and resourceallocation decisions to manage those risks.

Based on pilots UNDP expanded the scope of introducingthis methodology beyond India and Nepal, to Vietnam and SriLanka in 2004, which are at varying levels of institutionalizingthis inventory during this important step towards developingnational disaster risk information management systems. UNDPhas been encouraged by countries’ positive response to thisinventory, and is currently looking to expand the scope ofcountries in the region, so that a South Asia Regional DisasterInventory can be built in due course. Its interface with otherglobal systems like GLIDE is also being explored. Thismethodology will be shared during thematic sessions at theWCDR, especially at side events on disaster risk Indexing,vulnerability and impact assessment.

Adaptation to Climate ChangeAdaptation to climate variability and change and its links tovulnerability reduction have been of much discussion in SouthAsian counties, particularly those that are prone to regularclimate-related disasters such as floods anddroughts. Despite this interest, there has been littleinvestigation on adaptation strategies and initiatives for climatechange risk reduction. To address this gap, UNDP invited theSocial and Environmental Transition (ISET) to share thefindings of its regional climate change study at a workshop on7-8 June 2004 in India. The study is the first major effort tocapture how rural populations in Asia are adapting to naturalclimate variability, identifying strategies through which actorscan intervene to effectively reduce vulnerability andassociated social instability. The workshop united over 50regional and global stakeholders, initiating a dialogue onstrategies and adaptation initiatives for climate-relateddisasters in the region.

UNDP is supporting the production of a CD on ‘A Climate RiskManagement Approach to Disaster Reduction and Adaptationto Climate Change’, comprising the proceedings of a meetingon “Integrating Disaster Reduction and Adaptation to ClimateChange” organized by UNDP in Havana in June 2002. This CDwill be made available at the WCDR.

Communications Strategy for WCDRUNDP has developed a communication strategy for theWCDR that will help raise public awareness for reducingdisaster risk and generate financial and political support at theregional and national levels. The strategy has helped compileexperiences through approaching critical national and localactors, including good practice and lessons related todisaster risk information management and recovery strategiesfor risk reduction (with case studies on the Bam Earthquakeand the Sri Lanka Floods in 2003). These are beingdeveloped for wider dissemination during WCDR side-eventson Sustainable Recovery.

Enhancing the Disaster- Development LinkIn early 2004, UNDP launched its global report on ReducingDisaster Risk: a challenge for development. This Report ispremised on the belief that in many countries the process ofdevelopment itself has a huge impact — both positive andnegative — on disaster risk, and shows how countries thatface similar patterns of natural hazards often experiencewidely differing disaster impacts. The report has beenlaunched in a number of countries in Asia, most recently inIran in the presence of representatives from nine countries.

Reducing Disaster Risk is available at:http://www.undp.org/bcpr/disred/english/publications/rdr.htm


UNESCAP prepared for WCDRTi Le-HuuEconomic Affairs Officer, Water Resources Section, Environment andSustainable Development Division, UNESCAP

UNESCAP has been taking an active part in thepreparation of the WCDR, including the participation ofUNESCAP in the UN/ISDR publication Know Risk, to beavailable at the WCDR.

UNESCAP has been working closely with severalinternational and regional organizations as well as membercountries of UNESCAP to prepare for WCDR. Theactivities, which are directly linked to the preparation ofWCDR, are briefly discussed below.

Collaboration with the Typhoon CommitteeUnder the framework of Typhoon Committee, whichhad been established by its 14 Members underthe auspices of UNESCAP and the WorldMeteorological Organization (WMO), a series ofregional activities has been implemented aiming atpromoting typhoon-related disaster prevention andpreparedness. The major activities included thefollowing:

• Development of guidelines for the damoperation in relation flood forecasting, led byRepublic of Korea.

• On-the-job training on flood forecasting forTyphoon Committee members, led byMalaysia

• Extension of flood forecasting systems toselected river basins, led by China

• Pilot project on the preparation of flood hazardmaps, led by Japan

• Project on the evaluation and improvement ofoperational flood forecasting system focusingon model performance, led by Republic ofKorea

• Pilot project on the establishment ofcommunity-based flood forecasting system,led by the Philippines

• Pilot project on the establishment on flash-flood and sediment disaster forecasting andwarning systems, led by Japan

• Improvement of Hydrological products inresponse to user needs, led by thePhilippines

• Project on the evaluation and improvement ofhydrological instruments andtelecommunication equipment, led by China

Many of the above activities were jointlyimplemented by all Members of the TyphoonCommittee to prepare for their possibleparticipation in WCDR, among which the mostadvanced activities are those related thepreparation of flood hazard maps and the

establishment of flash flood and sedimentdisasters forecasting and warning systems.

These activities were also intended to demonstratethe effectiveness of regional collaboration insynergizing national efforts on disaster preventionand preparedness. In this context, an internationalsymposium cum regional workshop on “Living withRisk: Dealing with Typhoon-related Disasters aspart of Integrated Water Resources Management”was held in Seoul in September 2004 to helpestablish a clearer strategy for sustaining thesenational and regional efforts. The internationalsymposium cum regional workshop was organizedby the Ministry of Construction and Transportation,the Korea Institute of Construction Technology andKorea Water Corporation of Republic of Korea incooperation with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure andTransport and the Infrastructure DevelopmentInstitute (IDI) of Japan, ADRC, Typhoon CommitteeSecretariat and UNESCAP.

The regional workshop reviewed progress of workand achievements, adopted measures andprocedures to improve the implementation andworked out detailed road maps to ensuresuccessful completion of these joint activities. Inaddition, the workshop also identified measuresfor better mainstreaming disaster prevention andpreparedness activities into the integrated waterresources management process.


Asia regional partnersCollaboration with UNDP and ECLACIn the common efforts to ensure effectiveintegration of disaster prevention andpreparedness measures into socio-economicdevelopment policies and strategies,UNESCAP in cooperation with UNDP and theUnited Nations Economic Commission for LatinAmerica and Caribbean (ECLAC) has startedthe introduction and application of newmethodologies on holistic assessment ofsocio-economic impacts of disasters in Asia.The project is funded by UNDP/BCPR.Following the organization of a regionalworkshop in May 2004 to introduce themethodology developed by ECLAC, sevencountries, namely China, Lao PDR, Philippines,Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam,have agreed to apply the proposedmethodology to assess impacts of hydro-meteorological disasters. It is expected thatsome of the results could be made available atthe WCDR.

Collaborative activities with ADPC and ECHOWith financial support of the EuropeanCommission Humanitarian Office (ECHO),UNESCAP and ADPC completed theimplementation of Phase 2 of the Partnership inDisaster Reduction in South-East Asia (PDR-SEA 2) in 2003/2004. The project aimed atstrengthening capacity to prepare and protectat risk communities from natural disastersthrough training and information exchange intargeted South-East Asian countries. Outputsof PDR-SEA 2 included a set of handbooks forCBRDM field practitioners and integration tosocio-economic development process.Subsequent to the successful completion ofPhase 2, a proposal to strengthen thefoundation of community-based disaster riskmanagement (CBDRM) in South East Asia wassubmitted to ECHO for consideration as Phase3 of PDR-SEA.

It is expected that the above achievementswould enable UNESCAP and its partners totake an active part in WCDR, especially on theSessions related to flood hazard mapping,CBDRM and regional cooperation in Asia.

OCHA Promotes Preparednessfor Effective Response

OCHA is very pleased to join the Asian partnership consisting ofADPC, ADRC, UNDP, UNESCAP and UN/ISDR. The mission of OCHAis to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarianaction in partnership with national and international actors.

OCHA is ready to enhance the collaboration with all stakeholders indisaster management in Asia pursuing more disaster resistantsocieties through a strong and holistic disaster risk managementapproach.

In all the phases of the disaster cycle, we all aim for the sameobjectives to: save lives, preserve health, and reduce suffering andeconomic losses. OCHA promotes the inclusion of disaster reductionconcerns already during the emergency phase, to ensure thatlessons are learned and used as a base for sustainable recoveryand reconstruction activities.

The OCHA Kobe office has been involved in numerous activitiespromoting interagency and overall response preparedness of theinternational humanitarian community, as well as capacity building onboth national and local level in many countries. Through thecollaboration with key stakeholders in disaster management in Asiasuch as ADRC, ADPC, NGOs and UN agencies, OCHA has beenactively participating in the promotion of the Total Disaster RiskManagement approach. Together with ADRC, OCHA has organized anumber of regional workshops and conferences with support fromvarious donors to strengthen the understanding of integrating disasterrisk management in national and local development planning andactivities. Moreover, national training workshops have been heldtogether with ADRC, UNDP and other partners in 7 countries in theregion.

OCHA Kobe and ADRC have been active in facilitating the AsianDisaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN) to strengthenthe regional cooperation on disaster reduction and response amongAsian NGOs. OCHA is also active supporting regional collaboration indisaster preparedness through the ASEAN Disaster ManagementCommittee.

In the WCDR, OCHA together with WFP will facilitate the sessionsunder cluster five: Preparedness for Effective Response, and will alsoorganize two sessions: “Humanitarian preparedness” and“Assessment to enhance immediate response”. OCHA will alsopresent a photo exhibition during the conference. For OCHA it isimportant to emphasize how we can strengthen national and localdisaster management capacity. The on-going joint efforts in Asia topromote the TDRM approach will contribute to the discussion duringthe WCDR.


Cont

ribu

tion

sUNESCO Works to Reduce Natural Disasters

By Badaoui Rouhban, Chief, Section for Disaster Reduction, UNESCO, Paris and Carlos VillacisProject Coordinator Consultant for UNESCO & UN/ISDR

As a result of population increase and concentration, societies in hazard-prone areas in Asiaand Latin America are becoming more vulnerable and their protective systems are notnecessarily adapted to cope with this increase in urban vulnerability. Recent tragic naturaldisasters in countries of these regions, including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes andlandslides, have severely affected the development of these communities. In Bangladesh forexample, just one flood destroyed 15,000 km of roads, 14,000 schools, and caused US$ 500million in damage to ricecrops.

The toll from natural disastersis particularly severe andtragic in weak economies ofAsia, Latin America and theCaribbean. Since there is abasic relationship betweendevelopment and disaster-proneness, the impact ofdisasters in these countries isclosely linked to poverty levels.There is a need, therefore, forintegrated approaches indevelopment policies andplanning, to take into accountdisaster reduction goals for theoverall benefit of the socio-economic developmentprocess. Above all, improvedbuilding capacities and proper urban planning are crucial for disaster resilience in hazard-pronecommunities. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,bringing together as it does the natural sciences, education, culture, communication,information and the social and human sciences, has an important contribution to make to thedevelopment of a culture of disaster prevention.

UNESCO, in partnership with UN/ISDR, has carried out, over the last three years, a projectentitled “Reduction of natural disasters in Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America”. The projecthas focused on four earthquake-prone cities. The overall purposes were to promote thedevelopment and application of wise disaster reduction practices by improving preventiveaction and disaster preparedness through community empowerment and elaboration,dissemination and application of prevention tools and information. To achieve its goal, theinitiative worked in close collaboration with local authorities, experts, and institutions ofselected cities in Asia and Latin America to a) evaluate the cities’ existing development plansand determine their potential impact on the level of urban earthquake risk, b) utilize the cities’growth tendencies (demographic, economic) to estimate future earthquake risk if urban growthcontinues with the current characteristics, and c) identify feasible, effective mitigation options

Photo: Kathmandu students showing their building models after testing them


Contributionsfor each participating city and perform cost-benefit analyzes todetermine the most efficient risk reduction activities for each particularcity. The cities selected for the project were Antofagasta (Chile),Kathmandu (Nepal), and Tijuana (Mexico). In addition, the project hasinitiated links with the city of Dehradun (India). The UNESCO offices inKathmandu, New Delhi, San José (Costa Rica), Mexico and Santiago(Chile) and the UN/ISDR office in San José have facilitated the projectactivities.

The project placed the participation of local communities at the centreof disaster reduction initiatives by promoting the empowerment andcapacity-building of local government staff and stakeholders. Thisvocation was accomplished. The initiative produced urban planningmitigation options tailored to the particular needs and implementationcapacity of each city. These options are being incorporated into thecities’ development plans. Additionally, the project increased localcapacity by installing risk assessment tools in the computer systemsof the local governments and training city official and local experts onthe use and application of those tools to urban planning. Also, theproject increased public awareness through the active participation ofcity institutions and representatives of the various sectors of thecommunity throughout the project and a collaborative interaction withthe local mass media. In the course of the project, the professionalsand officials of the participating cities presented their work to theinternational community and exchanged experiences and bestpractices.

The project included also an educational component to promote theestablishment of a culture of preparedness and planning in theparticipating cities. Demonstration projects were implemented withlocal schools at the primary and high-school levels. The aim of thesedemonstration projects was to promote the introduction of riskreduction and management in the educational system of theparticipating cities, and, in this way, contribute to the long-termobjective of creating a culture of prevention. School children from theparticipating cities were invited to present their work at a finalsymposium in Tijuana-San Jose.

The impact of the project has been felt immediately. The cities’development plans are being revised to include the risk reductionoptions produced by the project. The representatives of theKathmandu City Government to the project’s mid-term meeting inUNESCO Headquarters in Paris expressed: “The beauty of this projectis that we, the staff of the city government, performed the assessmentof Kathmandu’s risk and we now understand what is making our cityvulnerable to earthquakes. Thus, we now can act accordingly.” Thelocal working teams are using the methodology learned during theproject to initiate similar efforts in other cities. The educationalcomponent of the initiative has been nominated for the Tech Awards, aprestigious prize that is awarded annually in the United States.

UN Centre for RegionalDevelopment gears upfor WCDR

UNCRD has been and will beimplementing various activities tocontribute to the WCDR. As a pre-event of the WCDR, UNCRDorganized an InternationalSymposium on “CommunityLegacy in Disaster Management”on 7 February 2004 in Kobe.UNCRD also organized anInternational Conference on“Partnership in Community BasedDisaster Management (CBDM) inAsia” 24-26 August 2004, Delhi,India as a pre-event of theWCDR, aiming at initiating thePARTNERSHIP formationprocess towards the WCDR. As afollow-up of the conference,UNCRD organized an On-LineForum to collect voices from theworld.

At the WCDR, UNCRD plans tosupport the Cluster 4 “Reducingthe underlying risk factors” withUNEP and WHO. Under thecluster, UNCRD will organize asession on Sustainable CBDMand a session on “Safer Housing.UNCRD will also organize aninternational symposium on“Safer Communities” in the PublicForum. In relation with theSymposium, the ImprovisedShake Table Demonstration willbe conducted to disseminate ademonstration education tool onsafer housing for non-engineeredbuildings for its widerapplications which promoteimplementation of simpletechniques of earthquakedisaster resistant housing invulnerable communities of thedeveloping countries.


Almost one year after the Bam earthquake that killed26,000 people, experts on disaster risk managementgathered in Teheran to discuss how to reduce seismicrisk.

Over 150 participants, including representatives ofinternational organizations, disaster risk managers,practitioners and seismic experts from 20 countriesgathered in Tehran on 16-18 November 2004, andtogether endorsed a strong message on earthquake riskreduction for the WCDR and beyond. The seminar wasorganized by OCHA in collaboration with UNDP and UN/ISDR as well as the Government of Iran.

“The seminar highlighted the fact that while a broadunderstanding of what constitutes effective earthquake riskreduction is often available, it is not sufficiently andappropriately applied, due to a number of social,economic and political reasons,” said Rashid Khalikov,Deputy Director of OCHA in Geneva. “It was encouragingthat the discussions and conclusions focused specificallyon how to overcome these obstacles.”

“The event proved very useful for the World Conference inJanuary as it analysed key issues related to the entirespectrum of earthquake risk reduction in great detail,which in turn will feed into the discussions in Kobe,” saidUN/ISDR Sálvano Briceño.

Urgent and sustained actions are required for the efficientimplementation of available know-how in developingcountries, with the main objective of saving human livesand reducing economic losses.

The following priorities were identified:• Risk reduction policies should take highest priority in

development plans at all levels. A genuine balancebetween post-disaster response and pre-disasterpreparedness, prevention and reduction isessential.

• Authorities need to adopt an integrated,comprehensive and multi-hazard strategy for disasterrisk reduction including prevention, mitigation,preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation.This can most appropriately be provided throughmulti-disciplinary and inter-sectoral interactions,taken into consideration socio-economic and culturalissues, including the civil society, from internationalto the local level;

• Maximum public participation, appropriatedecentralization of responsibilities and resources andclarification of accountabilities are key considerations;

• Development planning processes, including urban andland-use plans, poverty reduction strategies anddevelopment frameworks, with active participation of thecommunities at risk, should systematically and fullyintegrate disaster risk reduction;

• Collective prevention and safety culture should becomean integral part of development programmes and bepromoted through risk communication, awareness andeducational activities, with a focus on children andfamilies and using all types of media;

• Women play a key role in ensuring the effectiveimplementation of all the phases of disaster riskreduction and their contribution should be emphasised;

• Local authorities should ensure sustainable developmentof urban and rural areas and make sure that allstructures, especially essential buildings andinfrastructures, such as schools and hospital, are safelybuilt with the full implementation of codes. Providingincentives is an effective tool for enforcing safetystandards and zero tolerance is required for any typeof violation;

• Scientific communities also have a responsibility toprovide effective, useful and affordable solutions forvulnerability reduction and earthquake safe design andconstruction;

• Local capacity building supported by appropriate transferof knowledge, experience and technology, at community,national, regional and international level is required;

• The provision of necessary resources to implementearthquake risk reduction is a prerequisite for effectiveaction. Guidance is required to develop cost benefitanalysis as incentives to finance risk reductionmeasures. Risk sharing mechanisms through public-private partnership can contribute to enhancingresilience to earthquake impacts.

Participants called on Governments, internationalorganizations and non-governmental organizationspreparing for and participating in the WCDR to integrate theabove priorities in the outcomes of the Conference and inparticular the framework for future action to be adopted.Implementing these priorities will support the achievementsof the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR),the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ultimately,sustainable development.

Lessons from Bam inform WCDR


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