A magazine from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction that covers the field of disaster prevention and mitigation for all

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3 A magazine from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction that covers the field of disaster prevention and mitigation for all people of the Asia Pacific region.

4 UNISDR and EU Message Four years since the powerful Indian Ocean Tsunami ravaged communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka India, Maldives and numerous other countries, substantial improvements are now visible in many of the previously devastated areas. In Aceh today, which along with nearby Nias Island was the region worst hit by the disaster, most of the houses and infrastructure such as schools, roads and bridges have been rebuilt, and reconstruction can be considered a success. However, although a lot has been achieved, significant work still remains. In particular, the need to build the long-term sustained local and national capacities and frameworks for resilience to tsunamis and other hazards and to ensure the integration of disaster risk reduction in development processes. In particular, there is still a need for greater attention by governments, bilateral and multi-lateral donors and other stakeholders to build resilience to reduce disaster risks within local communities. The project "Building Resilience to Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean" is one such effort. Initiated by UNISDR and funded by European Commission the overarching objective of this project is to build the resilience of communities and nations to disasters by strengthening national and local institutions by providing mechanisms and capacities for disaster risk reduction. The activities targeting this objective are being coordinated by UNISDR and carried out from 2007 to 2009 by several regional and national implementing partners, in close coordination with Governments and non-governmental stakeholders. The initiative addresses identified gaps and needs on national and community level in India, Indonesia, Maldives and Sri Lanka. This project builds upon the recognition that a strong political commitment is a necessary prerequisite for building national and community resilience to disasters. Through political commitment, the global community can establish disaster risk management mechanisms and legal frameworks to mobilize necessary resources and implement activities that reduce vulnerability. National level commitment to disaster risk reduction is essential for strengthening institutional capacity and enhancing the coping ability of communities. UNISDR and the European Community hope through this project to enable communities to increase their resilience to disasters and to reduce associated environmental, human and economic and social losses. We are pleased to present this Fourth Edition of "Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and Pacific - ISDR Informs" which is the first step in documenting the achievements, innovative approaches, lessons learned and good practices identified throughout Asian and Pacific countries on enhancing community resilience for disaster risk reduction, particularly the lessons learned from the "Building Resilience to Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean" project. Promising initiatives such as the promotion of selected tree species as a multilayered and multi-species bio-shield on the coast of Maldives to protect the beach from the natural hazards, or the publication of "Indigenous knowledge for disaster risk reduction" by the UNISDR Asia Pacific, in cooperation with Kyoto University, present innovative and sustainable ways to enhance the community resilience to tsunamis. We are looking forward to your continued fruitful support in building the resilience of Nations and Communities to disasters. from Mr. German Velasquez, Senior Regional Coordinator, UNISDR Asia & Pacific and Ms. Monia Eldjendoubi, European Commission. Message from ISDR AP Team This fourth issue of "Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia Pacific - ISDR Informs" represents an opportunity to reflect on the status of disaster risk reduction in 2008 in the Asia and Pacific region, and to note the achievements, innovative approaches, projects and activities that focus on Building Resilience to Tsunamis. The former aims at mobilizing efforts and political commitment towards the systematic integration of disaster risk reduction under the guidance of Hyogo Framework for Action into socioeconomic development so as to promote a better understanding and awareness of disaster mechanisms and how to build the resilience of individuals, communities and nations to future disasters. The latter is a special report compiling the multiple initiatives and lessons learned during the implementation of "Building Resilience to Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean" project, which is initiated by UNISDR and supported by the European Commission Europe Aid Cooperation Office (EC/ AIDCO). The report was developed in cooperation with key regional partners so as to provide an overview of the richness of the Asia Pacific region's innovative approaches and experiences in building community resilience to tsunamis. The UNISDR is pleased to present you this issue, with the ultimate objective of encouraging you to learn not just from the experiences presented here, but also to adapt and replicate the successful activities that could match your own country, community's requirements and specificity. The UNISDR takes the opportunity to express appreciation to partners who provided substantive contributions and photos. We look forward to pursuing fruitful cooperation with all of you to make sure that the wealth of disaster risk reduction and disaster management expertise and knowledge in the Asia and Pacific region is well reflected as well as fully preserved for increased protection and enhanced resilience at the regional and global levels. - The UNISDR Asia Pacific Team 2 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

5 UN/ISDR INFORMS Disaster Reduction in Asia & Pacific UNISDR Informs is a collaborative effort of the ISDR Asia Partnership. UNISDR Informs is produced on a bi-annual basis. Please send comments and contributions to isdrbkk@un.org UNISDR Regional Coordinator German Velasquez Production Phong Tran, Nick Ramos Editors Phong Tran, Nick Ramos Design The Post Publishing Public Company Limited Cover Photo Post Publishing Public Company Limited Printer Post Publishing Public Company Limited Photo Credits Action Aid, Kyoto University, PWRI, UNESCO, KOGAMI, Jc S, Plan International, Kanokporn Dechnarong, Goulsara Pultova, UNFCC, AUEDM, CAPWIP, ADPC, ADRC, Mosese Sikivou, NEMA, Jinhua Zhao, Post Publishing Public Company Limited Further information on the ISDR Asia Partnership is available at Disclaimer: The information and opinion expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the policies of UNISDR CONTENTS EDITORIAL UNISDR and EU Message / Message from ISDR AP Team 2-3 UNISDR GLOBAL NEWS 4 Ministerial meeting on reducing disaster risks in a changing climate / Implementation of the ISDR: Report of the Secretary-General / Good DRR progress at Climate Change Conference in Pozna, Poland / Mainstreaming DRR into development policies and programs / UN Secretary General cites HFA as key tool for DRR and Climate Change Adaptation / ISDR system Joint Work Program launched / ISDR system submits adaptation proposal to UNFCCC UNISDR REGIONAL NEWS 8 Response to cyclone Nargis in Myanmar / The Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction / DRR covered in Asian development forum / The Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance / Regional Task Force on Urban Risk Reduction in Asia and Pacific / Informal partnership promoting the inter-linkages between disasters and environment / Asian University Network of Environment and Disaster Management / Climate Resilient Cities Primer launched in Thailand / First World Landslide Forum PARTNERS IN ACTION 14 Regional The Seventh Meeting of the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management / The Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction / ESCAP Tsunami Trust Fund contributes to closing the gaps in the Tsunami Early Warning System / IUCN holds workshop in environmental DRR / APEC agrees on framework to mitigate the impact of natural hazards / Australia-Indonesia Disaster Reduction Facility Announced / Central Asian countries build resilience / Asian Ministers bring DRR into the city / New web portal for Disaster Risk Management / Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management / Joint Australian Tsunami Warning System / Asian NGOs build on regional DRR collaboration / Pakistan conference calls for more action on school safety / APEC moves on adopting HFA in preparedness strategy / Bangkok: risk reduction on climate change work program / World Bank scopes Pacific Sustainability and DRR initiative / ASEAN Disaster Simulation Exercise 22 / Gender perspective on Pacific DRM and climate change adaptation / National Mongolia: Strengthening the Disaster Mitigation and Management System / Sri Lanka: New multi-stakeholder DRR mechanism / Philippines: Focus on local level DRR / China Planning Network week highlights city resilience to disasters / China: Academics and Governments join forces to address large-scale disasters / Samoa Tsunami Early Warning System STRATEGIC NATIONAL/LOCAL ACTION PLAN 24 Philippine Strategic National Action Plan / Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction, Cambodia / Strategic National Action Plan (SNAP): Lessons Learned from Thailand / Indonesia Strategic Local Action Plan (SLAP) THEMATIC AREAS OF FOCUS 28 World Disaster Reduction Campaign : 'Hospitals safe from disasters' / Pakistan: Rebuilding better through compulsory risk reduction designs / Nepal: Awareness triggers action at a major public hospital NATURAL DISASTERS IN BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN 36 AIDCO Partners Comprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course / Building Models For Disaster Preparedness in Padang City / Action Research, IEC and practices / Early warning in the conventional way / Capacity building of coastal community on DRR in Shaviyani Atoll / Lessons sharing from Sri Lanka / Re-Examining Disasters, Recovery And Reconstruction / Sedimentary record of the tsunami recurrence in Sri Lanka / Paleo-Tsunami study in Aceh and West Sumatra Province / Other Partners Stengthening the last mile of Tsunami Early Warning systems in the Indian Ocean / Increased awarness of tsunami in New Zealand / Disaster Preparedness in Aceh with a twist / The rights based approach to emergencies: Experiences from ActionAid's tsunami response programme / The role of coastal forests in the mitigation of tsunami impacts / Regional program for participatory and integrated agriculture, forestry and fisheries for long-term rehabilitation and development in tsunami / The value of local wisdom and child participation in the disaster risk reduction context: Lessons learned from Sikka and Rembang Indonesia INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION 72 Regional observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction and the ASEAN Disaster Management Day / Vietnam celebrates International Disaster Reduction Day HFA IMPLEMENTATION IN PROGRESS 76 Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into policies and programs / HFA implementation in Asia and Pacific region DEBATE ON DRR AND CCA 82 Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: Avoiding the unmanageable, managing the unavoidable / Bridging the gap: Integrating climate change and disaster risk reduction DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 3

6 Ministerial meeting in New York on Monday 29th of September, Source: UNISDR UNISDR GLOBAL NEWS Ministerial Meeting on Reducing Disaster Risks in a Changing Climate Disaster impacts and losses continue to rise globally, and weather related disasters are affecting millions more people around the world. The cyclone in Myanmar, floods in India and the current hurricane season in the Caribbean are just recent examples of weather extremes predicted to worsen with climate change. To help Member States find solutions to cope with climatic disasters, BAN Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, convened a ministerial meeting in New York on Monday 29th of September. The Secretary-General called on ministers to lead the way at Poznan, Poland, in championing disaster risk reduction as a core element of climate change adaptation. He urged Governments to give high priority to implementing disaster risk reduction measures, in order to achieve the goals set by the Hyogo Framework for Action ( ). "We must not delay," said the Secretary-General. "If we are too slow to adapt to climate change, we risk making disasters even more catastrophic than they need to be. We must draw on the Hyogo Framework for Action and disaster risk reduction knowledge to protect the world's most vulnerable populations against climate change." Disaster risk reduction measures are already helping to lower the impact of natural hazards. For example, Vietnamese mangrove planting and Chinese investments in flood control have helped save lives and avoid significant economic losses. China's US$3.1 billion flood control spending between 1960 and 2000 is estimated to have averted losses of about US$12 billion, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The meeting gathered 200 participants from 86 Member States to discuss solutions for adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. Member States shared their experiences in reducing disaster risks in their countries and expressed their concern about the increased vulnerability due to climate change and the need for extra financial resources to adapt to climate change, including reducing disaster risks. This subject will again be the focus of a workshop in Poznan in December, which provides an important opportunity for climate change negotiators to discuss risk reduction issues in depth before moving toward the firm language of the agreements needed by December For more information please visit:

7 UN/ISDR GLOBAL Implementation of the ISDR: Report of the Secretary-General The recent major disasters in Asia attest to the fact that much more needs to be done to invest in, and systematically implement, disaster risk reduction. Over three years have passed since the adoption of the Hyogo Framework for Action : Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters and, although progress has been made on a variety of fronts, the world is not on track to achieve the Hyogo Framework's sought-after outcome of a substantial reduction in disaster losses by A major scaling-up of efforts and resources is therefore needed urgently. The Secretary-General report on the "Implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction" provides an overview of progress on the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, in response to General Assembly resolutions 62/ 192, 61/199 and 61/200. It also considers trends in disasters and disaster risks, and the development of coordination, guidance and resourcing through the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction system. Details on the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and international cooperation to reduce the impact of the El Nino phenomenon are contained in the annexes. The full report can be downloaded at: about_isdr/bd-sg-reports-eng.htm Good DRR progress at Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland At the Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland in December 2008, disaster issues were highlighted at a special plenary workshop on Risk Management and Insurance. Following an invited UNISDR briefing, many states reiterated that disaster risk reduction and the use of the Hyogo Framework were important elements of adaptation to climate change. This was accompanied by strong advocacy efforts from OCHA and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, reflecting a newly galvanized humanitarian sector focus on disaster prevention which is providing opportunities for stronger engagement in ISDR System partnerships. Climate risk insurance and risk transfer attracted strong state party interest but are nonetheless the subject of widely divergent views on the kinds of benefits that would result. A notable advance during the talks was the agreement that the climate change Adaptation Fund would be a legal entity granting direct funding access to developing countries. This agreement will allow the Fund, set up in December 2007 at the Bali talks, to actually begin operation. However, developing country representatives were disappointed that there would be no increase in the size of the Fund, which currently contains about US$80 million. The purpose of the Fund is to help reduce the negative effects of climate change on vulnerable states, including through disaster risk reduction. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon taking questions at press conference, Source: UNFCCC UN Secretary General Cites HFA as Key Tool for DRR and Climate Change Adaptation A high-level panel on "Addressing Climate Change: the United Nations and the World at Work" was convened on 11 February, at UN Headquarters in New York. The meeting was assembled by the President of General Assembly who urged all the participants to support the negotiation process launched in Bali and to focus on immediate practical action through effective partnerships. Following the Panel meeting, Member states discussed the recently launched Secretary General's report entitled: "Overview of United Nations activities in relation to climate change ". The report refers to the ISDR as a relevant and existing coordination mechanism, and the Hyogo Framework as an existing tool for disaster risk reduction, which need to be fully utilized in the context of climate change adaptation. The report emphasizes the importance of making accessible all existing disaster reduction tools and methods and information on best practices at the national and local levels. For more information: Opening of the Conference of the Parties (COP), Source: UNFCCC Contact: Silvia Llosa, llosa@un.org DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 5

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9 ISDR system Joint Work Program launched The first ever ISDR system Joint Work Program was launched at the ISDR Support Group meeting in Geneva on 7 March The Joint Work Program was developed by a core set of ISDR system partner agencies, the FAO, IFRC, ILO, OCHA, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, WMO, the World Bank, and the UNISDR secretariat. The Joint Work Program's purpose is to promote ISDR system wide coherence and coordinated action to support countries in implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action. The Joint Work Program sets out a set of 18 global joint results which ISDR system partners will pursue during , linked to the Hyogo Framework. For more information, please contact Glenn Mittermann (mittermann@un.org) ISDR System submits adaptation proposal to UNFCCC On 29 September 2008, the ISDR System submitted a proposal to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat in response to the Bali Action Plan's call for enhanced action on adaptation through consideration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies, risk management and risk transfer mechanisms. The proposal was developed in consultation with a number of UN and international organizations concerned with DRR and humanitarian response. It included a set of suggested concrete actions related to the following four areas of focus: national planning for adaptation; enhancing knowledge sharing; streamlining and scaling up financial and technical support; and institutional frameworks for adaptation. The recommendations made are based on decades of experience in reducing, managing and transferring disaster risk at all levels, from international to community. For more information, visit: Submission-Adaptation.pdf DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 7

10 UN/ISDR GLOBAL UNISDR REGIONAL NEWS Response to cyclone Nargis in Myanmar On 25 may 2008, ASEAN, the Government of Myanmar and the United Nations, established a working-level mechanism to facilitate trust, confidence and cooperation in urgent post- Cyclone Nargis humanitarian relief and recovery work. The Tripartite Core Group (TCG) composed of the Government of Myanmar, ASEAN, and the United Nations was formed. The TCG has become an effective model for cooperation between the international community and Myanmar and a vital mechanism to coordinate the relief efforts for assisting Cyclone Nargis survivors. The Post Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA), in cooperation with both humanitarian and development actors in Myanmar, determine the full scale of the impact of the cyclone and requirements for both immediate humanitarian assistance needs and medium to longer-term recovery. This assessment, released in mid July 2008, provides a baseline for monitoring progress in recovery and rehabilitation, and basis for recovery planning. The results of PONJA were taken into account by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs when it launched a revised appeal for $482 million on 10 July The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took an active lead in building trust with the government of Myanmar, in providing assistance, and in coordinating the international response in collaboration with the agencies of the United Nations, resulting in many saved lives. The main instrument for ASEAN intervention was the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), which Myanmar has ratified. Under the umbrella of the TCG, the humanitarian community is further cooperating with the Myanmar Government on a Post- Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP). This plan is aimed at identifying the longer-term strategies and activities that are required to ensure that not only will the survivors of cyclone Nargis get back to their normal lives, they will also have an opportunity to improve their standards of living. The humanitarian response in the wake of Cyclone Nargis was initiated through the United Nations, through a first UN Flash Appeal on 9 May 2008, 6 days after the cyclone, on behalf of 10 UN agencies and 9 non-governmental organizations, requesting US$187 million, and was 96% funded. A revised appeal, based on various assessments including the PONJA, was made on 10 July 2008, submitted by 13 UN agencies and 23 non-governmental organisations to assist 2.4 million people most severely affected by Cyclone Nargis. The total amount requested to address the needs identified in this appeal amounts to US$484 million. As of November 2008, 53.3% of the appeal or US$ 257 million have been funded. For more information please visit:

11 The Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction The Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Kuala Lumpur from 2 to 4 December 2008, was hosted by the Government of Malaysia, with support from UNISDR and ESCAP amongst others. Building on the first and second Conferences, the overarching theme of the Third Asian Ministerial Conference is "Multi-stakeholders Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction from National to Local", with focus on public-privatepartnership for disaster risk reduction and community based disaster risk reduction activities. The objectives of the Third Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction were to (a) review action taken by the national governments and other stakeholders for the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action as a follow-up to the Beijing Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and the Delhi Declaration on Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia in 2007; (b) exchange good practices and lessons learned on disaster risk reduction in various fields and taking stock of initiatives in the region for promoting cooperation and building partnerships for disaster risk reduction among countries, both within and outside the governments; (c) to prepare for key global processes such as the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. The Conference revolved around six themes: (a) Public-Private Partnership in Disaster Risk Financing; (b) High Technology and Scientific Applications to Disaster Risk Reduction, including Climate Change Adaptation; (c) Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction; (d) Mobilizing Resources for Disaster Risk Reduction; (e) Media Involvement in Disaster Risk Reduction; and (f) Public Awareness and Education for Disaster Risk Reduction. The conference gathered high-ranking officials and Ministers from over 40 countries in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The outcome of the meeting, the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, will be the first of the Ministerial meeting outcomes to be supported by an action plan, which will be developed by the ISDR Asia Partnership (a partnership of 30 UN, regional, civil society and donor agencies) by March The conference also launched the Kuala Lumpur Initiative on Public Private Partnership for disaster risk reduction, under the leadership of the Governments of India, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea, respective hosts of the immediate past, present and incoming Ministerial Conferences. Government Ministers from across Asia called for 10% of humanitarian funding to be allocated to disaster risk reduction (DRR) at the conference. This was coupled with a call by governments for setting voluntary, multi-year public spending on DRR in various development sectors. The initiative to allocate 10% of humanitarian aid for DRR was proposed by John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs in his message to participants, and was strongly supported by conference-host Malaysia. As the international level, this would amount to around US$750 million per year from humanitarian aid budgets. Contact: German Velasquez, velasquezg@un.org DRR covered in Asian development forum The 9th Assembly of Asia Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development was held December, 2008 in Hanoi, Vietnam. UNISDR representatives made links with parliamentarians from Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Vietnam, New Zealand, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal and the Philippines. Parliamentarians shared their experiences and underlined that more action is urgently required from both developed and developing countries, and that gender perspectives in climate change mitigation and adaptation should be seriously addressed. Ms. Mabel Rebello, an Indian MP, emphasized that parliamentarians need to influence public policy and make legislative change at the federal and provincial levels, overseeing local implementation. Contact: Ana-Cristina Thorlund, thorlund@un.org DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 9

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13 UN/ISDR REGIONAL The Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance The Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance focusing on Gender in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Manila, Philippines from Oct. 19 to 22, The Congress was held to provide a forum for leaders and decision-makers at all levels in formulating a gender-responsive legislation and programs related to gender in climate change and disaster risk reduction. In particular, the Congress was held to: a) understand the phenomenon of climate change, its impacts and implication and study the appropriate actions to address these; b) review and examine the gender aspects in climate change and disaster risk reduction and formulate appropriate actions to address these; c) define the roles women can play in addressing the impacts of climate change and disaster risk reduction program and policies at the global, national and sub-national levels; and d) identify and define the action agenda for parliamentarians, policy advocates, and women leaders to support global and national actions to adapt genderresponsive legislation and programs related to gender in climate change and disaster risk-reduction. A total of 223 participants attended the Congress, 148 of whom were international delegates and 75 are delegates from the Philippines. For more information please visit: 3rdglobalcongress1.html Regional Task Force on Urban Risk Reduction in Asia and Pacific The Hyogo Framework for Action specifies that disaster risk is compounded by increasing vulnerabilities related to various elements including unplanned urbanization. As one of the five priorities for action of the Hyogo Framework for Action, key activities are specified to reduce the underlying risk factors (Priority 4) and urban risk reduction is the crucial area of work to implement the Hyogo Framework for Action. Recognizing that there is a growing need to address the subject area of urban risk reduction with concerted and coordinated efforts among stakeholders, in particular in the Asia region which is developing the pace of urbanization dramatically, the UNISDR Hyogo Office together with close partners took an initiative to develop the Asia Regional Task Force on Urban Risk Reduction as a thematic group of the ISDR system in Asia to facilitate and accelerate efforts and actions for urban risk reduction. The Asia Regional Task Force on Urban Risk Reduction was established in a meeting held in Kobe, in January The RTF-URR is currently represented by 16 member organizations and is expected for further expansion. The RTF-URR is coordinated by the UNISDR Hyogo Office based in Kobe. The RTF-URR aims at developing links to the community of urban planners, architects and engineers who are engaged in shaping the future of urban growth to ensure that disaster risk reduction is incorporated in urban development planning as well as future urban development trends are incorporated in disaster risk reduction strategies. The goal of the RTF-URR is to enhance decisive actions to reduce risk and increase community resilience in the urban areas in the Asia region, with specific objectives such as acting as an advocacy vehicle to major urban policy bodies, providing a platform for collective information and knowledge development and sharing, and facilitating interactions and cooperation among related organizations and stakeholders. Fore more information please contact: Ms. Yuki Matsuoka, isdrhyogo@un.org Informal Partnership Promoting the Inter-Linkages between Disasters and Environment UNISDR and UNEP have joined together to support the Disaster and Environment Working Group for Asia (DEWGA), an informal partnership that was created in 2007 to promote the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction (DRR) into environmental management as well as the integration of environmental components into DRR planning in Asia. The founding members are ADPC, CARE, IUCN, Kyoto University, SEI and WWF. An inventory of relevant initiatives in both the disaster risk reduction and environmental management fields was developed by Kyoto University as a first step in cooperation. DEWGA is strongly interested in being closely involved in ISDR's national and regional initiatives, including leading the thematic HFA reporting process to GPDRR2 on the issue of disasters, environment and climate change adaptation. Coordination will take place with UNEP at the regional and global levels to avoid duplication of leadership in this area. DEWGA joined the IAP in 2008 as a regional partner. For more information, please contact the DEWGA secretariat at: Aloysius J. Rego (ajrego@adpc.org) or Anshuman Saikia (anshuman@iucnt.org) DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 11

14 UN/ISDR REGIONAL Asian University Network of Environment and Disaster Management Recognizing the needs and demands of higher education in disaster risk reduction, the Kyoto University Graduate School of Global Environmental studies has established a network of Asian Universities, called the Asian University Network of Environment and Disaster Management (AUEDM). The objectives of AUEDM are to share and work together in promoting environment and disaster management in higher education; to seek possibilities of mutual collaboration on field-based action research; and to broaden the scope of education and learning in the environment and disaster management field through collaboration with other stakeholders, such as NGOs and local governments. It is hoped that the AUEDM network will sustain and build on the initial seed network developed among four universities in this project. For more information on AUEDM, see: Climate Resilient Cities Primer launched in Thailand The Climate Resilient Cities Primer was launched in July during the Green Cities Workshop held in Pattaya, Thailand. The World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and UNISDR secretariat teamed up to produce a Primer titled "Climate Resilient Cities: A Primer on Reducing Vulnerabilities to Climate Change Impacts and Strengthening Disaster Risk Management in East Asian Cities". The primer serves as a tool for city governments in the East Asia region to better understand how to plan for climate change impacts and impending natural disasters through sound urban planning to reduce vulnerabilities. It gives local city managers information to actively engage in training, capacity building, and capital investment programs that are identified as priorities for building sustainable, resilient communities. Global and regional examples from 20 cities undertaking sound practices in mitigation, adaptation and disaster risk reduction are offered as practical lessons of experience. The primer is available online at climatecities First World Landslide Forum The First World Landslide Forum (18-21 November 2008, Tokyo, Japan), organized by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), United Nations University, UNISDR and other supporting organizations and entities, provided a rare opportunity to discuss and address landslide risk on a global scale. 430 participants from 48 countries attended the Forum. The participants have assessed the activities developed and implemented following the Tokyo Action Plan: "Strengthening Research and Learning on Landslides and Related Earth System Disasters for Global Risk Preparedness". They have also been looking forward to the main activities needed to be developed in the years ahead by the ICL, as an integral part of ISDR's "Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction". For further information, please contact: The Organising Committee of the 1st World Landslide Forum, wlf@iclhq.org 12 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

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16 PARTNERS IN ACTION PARTNERS IN ACTION Regional The Seventh Meeting of the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management The Seventh Meeting of the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC 7) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from May 2008, in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka. The meeting was attended by 28 delegates from 19 RCC Member Countries, comprising heads of National Disaster Management Offices or their representatives, and sectoral Ministries of National Governments. In addition 16 observers from regional organizations, UN Agencies, bilateral and multilateral funding agencies and NGOs attended the meeting. The meeting was inaugurated by the Honorable Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights of the Government of Sri Lanka, H.E. Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe. Key Outcomes of the 7th RCC Meeting are: Strengthening of the RCC Mechanism Mainstreaming DRR into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation in Asia National Programs on Community-led disaster risk management Coordination between UN/ISDR, ADPC and ADRC on support to HFA Implementation in Asia For more information please visit

17 PARTNERS IN ACTION The Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction The Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction, held in Bali, Indonesia November emphasized the urgent need for concerted effort to link disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation and to integrate them into sustainable development. The conference also addressed critical gaps and challenges to Governments and other key stakeholders at the national and regional levels in implementing the Hyogo Framework, identifying the need for legal frameworks, legislation, and policy changes; resource mobilization and allocation; institutional capacity building; enhanced public awareness and education; and gender perspectives and considerations in DRR. The conference also promoted a more enabling policy environment for public-private partnership for DRR, and highlighted the need to make effective DRR tools available and accessible, using advanced science and technology and knowledge management resources Contact: Asian Disaster Reduction Centre, rep@adrc.or.jp ESCAP Tsunami Trust Fund contributes to closing the gaps in the Tsunami Early Warning System. The ESCAP Tsunami Trust Fund aims to build and enhance tsunami early warning capabilities in accordance with the needs of Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian countries. It is a resource mechanism to narrow the capacity gaps in the region, by supporting the development of early warning systems, including public awareness initiatives and community preparedness in a multi-hazard context. The Fund has received contributions from the Governments of Thailand, Sweden, Turkey and Nepal. As of end 2008, The Fund had conducted five rounds of funding; it received 51 proposals from various regional, sub-regional and national organizations. Eleven projects had been approved, with a total budget of roughly US$ 9.2 million. Grants are supporting regional monitoring and warning services, including upgrading of the regional network of seismic and sea level stations, risk knowledge, dissemination and communications, and response capacity from the national to the sub-national and community levels. The Fund works within the international framework of the IOTWS, coordinated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC-UNESCO). In addition to IOC-UNESCO, four other United Nations entities are partners in the Fund: the secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). These partners contribute to technical appraisal of projects received, attend the Fund's Advisory Council meetings as observers, and participated in development of a Mapping Study on Gaps and Unmet Needs in Regional Tsunami Early Warning Systems, which guides Fund programming. An Evaluative Review of the Fund was carried out in Based on the results ESCAP has proposed to broaden the scope of the Fund for an overall focus on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. For more information please contact Charles Davies, pmd.unescap@un.org DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 15

18 PARTNERS IN ACTION IUCN holds workshop in environmental DRR Members of the ISDR Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction, including UNISDR, UNEP, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), held a workshop on 6 October at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona. During the 'Ecosystem Services, Disaster Risk Reduction and Coastal Community Resilience' workshop, participants practiced communicating the principles of disaster risk reduction (DRR) for poverty alleviation, climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability; Identifying and applying common DRR measures in early warning, spatial planning, preparedness planning, safe construction practices and public awareness; Identifying and understanding ecosystem-based measures for DRR; and analyzing post-disaster recovery plans. For more information, please contact Reid Basher, basher@un.org APEC agrees on framework to mitigate the impact of natural hazards The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has agreed on a strategic framework to mitigate the impact of natural hazards. Initiated by Peru with support from Australia and Indonesia, the framework focuses on monitoring volcanoes and hydrographic watersheds where the "El Nino" phenomenon is generated. This framework for the "Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness and Response in Asia Pacific region from 2009/2015" was endorsed during the 2nd Emergency Management CEO Seminar 2008 of APEC, August, in Lima, Peru. The agreed framework incorporates the Hyogo Framework for Action and is an important step forward in focusing attention on disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness in the APEC process. If the proposal is ratified in November at the 16th APEC summit in Lima, Peru, it is expected to enable all 21 APEC member economies to exchange technologies and resources to reduce the impact of disasters and speed up the delivery of aid. For more information, please contact Christel Rose, rosec@un.org 16 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

19 PARTNERS IN ACTION Australia-Indonesia Disaster Reduction Facility Announced The Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Indonesia, leaders of the two economies co-chairing the APEC Taskforce on Emergency Preparedness, met on 24 November 2008 to discuss regional disaster coordination - one of the themes of the current APEC Leaders' meeting in Peru. Both expressed their deep concern about the impact of natural disasters in the region. They noted that many parts of the Asia Pacific region are disaster-prone, and that the number and severity of disasters is increasing because of, among other things, climate change and urbanization. Australia and Indonesia have examined the existing mechanisms for disaster management in the region and have found that there are shortcomings in areas of coordination and coherence and, critically, insufficient focus on preventing and mitigating disasters. There are also shortcomings in the building of national capacity for nations to self-manage disasters. The Australia-Indonesia Disaster Reduction Facility has been established in Jakarta and will be operational by April The Facility will support Indonesia's and the region's efforts to reduce the impact of disasters and to improve self-management capabilities through training and outreach; risk and vulnerability assessment; and research and analysis on emerging regional threats. The total value of this Facility will be A$67 million (approximately US$42 million) over five years. The focus will be on disaster reduction that saves lives and money. Countries that adopt a disaster reduction approach will be better equipped to lead and manage disaster response. Australia and Indonesia will develop and sustain the Facility's relationship and collaboration with ASEAN, ASEAN Regional Forum, APEC, SAARC, the United Nations, the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement and regional disaster management mechanisms and programs. It is envisioned to broaden its scope to include cooperation with Pacific partners. The Facility will work closely with the APEC Task Force on Emergency Preparedness to share its experiences, tools and strategies with APEC member economies. The Facility will also encourage greater involvement of the private sector in disaster management an APEC priority - and look for opportunities to support APEC's efforts to build community and business resilience in the region. For more information please visit: Central Asian countries build resilience A regional conference on Ensuring Seismic Safety of Buildings and Structures made from Local Materials in Central Asia was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in May, The conference discussed perspectives of regional cooperation on seismic safety and put forth recommendations to ensure seismic resistance of buildings and structures using local materials. This issue is of utmost importance for all Central Asian countries since much of the rural population still prefers to build houses from clay, adobe or other local materials that keep them warm in winter and cool in hot summers. Since these constructions are not always earthquake-resistant, governments do not officially recognize them and do not develop specific construction norms and regulations for them. People, however, keep building these houses because it is also a low-cost solution, which is very important under the conditions of almost total poverty in some areas. At the same time, there exist traditional ways of making these houses much safer which was the subject for discussion at the conference. For more information, please contact Goulsara Pulatova at goulsara.pulatova@unisdr-wana.org DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 17

20 PARTNERS IN ACTION Asian Ministers bring DRR into the city Asia-Pacific Government Ministers agreed on a range of actions to develop sustainable urbanization with a focus on natural hazards at the second Asia-Pacific Ministerial conference on housing and Urban Development held in Tehran from May Around 39 government representatives from across the region attended. The action plan called for countries to improve mechanisms for knowledge sharing on DRR, expand insurance coverage, design and improve the use of sports facilities as disaster shelters, base all city develop plans on natural hazard risk assessments, carry out voluntary technical assessments and studies for retrofitting key infrastructure within two years (in accordance with the Hyogo Framework for Action), undertake feasibility studies for a disaster loan fund, use Iran and Japan as knowledge sources on seismic risk mitigation, implement training in safe construction, establish an Asian Disaster Mitigation Centre in Tehran to run training courses for the region, and establish a city twinning program for support and knowledge sharing. UNISDR secretariat and UN-Habitat also attended the conference. For more information, please visit: New web portal for Disaster Risk Management The Pacific Disaster Net (PDN) is the new web portal for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the Pacific Region, designed to collect, collate and provide easy access to a comprehensive knowledge and information resource base intended to facilitate informed decisions on matters related to disaster risk reduction and disaster management. It is a living and ever growing collection of DRM information resources for interested actors and stakeholders, providing specific country as well as relevant regional information. The PDN is also offered offline as a 'Local Edition', on DVDs which will be frequently updated and distributed to allow a broader outreach to communities and users that do not have Internet access. Developed through a partnership between SOPAC, IFRC, UNDP and UNOCHA, who form part of the larger Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network (PDRMPN) the PDN is hosted at and maintained by SOPAC. Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management The Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management (PPDRM) concept was endorsed by the 37th SOPAC Governing Council at its meeting held in Tuvalu in October The PPDRM serves as the link between Pacific Island Countries and the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP/DRR). The establishment of the PPDRM is based on a set of principles, with one being to build on existing mechanisms and structures. Consequently, the PPDRM is the new designation for the three Pacific regional DRM meetings: a) the annual Pacific Regional Disaster Managers meeting; b) annual meeting of the PDRMPN and c) the CEOs of Disaster Management and Finance/Planning meeting. For more information please contact: Mosese Sikivou, mosese@sopac.org Joint Australian Tsunami Warning System The Bureau of Meteorology, in partnership with Geoscience Australia (GA) and Emergency Management Australia (EMA), has been provided with $68.9 million funding for over four years by the Australian Government to establish the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning System (JATWS). Of this amount, AUD 2 million has been allocated for capacity building actions that will contribute to the facilitation of effective tsunami warning to countries within the SW Pacific. The remaining policy objectives of the JATWS initiative being to provide a comprehensive tsunami warning system for Australia and to support international efforts to establish an Indian Ocean tsunami warning system. The Pacific Islands component of the JATWS has been designed to support SOPAC member countries to assess their ability to receive, communicate, and respond to tsunami warnings. In addition, the project will help to identify requirements for further capacity building programs and assist in directing funds from potential sources to address these requirements. Also completed under the project were data availability reviews to support tsunami inundation modeling. For more information please contact: Mosese Sikivou, mosese@sopac.org For more information please contact: Mosese Sikivou, mosese@sopac.org 18 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

21 PARTNERS IN ACTION Asian NGOs build on regional DRR collaboration Asian NGOs have agreed to set up a steering group to take forward a proposal for a regional collaboration mechanism for NGOs working on disaster risk reduction. The steering group will initially focus on drafting the Terms of Reference for a regional collaboration mechanism, and conduct a mapping exercise of existing national and regional NGO networks working on DRR in Asia. This agreement was an outcome of a Regional NGO Consultative Meeting held in Bangkok on May, organized by OXFAM HK in collaboration with the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN), the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation and the UNISDR secretariat. The meeting brought together some 30 representatives of NGOs and NGO networks from Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia and covered: 1) Extreme events and climate change adaptation; 2). Urban risk; 3). Conflict and migration; 4). Training and learning on DRR. For more information, please contact Michele Cocchiglia (cocchiglia@un.org) Pakistan conference calls for more action on school safety In the shadow of tragic events in China, where collapsed schools killed thousands of students during a massive earthquake, a three day International School Safety conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, recommended stronger support for building safe schools. The conference, held May, delivered its recommendations to international and private stake-holders, and the Government of Pakistan. The conference recommended that governments develop mechanisms to provide technical, financial and capacity support to design and implement School Safety Action Plans. Communities, civil society and private organizations would play a critical role as partners in the implementation of these plans. The participants also observed a moment of silence in memory of those who have lost their lives in recent earthquakes. Organized by the Agha Khan Planning and Building Service, participants included UN Agencies, the World Bank, BASIN Network, ADPC, SDC, Austrian Development Association, Institute of Architects, Pakistan, and local, international and government agencies. For more information, please visit: DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 19

22 PARTNERS IN ACTION APEC moves on adopting HFA in preparedness strategy The first 'APEC Dialogue among APEC Economies, Business Community and Key International Organizations on Emergency Preparedness' took place on April 2008 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The meeting grouped together around 50 participants from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat, APEC Economies' representatives from Ministry of Trade, UNISDR secretariat, WFP and the Pacific Disaster Centre to discuss the development of an APEC Strategic framework on emergency preparedness for The initiative is led by Peru, as the Chair of the APEC Task Force for Emergency Preparedness. Extensive discussions took place on the issue of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and preparedness as part of the Task Force's activities, along the lines of the Hyogo Framework for Action. Concrete recommendations were made by the group to adopt the HFA as a valuable common policy framework for action on disaster risk reduction activities and will be submitted by Task Force co-chairs (Australia and Indonesia) to the Task Force Senior Officials Meeting (August 2008, Lima) for endorsement, before final approval at the APEC Ministerial Meeting in November. Upon endorsement of the HFA, there will be more discussion of the involvement and possible leadership of the APEC Secretariat in public private partnership for disaster risk reduction and the economic cost of disasters in the Asia Pacific region. For more information, please contact Christel Rose (rosec@un.org) Bangkok: risk reduction on climate change work program Risk management and risk reduction strategies will be included in the fourth session of the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, in December this year. This was agreed at the UNFCCC Climate Change Talks in Bangkok, Thailand, held from 31 March to 4 April. In Bangkok, countries negotiated and agreed on a work plan for negotiating a post-kyoto international agreement, which must be concluded in Copenhagen in Following the main talks, the UNFCCC Nairobi Work Program on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change held an informal meeting of representatives to assess outcomes and identify next steps. The Chair's summary stressed the need to focus on how to create enabling environments for adaptation, and called for more work on vulnerability mapping at the global level, such as developing vulnerability indices as benchmarks. Economic diversification for building resilience, enhancing links with other activities such as the Adaptation Learning Mechanism of UNDP, additional work on insurance, and learning from the NAPA process were also identified as next steps. The next major meeting this year will be two sessions in Bonn, Germany, 2-13 June, which will include adaptation to climate change through finance and technology. For more information, please visit World Bank scopes Pacific Sustainability and DRR initiative In preparation for its initiative on 'Sustainable Management through Reduced Risk of Disasters and Climate Variability in the Pacific', the World Bank launched a scoping mission at a meeting of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network, hosted by SOPAC, on 16 January in Suva, Fiji. The aim of the initiative, which is funded from GFDRR Track II resources, is to operationalize the World Bank's regional policy note 'Not if but when', and to develop specific investments in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation to be implemented in the coming years. At the meeting, partners, including the UNISDR Asia and Pacific Office, were briefed on the proposed methodology for the scoping mission, and input was sought on the approach. For more information, please contact: Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough (Ipswarayiriddiho@worldbank.org) ASEAN Disaster Simulation Exercise The ASEAN Disaster Simulation Exercise on typhoon disaster scenario was led by Thailand, with the support of ASEAN Member States under the guidance of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER). Firefighting teams, experts on hazardous materials and medical teams from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore participated in the joint emergency response operations, joining the response teams from Thailand. The exercise also involved evacuation of displaced population affected by the disaster. The ASEAN Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT) also took part in the exercise, together with teams from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Thai Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. For media inquiries, please contact: Adelina Kamal, lina@asean.org Gender perspective on Pacific DRM and climate change adaptation Governments, donors and NGOs from Pacific Island Countries attended the Forum on the Gendered Dimensions of Disaster Risk Management and Adaptation to Climate Change: Ways forward for collaboration on research and programming in the Pacific, in late February. The workshop explored potential for collaboration between practitioners in the Pacific region, with particular attention to the gendered dimensions of this work. Participants highlighted further opportunities for collaboration between disaster risk management (DRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA) such as 1) translating technical weather and climate information to be better understood by community practitioners; 2) integrating gender, traditional environmental knowledge (TEK), DRM, and CCA into curriculum at all school levels; 3) including gender, TEK, and participatory methods into all Pacific initiatives and national strategies; and 4) sensitizing donors to the importance of gender and cultural roles in DRM, CCA, and natural resource management. The forum was sponsored by AusAID and the UNDP Pacific Centre. For more information, please contact Cheryl Anderson (canderso@hawaii.edu) 20 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

23 PARTNERS IN ACTION National MONGOLIA: Strengthening the Disaster Mitigation and Management System "Strengthening the Disaster Mitigation and Management System in Mongolia phase III" project funded by Luxemburg through UNDP is being implemented at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of Mongolia since The principal objective of the project is to support implementation of the long-term strategy of Mongolia for disaster risk management to minimize vulnerability, improve preparedness; enhance institutional capacity for disaster management and emergency response, and assist in adapting to climate change that adversely affects sustainable development of the country, especially those in the rural environments. The project has financed 12 community-based herders' groups in other project sites with around 50 thousand US dollar for their proposed small-scale projects to develop their community collaborative actions toward disaster preparedness and resilience. As for the public awareness component, the project has developed the first draft of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Education Program, translated Words into Action: Guide for Implementing the Hyogo Framework into Mongolian language and distributed to branches of NEMA, all regions, ministries and related agencies. As climate change is aggravating the disaster risks and onset events, project is initiating to develop a National Climate Risk Management Strategy to strengthen national capacity for climate resilience and adaptation to reduce disaster risks. National Climate Risk Management Strategy is being developed that will be implemented jointly by three ministries as Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry and NEMA. Locally-driven strategy of traditional knowledge coping with climate variability is promoted by using a TV program on "Traditional Knowledge" to build the community resilience adopting appropriate technologies and customs while making the most of traditional knowledge adapting to current and future climate stress. 6 television lessons for education of herders are broadcasted by the "Education-Channel TV" which is vastly acceptable nationwide. For more information, please contact by to sh.boldbaatar@mongoliadisaster.org as National Project Manager DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 21

24 SRI LANKA: New multistakeholder DRR mechanism Since the aftermath of 2004 tsunami, several government agencies, donors, UN agencies, INGOs, academic institutions and CBOs are working in various aspects of disaster management at various levels in Sri Lanka. In many cases, these organizations are working in isolation, which resulted duplication of activities, covering mostly accessible areas and sometimes unhealthy competitions. In several national level forums it was realized that there is a greater and urgent need to bring all disaster actors together to share the ongoing and future activities, avoid duplication, bring other important actors such as academia, private and media sectors in the mainstreaming of DRR and initiate a comprehensive and coordinated effort to successfully implement the Road Map for Disaster Risk Management. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) strongly supported the formation of National Coordination mechanism. ISDR had developed guidelines and facilitated the sharing of experiences of national platforms in the regions. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights (MDMHR) call for a national level meeting on November 2, 2007, inviting all stakeholders and established the national coordination mechanism under the Chairmanship of the Secretary, MDMHR which is called "National Disaster Management Coordination Committee (NDMCC). Representatives from key sectors of the society such as Government agencies, UN organizations, donors, INGOs, Private sector, academic institutions and media are members of the National Platform. On a request made by DMC all stakeholders agreed to share work plan from the year Disaster Management Centre agreed to provide the secretarial and coordination assistance to NDMCC. The National Disaster Management Coordination Committee is being divided in to two core groups namely "Disaster Risk Reduction" and "Training & Education". The purpose of such categorization was to implement a result oriented program with the commitment of relevant stakeholders. China Planning Network week highlights city resilience to disasters The 2008 China Planning Network (CPN) City Resilience Roundtable was organized from the July in Beijing and Chengdu. It brought the world post-disaster experts to Beijing and Sichuan to share with China their experiences. Mr. John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs opened the roundtable by emphasizing that disaster risk reduction must be translated into political commitment at many levels and supported by financial resources for reducing risk and vulnerabilities. MIT President Hockfield wrote a letter to CPN, calling the City Resilience Roundtable the first collective response from the world academic community to contribute to rebuilding towns and villages and restoring life routines to the impacted people in China. MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay offered his condolence, support and encourage on behalf of Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the opening remarks of the City Resilience Roundtable. In addition to the scholars, the Director of the UNISDR secretariat visited part of the earthquake affected area. They were warmly received by the local government of Chengdu, the provincial capital of the earthquake affected province - Sichuan. It is worth applauding that China opened its door though CPN's effort, and welcomed the visit of western scholars and professionals with their comments and suggestions shortly after the disaster at this scale. For more information, please contact Mr U.W.L Chandradasa, director, Mitigation and Technology, DMC (chandradasa@dmc.lk) PHILIPPINES: Focus on local level DRR The Philippines National Conference on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in Local Governance (NCDRR 2008) took place on 4-6 March in Makati City, and was attended by around 60 national and local government representatives. Facilitating easier access to development funds for local-level DRR activities was highlighted as a particular area needing further guidance and support. In general, participants sought guidance and support for better coordination between national and local DRR, from key international partners such as the World Bank, the European Commission, UNISDR secretariat, UNDP, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and the Earthquake Megacities Initiative. Participants noted that significant progress in the Philippines had been made in disaster risk reduction and Hyogo Framework for Action implementation at the national level through the National Disaster Coordination Council, and at the provincial and district levels through Local Government Units. The Conference was organized by the Philippines Department of the Interior and Local Government and the University of the Philippines, with the support of Germany (GTZ) and the European Commission (DIPECHO). The CPN team visiting the 700 year-old Er'wang Temple in the Dujiangyan World Heritage Site destructed by the Wenchuan Earthquake. Following the CPN City Resilience Roundtable 2008, China Planning Network is working with UNISDR to propose the City Risk Reduction Framework in Fast-Urbanizing China. CPN City Resilience Roundtable 2009 will be held in Beijing this summer as part of the CPN Urbanization China Summit The Roundtable 2009 aims to reexamine the disaster in a non-emergency mode and seek systematic and long-term solutions, and to raise the risk reduction consciousness of the decision makers and promote a culture of prevention in the public. For detailed information please contact Mr. Jinhua Zhao jinhua@mit.edu For more information, please visit 22 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

25 PARTNERS IN ACTION Samoa Tsunami Early Warning System In April 28th to May 1st 2008, Samoa received a boost to its existing tsunami warning and mitigation system, with the support of an international team who led a week long tsunami warning and mitigation system workshop. The warning system enables tsunami warning text messages to be broadcast nationally and at the village level to key community members and response agencies through the GSM mobile network. The messages are then distributed to the community through a number of methods, including church bells, sirens and word of mouth. Once the tsunami warning message is received, the church ministers and school principals will ring the church and school bells fast and continuously, while other village representatives will use word of mouth and other traditional means of notification to alert others. In urban areas, the existing sirens (Fire Service and Port) will sound continuously to inform residents, the business community and the general public to evacuate. In addition to the workshop a national drill was conducted in October 2007 to test the system before it became the official tsunami early warning system of Samoa. The exercise was a success, involving the whole country leaving their daily chores to run for higher ground, including the central business district. The workshop also focused on a range of topics from community awareness of tsunami to issuing of tsunami warnings. For more information please contact: Mosese Sikivou, mosese@sopac.org China: Academics and Governments join forces to address large-scale disasters Hong Kong University and Beijing Normal University are partnering to establish a large-scale Catastrophe Management Initiative (CMI) in response to the Sichuan Earthquake. The universities signed a Memorandum of Collaboration on 27 July at a ceremony in Chengdu, Sichuan, with a number of high-ranking government officials in attendance. By synergising the strengths of the two universities, the CMI will be the first of its kind - the most comprehensive, holistic and integrated project that addresses all aspects of catastrophe management, ranging from rehabilitation to reconstruction and redevelopment, at both policy and practice levels. The CMI will serve as a focal point to promote links and synergies between, and the coordination of, Wenchuan earthquake rehabilitation, reconstruction and redevelopment activities in the socio-economic, humanitarian and development fields. The CMI will also support policy integration in all functional areas. Some of the projects currently underway include: organizing the first Annual Global Dialogue of the Wenchuan Earthquake; developing a pre-school education programme for children; and conducting a follow-up survey on earthquake survivors. For more information, please see World Bank scopes Pacific Sustainability and DRR initiative In preparation for its initiative on 'Sustainable Management through Reduced Risk of Disasters and Climate Variability in the Pacific', the World Bank launched a scoping mission at a meeting of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network, hosted by SOPAC, on 16 January in Suva, Fiji. The aim of the initiative, which is funded from GFDRR Track II resources, is to operationalize the World Bank's regional policy note 'Not if but when', and to develop specific investments in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation to be implemented in the coming years. At the meeting, partners, including the UNISDR Asia and Pacific Office, were briefed on the proposed methodology for the scoping mission, and input was sought on the approach. For more information, please contact: Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough (Ipswarayiriddiho@worldbank.org) DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 23

26 STRATEGIC NATIONAL / LOCAL ACTION PLAN STRATEGIC NATIONAL / LOCAL ACTION PLAN Since the official endorsement of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) in January 2005, the Secretariat of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) in Asia and Pacific has been working with governments and its ISDR system partners to support the implementation of the HFA in the Asia region. The development of Strategic National Action Plans (SNAP) for Disaster Risk Reduction appeared to be useful vehicles for strengthening national level commitments for disaster reduction within the wider development context. Strong political commitment is a necessary prerequisite to building nations and communities that are more resilient to disasters. Through political commitment, disaster risk management mechanisms and legal frameworks can be established, and the necessary resources mobilized to implement activities that will reduce disaster risks. National level commitment to disaster risk reduction (DRR) is essential for strengthening institutional capacity and enhancing the coping ability of communities. Thus, UNISDR, with funding support from the Disaster Preparedness Program of the European Commission for Humanitarian Aid Department (DiPECHO) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), helped facilitate a number of SNAP development processes in Southeast Asia, i.e. at the national level in the Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand, and at the local level in Indonesia. A brief overview of some of the experiences and lessons that were learned in the four countries in the period from 2007 to 2008, is provided below.

27 STRATEGIC NATIONAL / LOCAL ACTION PLAN Philippine Strategic National Action Plan The launching of the SNAP Project ushered into the consciousness of stakeholders the importance of disaster risk reduction. Right from its inception, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) employed the broadest multi-stakeholder processes possible in its consultations. This allowed for a well-represented, meaningful and thorough assessment of previous experiences in disaster management, thereby providing a well-grounded basis for strategic planning. Under SNAP, plan formulation was not simply an enumeration of responses to various isolated concerns, as it were in the past. Rather, problems were identified and analyzed and corresponding resolutions arrived at in a systematic manner, thus enabling the prioritization of planned actions under the auspices of a broad national consensus. Notable was the presence and participation of foreign and local NGOs and people's organizations (POs) in the consultative processes. Prior misconceptions about the NDCC i.e. in its being a national government agency rigidly employing a topdown and non-democratic approach were somehow diminished. There was considerable interaction and a mutual appreciation of the roles, contributions and strengths between and among national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs), NGOs, and people's organizations (POs). Moreover, among the NGAs themselves, the inter-agency approach to DRR was better instilled, moving forward from the stereotype that the Office of Civil Defense should remain as the lone NGA at the forefront of disaster management. This positive outcome stemmed from the appreciation that DRR is a good initiative for the national government towards building resilience of the country against disasters; that it is feasible through a deliberate and conscious planning process; and that only through a strategic plan could the proper priorities and important roles of the respective NDCC member agencies be appropriately mapped out and executed. Finally, but certainly not least, the emphasis given to proper and comprehensive documentation was also integral in coming up with a systematic process. Additionally, the on-line dissemination of these relevant materials, in the form of project reports and studies, enabled the broadest number of stakeholders to level-off and become wellinformed with the significance and concept of DRR. This facility keeps stakeholders regularly updated and able to dialogue and provide feedback in as timely a manner as possible. Not enough could be said about the value of a multi-stakeholder consultative process in tackling development issues and concerns. While this takes time, it will always be the defining element to the formulation of any development agenda. More so in the context of disaster risk management (DRM), which is a relatively young but high-impact item in today's realm of global social development and environmental change. Often relegated to the back-burner even by highly vulnerable communities, the need to establish DRM was felt by most stakeholders. Once appreciated and clearly grasped, this had a retentive quality on them. This was observed throughout the implementation of the SNAP Project. This was also the impetus attained by the project, which spurs especially those at the forefront to persist in carrying out the project's mandate and objectives crusade-style. There was the lesson of employing creative methods and mechanisms to generate even broader participation and project ownership, in order to allow for the mobilization and best use of existing resources towards disaster risk reduction. In particular, the workshop mechanics for dialogues, situational analysis, and "gallery walk" wherein each and every participant go through the outputs of every group discussion ensured that the consultative process was participatory and inclusive. Moreover, the focus group discussions effectively complemented the workshops. The SNAP document emphasizes that "while the good results of DRR projects and activities have significantly provided opportunities for sound practices to take root, existing organizational and societal structures do not necessarily allow positive values to thrive. Sustaining mechanisms, making DRR a regular budgeted item, strengthening private-public partnerships, creating incentives for disaster risk reducing behavior, instilling risk awareness at all levels of government, in households, firms and workplaces -- are all part of a general strategic plan." For more information please contact: Emmanuel M. de Guzman, Consultant, UNISDR Asia-Pacific Region. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 25

28 STRATEGIC NATIONAL / LOCAL ACTION PLAN Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction, Cambodia To address the implementation of the HFA in Cambodia, the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) and the Ministry of Planning (MOP) spearheaded the formulation of a "Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction " (SNAP) for the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). Technical assistance was provided by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) with funding support from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the Disaster Preparedness program of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (DIPECHO). It was felt that despite a number of key government policies and pronouncements recognizing the importance of disaster risk reduction (DRR), the actual practice of government institutions and local governments remain focused primarily on responding after the occurrence of a disaster event. Hence developing an Action Plan would facilitate the identification of DRR activities of the various government ministries and agencies and would consolidate them into a single comprehensive program of action. Thus the SNAP is formulated to serve as the "road map" or guide for strengthening and undertaking DRR in Cambodia. Implementation of the activities and projects identified in the plan can contribute significantly to the attainment of government's primary objective of poverty reduction. The SNAP was developed through a government-led participatory process that involved getting the views and opinion of different disaster management stakeholders in the country including disaster management officials from local governments (provincial, district and commune levels), local and international NGOs, and institutional donor agencies. Facilitation of this process was overseen by an inter-institutional Task Force created through an NCDM Resolution. The Task Force was chaired by the NCDM and the MOP as deputy chair, with the former providing secretariat support. DRR being the responsibility of government at all levels, the SNAP is not a plan of a single government institution or agency. It is not possible for a single government institution to comprehensively address DRR, which should be viewed as a crosscutting issue of sustainable development. DRR can only be addressed through the collective effort of both development and disaster management stakeholders in the country. Thus the SNAP, agreed upon by all stakeholders, provides the blueprint for initiating and undertaking this collective effort. The planning process initiated under the Action Plan is envisioned to become the start of a continuous and sustained process of disaster risk management planning and action among the key disaster management stakeholders in the country. It is seen as the initial or first step that will need to be further developed and regularly revised with the continued active participation of all stakeholders. For more information please contact: Arghya Sinha Roy, arghya@adpc.net 26 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

29 Indonesia Strategic Local Action Plan (SLAP) From mid-2007, ISDR and UNDP Indonesia facilitated the development of Local Action Plans for Disaster Risk Reduction (LAP DRR) in the Provinces of Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The goal of the initiative was to facilitate the formulation by local governments of LAP DRR that comprise an effective and comprehensive medium-term program for DRR by employing a multi-sector, multi-level and interdisciplinary approach. Currently the Province of Central Java has finalized and legalized the LAP DRR through a Governor's regulation in December 2007, while the Province of Yogyakarta's LAP DRR will be completed in early As a background to this project, the central government of Indonesia launched the National Action Plans for Disaster Risk Reduction (NAP DRR) early in Subsequent to that, the national parliament passed Law No. 24/2007 covering Disaster Management. Following this, the ancillary regulations of Law No. 24/2007 on Disaster Management which, among others issues, regulate the conduct of regional disaster management, will soon be passed. With the enactment of these regulations, local governments were required to prepare local ordinances and standard operating procedures to make these government and presidential regulations operational at the local level. Because of this, there is now increased interest from local governments in the formulation of their LAP DRR. Because of increased demand for the formulation of LAP DRR from Provinces and Districts, the Central Government has considered the development of guidelines on how to develop good LAP DRR, in particular related to the distribution of scope of activities between national and provincial levels, and guidance on available standard approaches and tools. The LAP DRR in the Provinces of the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java, were amongst the first such initiatives in Indonesia, from which other localities both within Indonesia and outside could learn,. For this purpose, the processes of LAP DRR formulation in the target areas was documented, using knowledge management tools, for further dissemination in the form of good practices and lessons learned. With numerous countries in Asia having decentralized or devolved disaster risk management to local and provincial levels, it is expected that this process could inspire and facilitate other interested actors, both local and national, in other countries to be engaged in similarly developing action plans for DRR. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 27

30 THEMATIC AREAS OF FOCUS World Disaster Reduction Campaign : 'Hospitals safe from disasters' The success of achieving the HFA goals largely depends on collaborations and partnerships, since DRR is essentially linked to all sectors of development, whether it is agriculture, industry, health, education, infrastructure, or social development. The health sector in particular is of crucial importance before and after a disaster. Hundreds of hospitals and health facilities are destroyed or damaged every year by natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods. Millions of people are left without emergency care during and after disasters when hospitals and health facilities fail to function. Damage to the health system can include the loss of services, human resources and damage to health -related infrastructure. This can create gaps in service provision following the disaster and lead to secondary disasters. Public health infrastructure losses include damaged hospitals, drug stores, cold rooms, preventive health care offices, health staff accommodation facilities, district health offices, vehicles, and medical equipment in hospitals, stores, and clinics. In December 2004, the tsunami in the Indian Ocean destroyed 61% of the health facilities in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. In Sri Lanka 92 local clinics, hospitals and drug stores were either destroyed or damaged, causing disruptions to delivery of health services and patient care. The loss of services, human resources, and damage to health -related infrastructure and the asset loss is estimated at USD 60 million. In the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, 50% of the heath facilities in affected areas were completely destroyed. In recognition of the importance of safeguarding health facilities in the context of disasters, WHO and UNISDR have forged a strategic partnership. Reflecting this, the theme of the 2008/09 biennial World Campaign on Disaster Reduction is "Hospitals Safe from Disasters". The campaign is implemented with support from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) of the World Bank. As part of the HFA, national governments recognize that health facilities must be protected from the avoidable consequences of disasters, emergencies and other crises. The Campaign's objectives are three-fold: 1. Protect the lives of patients and health workers by ensuring the structural resilience of health facilities; 2. Make sure health facilities and health services are able to function in the aftermath of emergencies and disasters, when they are most needed; 3. Improve the risk reduction capacity of health workers, including emergency management

31 THEMATIC AREAS OF FOCUS The global campaign was launched in January 2008 in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum. In Asia and the Pacific region, a regional launch of the campaign was organized in Bangkok, Thailand. A "Regional Strategic Framework for Action" on Safe Hospitals and Health Centers for the Asia and Pacific region has been developed to guide and coordinate future activities. This framework was endorsed by a Regional Task Force on Safe Hospitals, set up on the occasion of the regional campaign launch to serve as a regional steering committee for the campaign implementation. The steering group is composed of National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET), Sustainable Environment & Ecological Development Society (SEEDS), Aga Khan Foundation, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (DIPECHO), and is co-led by WHO Regional Office for South East Asia, New Delhi, India, WHO Regional Office for West Asia and Pacific in Manila, Philippines and the UNISDR Regional Office for Asia Pacific. This multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach is crucial to effectively build and implement a long -term coordinated strategy at the regional level. Safe hospitals are possible only with the leadership and engagement of national governments, regional and international organizations, the civil society, the media, and community members. The campaign urges all those responsible such as decision makers, politicians, architects, engineers, public health professionals, development banks and donors to come forward with required policies, legislation, technical guidance and public awareness to make hospitals and health facilities safe from disasters. Focused discussions on the campaign were held at the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference in December 2008 in Kuala Lumpur, and at the WHO WPRO regional consultation meeting on 'Hospitals Safe from Disasters' held in Phnom Penh 8-10 December 2008, where all the member countries in the WPRO region were represented. The campaign has entered its 2nd year in January 2009, and the following forthcoming activities are in the campaign agenda for the year two: A planning meeting of the Regional Task Force to be held in Manila 5-6 February hosted by WHO WPRO with the main objective of developing an action plan for the period beyond the campaign World Health Day in April 2009 will be on the theme Hospitals Safe from Disasters worldwide, which will include awareness-building activities at regional and national levels World Disaster Day in October 2009 will focus on the theme Hospitals Safe from Disasters and a campaign-closing event at the end of the year. For more information please contact: Madhavi Ariyabandu, ariyabandu@un.org South Asia and Southeast Asia take action on Safe Hospitals Substantial regional work on making hospitals safe from disaster started at the New Delhi regional consultation and launch of the World Disaster Reduction Campaign. The Hospitals Safe from Disasters Campaign for the WHO South-East Asia Region (or SEAR, including most of South Asia, several Southeast Asian countries, and DPR Korea), launched on 15 April, and was followed by a three-day consultation and workshop entitled 'Keeping health facilities safe from disasters.' Attended by 60 people, the consultation included country presentations, discussion of technical elements and tools such as the Hospital Safety Index, partnership case studies, reviewing and validating indicators for disaster-resilient hospital and health facilities, drafting of national plans of action, and validation of Regional Framework of Action for SEAR countries on 'Hospitals Safe from Disasters'. Participants included health and disaster professionals from nine countries across South and Southeast Asia, WHO, UNISDR secretariat, and partner organizations including National Disaster Management Authority, National Institute of Disaster Management, SEEDS India, and the ICRC. Safe Hospitals Campaign launched in Manila The WHO-Western Pacific Regional Office held their regional launch of the World Disaster Reduction Campaign: Hospitals Safe from Disaster in Manila, Philippines, on 20 August. Calling on member states to ensure that hospitals are disaster safe, the WHO emphasized the importance of DRR to the WHO Western Pacific Region, which includes much of Asia. "Over the past 10 years, the Western Pacific Region encountered 127 major disasters from natural hazards or 23% of all disasters worldwide," said Dr. Soe Nyunt-U, WHO Representative to the Philippines. "The Philippines is the most disaster-prone country in the Region, exceeding China and Vietnam. This is the reason why we need hospitals and health facilities that will not collapse in disasters, killing patients and staffs." DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 29

32 THEMATIC AREAS OF FOCUS Pakistan: Rebuilding better through compulsory risk reduction designs A 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck a wide region of South Asia on the morning of 8 October 2005, affecting parts of Afghanistan, India and northern Pakistan. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 95 km northeast of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. In a matter of seconds, 85% of the infrastructure in towns such as Balakot was destroyed. Other cities such as the Kashmiri capital, Muzaffarabad, lost between 40% to 50%of its buildings. Strong aftershocks threatened structures already damaged by the initial quake. More than 73,000 people lost their lives and at least 150,000 others were injured. Demand for emergency medical care was overwhelming. The earthquake left an estimated 3.2 million people homeless. At the time of the quake, 796 health facilities - ranging from sophisticated hospitals to small rural clinics were operating in the area. Of that number, 388 (almost 50%) were completely destroyed. Thirteen of the destroyed facilities were hospitals, and four of these were regional or district referral hospitals. An additional 106 primary health clinics and 50 dispensaries were completely lost and often these were the only sources of health care within a five-hour walking distance in the affected rural areas. The remaining facilities that were able to continue functioning were overwhelmed. Even if the area had not lost 50% of its capacity, the sheer number of seriously injured people that required medical care would have overwhelmed even the most sophisticated health system. Because of this, more than 14,000 persons were evacuated by helicopter to Islamabad for treatment - about 425 per day in the first month alone. And, in addition to physical damage to health facilities, the health sector itself was adversely affected, as many health professionals suffered direct losses, or worse, lost their lives. Could lives have been saved? If vulnerability assessments had been systematically carried out, if hospital disaster plans had been better prepared, tested and widely disseminated, and if health staff was better prepared in areas such as mass casualty management, many lives might have been saved and health facilities might have been able to function better, in spite of damage and the impact on health staff. The town of Balakot, which saw 85% of its infrastructure destroyed, including the hospital, is an example. In retrospect, it was learned that the town itself was built on unstable (unsafe) terrain. After the earthquake, the Government of Pakistan declared a 600-hectare area a "red zone", meaning that no construction was allowed. Had earthquake vulnerability assessments been conducted beforehand, the risk would have been known and the existing hospital could have been retrofitted. In other instances, if proper triage systems had been in place, unnecessary evacuations - which separated many families already in a chaotic situation, forcing them to travel significant distances to search for injured relatives - could have been avoided. Could lives have been saved? Most of the deaths were instantaneous and only could have been prevented if buildings had not collapsed. The earthquake struck on a Saturday morning, catching many people unaware at home. The majority of the houses that killed the inhabitants were poorly constructed with materials of inferior quality. As in almost all disasters, the majority of the affected people were poor. 30 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

33 Action taken Rebuilding health facilities became a priority. To help ensure that a future disaster of this magnitude would not cause the same devastation, the Government of Pakistan introduced a series of disaster risk reduction and preparedness measures at local, provincial and national levels. One of these was the creation of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). Under its program "Knowledge and Capacity Building for Disaster Resilience: Earthquake-Affected Region in Northern Pakistan" UNISDR assisted ERRA in designing earthquake resistant buildings. Many of the designs, technologies and techniques introduced by the Citizen's Foundation (a UNISDR implementing partner) were accepted and supported by ERRA as a standard to be followed by others. The standards were applicable and are being followed by many for housings as well as critical infrastructure (schools, health facilities, mosques etc). The program was complemented comprehensively by awareness raising (through knowledge centres at grassroots level) and training programs for home owners, craftspeople, village elders, and line departments of the government. The training included guidance on ensuring that heavy equipments or furniture such as racks/cupboards are fixed properly so that in case of earthquake they do not fall and cause damages. In the specific case of health facilities, ERRA looked at the geographical and population distribution of the health facilities that were scheduled to be rebuilt and concluded it was unnecessary to rebuild all pre-existing facilities. Rather, they chose to build back better by providing compulsory earthquake risk reduction designs for the 237 new basic health units, district and tehsil (sub-district) headquarter hospitals and rural health centres that are being rebuilt (download designs). Another 105 health facilities have been or will be repaired using safety and seismic retrofitting. However, the construction and retrofitting of earthquake-resistant buildings require much more than building codes and guidelines. Enforcement measures are critical to ensuring that health facilities are actually built according to seismic standards rather than simply conforming to a "paper" design. Enforcement implies meticulous control of ongoing construction and retrofitting projects by an independent agency. Lessons learned The South Asia earthquake of 2005, like all disasters that cause massive damage and great human losses, created a real window of opportunity in terms of raising the awareness of national authorities on the need for disaster risk reduction in the health sector. In Pakistan, members of civil society also demanded that national, regional and local disaster mitigation and management strategies were developed based on lessons learned. The lessons learned include: Lack of public awareness about hazard risk management leads many people to react inadequately in the immediate aftermath of an earthquake. Training and capacity building for health staff in crisis situations increases the chances of saving lives and allowing health services to remain up and running. Health personnel at all levels must become agents of risk reduction, helping to identify health risks and promoting strategies to minimize the impact of disasters on the affected population. A decentralized disaster management plan needs to include all health facilities at the local level and provide them with the necessary means to ensure that health services remain functional in emergency and disaster situations. The design and construction of all new hospitals and health facilities must be earthquake proof as well as for other hazards. Almost 50% of health facilities in the October 2005 earthquake affected area in Pakistan were totally destroyed, causing a serious gap in health care delivery immediately after the earthquake, and in the medium to longer term. More information is available from: Altaf Musani, musania@emro.who.int

34 THEMATIC AREAS OF FOCUS Nepal: Awareness triggers action at a major public hospital Nepal is highly prone to disasters, particularly to earthquakes, which claimed more than 11,000 lives in the 20th century alone. Data suggest that earthquakes of the magnitude of the Great Bihar Earthquake in 1934 occur approximately every 75 years and although this is only a statistical estimate, a devastating earthquake is inevitable in the long run and likely in the near future. This is particularly troublesome because the Kathmandu Valley Earthquake Risk Management Action Plan suggests that as many as 60% of buildings in the area are likely to be heavily damaged if the ground motion of the 1934 earthquake is repeated today. How would Nepal's health services cope with such an event? To find out, an earthquake mass casualty scenario was used for Kathmandu Valley to estimate the number of people that would require hospital services, based on: Expected damage to buildings; A 1-to-5 ratio of deaths to injuries; and The 2002 Kathmandu Valley's population of 1.5 million. The estimates ranged as high as 22,500 dead (up to 1.5 per cent of the population), with up to 112,500 injured. Even the best of health systems would be hard pressed to deal with this scale of injury. And in the most severe intensity earthquakes, chances are that even the combined capacity of all emergency departments in Kathmandu Valley would only be able to serve a fraction of those requiring care. The limited number of patient beds and the fact that hospitals would be damaged, unable to function or even collapsed are aggravating factors that would put thousands of patients and health workers at risk. Action taken Recognizing the gap between current hospital capacity and predicted medical needs in a post-earthquake scenario, a seismic assessment of 14 hospitals was conducted in 2001 in Kathmandu Valley, including Patan Hospital. Subsequently, Patan was one of four priority hospitals to undergo a more rigorous study. Unlike most other hospitals in Nepal, Patan Hospital's earthquake resilience was considered relatively good. Nonetheless, it was almost a foregone conclusion that a major earthquake would leave the hospital unable to function due to structural and non-structural damage. Therefore, the study recommended a detailed structural analysis to assess how the hospital would fare during high-intensity earthquakes. It also called for backup generators with an adequate fuel supply to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity if external power is interrupted, response scenarios that simulate handling at least 200 casualties (the potential consequences of mid-scale earthquakes) and plans and procedures that contemplate a hospital that has been out of service. Hospitals are more than concrete blocks and steel beams. They are made up of people and services and systems, all of which go into making a safe hospital. Patan Hospital was one of the first hospitals in Nepal to develop a hospital emergency plan, and so it is not surprising that it became one of the first health facilities to take part in a mass casualty mock drill. Civil society organizations and health officials worked together in a simulated rescue chain, from incident site to emergency ward, thus strengthening the links between community and hospital, including the critical pre-hospital response. Equally important, the mock drill created awareness of the need for mass casualty management in host communities and among community-based organizations. Since that first drill in 2002, Patan Hospital has conducted annual drills to test and refine its emergency plan. Patan Hospital has also taken measures to reduce seismic risk. The hospital abandoned its original plan to expand the maternity wing by adding an extra floor to existing buildings when the roof was deemed structurally too weak to carry the extra load during earthquake ground motion. Instead, a new maternity wing is being built as a separate structure, in compliance with earthquake-resistant standards. The new maternity wing will be completed next year and will add 120 beds to the present 320 beds. 32 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

35 THEMATIC AREAS OF FOCUS Snapshot of Patan Hospital Type and Size: A General Public Hospital that annually treats 300,000 patients Staff: 60 doctors and 250 nurses Critical and essential facilities: Emergency department (5 beds, 100 % occupied), operating theatre (4 beds, 30 surgeries daily) Other facilities: ICU, maternity unit, gynaecological unit, radiology, pathology Total number of beds: 320 Bed occupancy rate: % Ambulances: none Annual patients seen in Emergency Department: 33,000 The 2001 assessment included rough cost estimates and plans for priority retrofitting. Subsequently, Patan Hospital submitted to donors a detailed funding proposal for a comprehensive structural assessment and design drawings needed to accurately estimate the cost of retrofitting existing structures so they would be functional after moderate to severe earthquakes. While the hospital itself made some of the required modifications, they were less successful in securing the needed financial support, pointing to the need to increase awareness of investing in safety measures before disaster events occur rather than undertaking costly rebuilding projects afterwards. The WHO has worked with the National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET) to raise awareness of the need to incorporate seismic mitigation measures in hospitals in Kathmandu Valley, conducting ongoing assessments since 2001, disseminating their results and developing hospital vulnerability assessment guidelines. In , assessments were made of six Red Cross blood banks, the National Public Health Laboratory and the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division of the Department of Health Services. High-level meetings between senior health policy makers, the donor community and international banks have helped to keep the issue of disaster-resilient hospitals and health facilities on the agenda. Lessons learned Studies have shown the economic and social returns of improving the structural and nonstructural behavior of vulnerable hospital buildings. Structural retrofitting and non-structural measures can save lives and significantly increase the reliability of health services when they are most needed. Even when there is a strong evidence base and a high level of earthquake risk, health planners and policy makers do not put seismic assessments and risk reduction measures at the top of their list of concerns. Often, buildings are viewed as "completed projects" that should not be modified; reconstruction is considered to expand space. Convincing health professionals of the need for seismic assessments and retrofitting is a long-term process, unless it is directly linked to disaster rehabilitation, as was the case following the 2001 Gujarat earthquake or the 2006 Kashmir earthquake. In Nepal, concerns about disaster risk reduction in the health sector had their origins in local institutions, and this may be one of the key factors in the subsequent success achieved. Support from WHO helped to consolidate many initiatives taken over the previous 15 years. Health officials came on board when it was clear that risk reduction in health was a mutual concern of WHO, external development partners and civil society. One of the key reasons that Patan Hospital was so receptive to the recommendations stemming from assessments and other initiatives (mass casualty drill, triage, etc.) was that it was and still is a well-functioning facility with close links to the surrounding community, which helped to create the necessary support base and sustainability for pursuing seismic safety. Although there is still a long way to go, the hospital has taken steps and proved that awareness can trigger assessments, assessments result in planning and planning in mitigation; a cycle that ultimately helps minimize the consequences of living with earthquake risks in Nepal. More information is available from: Erik Kjaergaard, Kjaergaarde@searo.who.int DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 33

36 NATURAL DISASTERS IN 2008 marked increase in the number of deaths and economic losses compared to the yearly average. According 2008saw a to the Center for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), in 2008, 321 disasters killed 235,816 people, affected 211 million others and cost a total of US$181 billion. Asia remained the main affected continent. Nine of the top 10 countries with the highest number of disaster-related deaths were in Asia.

37 NATURAL DISASTERS IN 2008 Top 10 natural disasters by number of deaths in 2008 (Source of data: EM-DAT) The death toll in 2008 was three times more than the annual average of 66,812 for and was mainly caused by two major events: Cyclone Nargis which killed 138,366 people in Myanmar and the Sichuan earthquake in China which caused the deaths of 87,476 people. The number of people affected by disasters in 2008 was below the annual average of 231 million. Only 42 million people were affected by floods in 2008 compared to 164 million in Nevertheless, floods remained one of the most frequent disaster events in 2008 along with other weather-related disasters. Comparing present to past (Source of data: EM-DAT) Disaster costs in 2008 were twice the US$81 billion annual average for and mainly attributed to the Sichuan earthquake in China (US$85 billion) and hurricane Ike in the U.S. (US$30 billion). "The dramatic increase in human and economic losses from disasters in 2008 is alarming. Sadly, these losses could have been substantially reduced if buildings in China, particularly schools and hospitals, had been built to be more earthquake-resilient. An effective early warning system with good community preparedness could have also saved many lives in Myanmar if it had been implemented before Cyclone Nargis," said Salvano Brice?o, Director of UNISDR. The number of disasters that occurred in 2008 was below the annual average of 398 for For more information please contact: Brigitte Leoni, leonib@un.org DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 35

38 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN The frequency and impact of disasters are rising, with disproportionate impact on poor nations and communities. We cannot prevent disasters from occurring, but we can enhance people and nations' capacity and knowledge with respect to disaster risk reduction hence strengthening their resilience to disasters. Given the devastating impact of the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the Asia and Pacific region, this section will dedicate the special focus on "Building Resilience to Tsunami in the Indian Ocean". The purpose of this section is to provide information, lessons learnt, experiences that enhance the long-term sustained national capacities and frameworks for resilience to tsunamis and to ensure the integration of disaster risk reduction including early warning systems in development processes. Comprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course The giant loss caused by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004 is basically due to the lack of proper preparation for tsunami disasters from national government level to local level. Each country has a disaster management plan and established a related organization to look after the problems. However, such a plan generally does not include tsunami disasters. People living along the coast near the epicenter of the earthquake have little knowledge of moving to higher elevations when they feel a shock of an earthquake. Tsunami warning was not issued even in countries those far away from the epicenter, such as Sri Lanka and India. Structural measures are rarely in place except for some parts of the Maldives coast. From a long experience of tsunami disasters, Japan has significantly established tsunami disaster prevention measures. The comparison of the mitigation measures in affected countries by the Indian Ocean Tsunami with the Japanese measures reveals the lack of responsible organizations, mitigation plans, warning systems, awareness levels, structural measures, and additional non-structural measures such as land use plans. In addition to these, basic information required to analyze tsunami disasters and mitigation measures is still insufficient. Under the circumstances, International Center for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) of Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) Japan conducted the "Comprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course" as one of the UNISDR projects from 2nd June to 11th July with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to make good use of Japanese experience of tsunami countermeasures for developing countries.

39 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Course implementation Eleven participants (nine males and two females) from four countries, including India, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka joined the course. They were section-chief-level government administrators and responsible for promoting tsunami disaster mitigation in their home countries. The curriculum is set to include lectures on fundamentals as well as the most advanced knowledge and technology on comprehensive tsunami disaster prevention practices in Japan. Special exercises about coastal vegetation and project cycle management were specifically emphasized. Exercise on coastal vegetation design for tsunami mitigation is very useful in understanding its implementation potential. "Project Cycle Management" exercises were conducted to learn how to think systematically about actual tsunami-related situations and issues and logically make "action plans". In order to give actual environment of tsunami disaster mitigation in Japan, several lectures were given onsite in certain tsunamirelated disaster mitigation institution. For example, when the participants received a lecture on "Tsunami warning system in Japan" at the Japan Meteorological Agency and visited its forecasting room, an earthquake occurred in Nagano Prefecture, and they had a rare opportunity to witness an actual example of earthquake information dissemination. They also visited an experimental facility called "Giant Geo-Wave and Tsunami Experiment Flume" at the Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI) in Yokosuka. The facility generated 3.5-meter-high waves, which easily destroyed a 10-cm-thick concrete wall. The experiment reminded the participants of how destructive tsunami energy could be. To enhance the effectiveness of the course, field trips to two of the most tsunami-prone regions, the Sanriku coast area and Kii Peninsula, were scheduled to learn tsunami countermeasures in Japan. In these two areas, several categories of tsunami countermeasure actions have been implemented including structural measure, non-structural measure, administrative system and disaster prevention education. The field trip program is considered very important opportunity for the participants to directly see disaster prevention practices in Japan including meetings with prefectural and local municipal personnel in charge of disaster management and have discussion with voluntary community disaster prevention group leader. In Owase city, the participants conducted a "Town Watching" exercise. They walked around the city in three groups, investigating possible problems in emergency evacuation, checking the actual conditions of disaster prevention facilities, etc. After discussing the findings from the exercise, they produced and presented their original maps based on the discussion results in front of Owase city personnel. The participants contributed to the improvement of the city's disaster mitigation plan through this "Town Watching" exercise. And during Town Watching, Mr. Yamanishi, who experienced the Tonankai Earthquake Tsunami in 1944 and now is a community leader, gave a lecture on the improvement of public awareness toward disaster prevention in his community. A lecture on tsunami countermeasures for tourists was given in Shirahama Town. Three million tourists visit the famous "Shirara-hama" beach every year, so it is important to make an evacuation plan specifically designed for tourists. During discussion with disaster management personnel in Shirahama, one of the participants pointed out possible disadvantage of informing of countermeasures against tsunami as tourists may want to avoid this risky area but other gave an opinion that well-prepared countermeasures will make tourists think the area is rather safe. At Hirogawa Town, the home town of famous Goryo Hamaguchi, the participants saw "Goryo Embankment" and attended a lecture by the director of "Inamura-no-hi Museum" on how Goryo led the response and rehabilitation efforts after the tsunami. "Inamura-no-Hi", a story in which the main character, Gohei, saved people from tsunamis, was modeled after Goryo. Evaluation on training course achievement Efforts were made to provide immediate evaluation based on several documents prepared for this purpose. Those documents include several reports and participant responses to the questionnaires that were distributed during the course. Three different kinds of evaluation were arranged during the course. The first one was to evaluate the participants' understanding on the course objectives and their perceptions about disaster prevention before and after the training course. The second was evaluation on the participants' action plan for the implementation of comprehensive tsunami disaster countermeasures after returning to their home countries. The last one was to evaluate perceptible achievement of training course related to its expected results. "Project Cycle Management" exercises class Visit to Japan Meteorological Agency forecasting room DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 37

40 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN At the end of the course, the participants in general emphasized two points as the most significant for Japan to reach the present successful level of disaster risk reduction. One is the implementation of the concept of "self help, mutual support and public assistance" in disaster management in all areas that they have visited during the course. The other one is the integration of mitigation measures into development efforts at all administrative levels, and thus disaster mitigation and prevention have become part of the daily life of communities. The participants evaluated each lecture and exercise based on 1-5 point grades. The evaluation results showed that the course contents met their expectations and needs as each lecture and exercise was given more than four points. In particular, the highest point given to the coastal vegetation lecture and exercise showed their strong interest and motivation to learn feasible tsunami countermeasures for their countries. The "Project Cycle Management" exercise was also highly rated, revealing that the participants understood the effectiveness of the systematical method for analyzing problems and presenting solutions. The true success of this training course depends on the implementation of comprehensive tsunami disaster prevention principles in the target countries. In order to know the participants' ideas on how they will proceed in disseminating the principles of comprehensive tsunami disaster prevention, they were assigned to formulate a three-year activity plan started after returning to their home countries. This is actually equivalent to an individual action plan, which is suggested to be in line with the main activities in their institutions. Each action plan was discussed and supervised in the Project Management Cycle class throughout the course. In this training course, the participants were asked not to think about direct application of Japanese tsunami countermeasures to their countries, but to recognize the difference between Japanese tsunami countermeasures and those in their countries and consider what should be done in their countries. As a result, they made various action plans for their home countries. ICHARM will keep communicating with the participants and monitor the progress of each country's implementation process based on the action plans developed and submitted at the end of the course by each participant. In order to facilitate communication between ICHARM and the participants, a special window in ICHARM's website will be provided for discussion and consultation related to comprehensive tsunami disaster prevention. Visit "Giant Geo-Wave and Tsunami Experiment Flume"

41 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Conclusion Currently, all the target countries, except the Maldives, have developed their national act on disaster management, which regulates the complete cycle of disaster management (preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery and rehabilitation). This situation will help implement comprehensive tsunami disaster prevention more easily. Comprehensive lectures, which cover management and engineering aspects and also include technical visits, have enhanced participant's knowledge and understanding on the comprehensive tsunami disaster prevention. Lectures on engineering aspect of coastal forest in mitigating tsunami disasters and its actual implementation in the system of tsunami disaster countermeasures in Japan have given orientation on the importance and possibility of integrating disaster risk reduction planning into environment and coastal zone management planning. Communication and information exchange among the participants were very active during the course. This is a significant starting point of international networking for dissemination of comprehensive tsunami disaster prevention in the future. Fore more information please contactn: Shigenobu Tanaka, s_tanaka@pwri.go.jp Participants of the Comprehensive Tsunami Disaster Prevention Training Course

42 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Building Models For Disaster Preparedness in Padang City The First Edition National Geographic Magazine, March 2005, showed a tsunami risk Map that placed Padang as the city that is most at risk in the world for tsunami catastrophe. Padang also has a high earthquake hazard since it is located between two active plates. The potency becomes higher because the government and community in Padang city do not have reliable knowledge and capacity in terms of disaster preparedness, especially for earthquakes and tsunami hazards. This was proven when a strong earthquake hit Padang in April 2005; the government was not well coordinated to respond properly and communities did not know how to deal with the emergency situation. The risk is so high because 400,000 people live in the coastal areas of Padang, including 260 schools, 34 government offices, 13 health clinic and 80 km roadways (survey ). These circumstances provide a strong reason to determine Padang as the target area in building a disaster preparedness program, which can be an example for other districts as the model for the program implementation. Based on this fact UNESCO Office, Jakarta together with the local institution in Padang city, West Sumatera; Tsunami Alert Community ("KOGAMI" - Komunitas Siaga Tsunami) started the project of Building Models for Disaster Preparedness in Padang city. Disaster Preparedness Education Syllabus Workshop Community preparedness development At the end of 2005, UNESCO Office, Jakarta has been actively supporting KOGAMI for implementing its activities in Padang City. Within this period, disaster preparedness effort divided itself into several parts; Evacuation Plan. Started by collecting and surveying the numbers of peoples' lives in coastal area, schools and other public facilities. This survey and assessment was conducted by KOGAMI and an academician from Engineering Department of Andalas University, Padang. Developing maps of elevation zones for Padang City and evacuation area. Padang is divided into six evacuation sectors, where each sector is separated by a river. Evacuation facilities and infrastructure provisions. Based on surveying data and mapping, the local government started to build infrastructure and facilities for the evacuation area on form of evacuation route signage, new evacuation road and maintaining. Community Knowledge Development. Community preparedness is focusing on how to increase the capacity of communities in target areas in building disaster preparedness, especially for earthquake and tsunami hazards and to integrate disaster education into the school curriculum as an important aid. In the beginning of 2006, UNESCO Office, Jakarta, KOGAMI and LIPI (The Indonesian Institute of Sciences) supported by UNISDR developed and conducted trial use of community preparedness measurements in Padang. Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) for Disaster Response. UNESCO Office, Jakarta facilitates its local institution KOGAMI for drafting the SOP of disaster responses for Padang City and integrated it with all the stakeholders within the government of Padang. This draft is the first integrated SOP for Disaster Response draft that been endorsed by the government of Indonesia at District level. Simulation/Drilling. For trialing the SOP that been developed, Padang city is supported by Indonesian Social Welfare Department which conducted the tsunami drilling where 200 local communities participated and 11 institutions were involved for 3 days. The most significant progress that can be noted from Padang city is that there is a decrease in panic level at the local community in facing earthquake disasters and tsunami. Not only that, the SOP for Disaster Response draft that was initiated by the UNESCO Office, Jakarta has brought Padang city for an award from the Government of Germany and was presented at the Indonesian Ministers meeting in Jakarta. This SOP was also adopted by the District Government of Aceh Besar and Denpasar, Bali. This has made Padang as a benchmark for Disaster Risk Reduction Aim at the District level. 40 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

43 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Community Disaster Risk Reduction After the preparedness phase clearly build together with all the communities in Padang city, the sustainability phase needed to be finalized. At this phase, system dissemination and mechanism procedures needed to maintain. Disaster Risk Reduction strategic plan for Padang City. Referring to the Hyogo Framework for Action and Indonesia Law Number 24/2007 on Disaster Response, Padang's DRR local action plan was developed and it is expected to be implemented in all other Indonesia District. Program Disaster Prepared in Schools, Communities and Local Education Syllabus, focused on schools, community and government officers. Dissemination and system replication of Community Disaster Preparedness into other area. Initiate Disaster Response support community. Referring to the achievements above, UNESCO Office Jakarta and KOGAMI, with the support of UNISDR, initiate to record/documents and prepare a simple guidelines taking Padang as the Model for Community Disaster Resilience. The approach and processes can be replicate and adapted to other areas in Indonesia and hopefully to some extent to the region. These achievements also showed the importance of and integrated package of partnership on planning and coordination among the stakeholders is one of the key success factor in making Padang as the Model. For further information please contact: Ardito M Kodijat: a.kodijat@unesco.org Workshop exemplary model development Local leader and teacher training in Padang DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 41

44 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Action Research, IEC and Practices Education has been there for ages. Need of education for sustainable development is stated in Chapter 36 of Agenda 21. The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA: ) also re-emphasized the need and urgency of disaster related education. While there has been quite active awareness raising and training for different sectors, formal higher education has been less dominant in disaster reduction field. Only after 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, an increasing trend is observed to develop and deliver disaster management courses in the universities targeting under graduate and postgraduate students. Education is considered as one of the key mainstreaming tools for any subject. There have been several attempts to mainstream risk reduction in development practices. However, the real mainstreaming starts from formal educational institutions, including schools, colleges and universities. The mode and method of education should be one of the important issues to make positive impacts. Disaster risk reduction being a multi-disciplinary subject needs a combination of theory and practice. Possibly, more emphasis should be given to the field practice and learning from the experiences. Thus, the academic and formal education should go beyond the traditional boundaries of the school and/or university compound, and communicate more with the communities, and learn from their experiences. Non-government organizations (NGOs) have direct field access, and experiences in grass-root project implementation. However, these experiences are not properly reflected in the educational curriculum. Thus, the Selamat project aims at bridging academic research, education and field practice. Objectives Project objective is to build capacity of local communities at risk to tsunamis and other coastal hazards. Some of the highlights of the university-ngo cooperation are: Quality of knowledge and information: All participating universities in the targeted countries are esteemed organizations in the field of disaster risk management. Therefore, it brings high quality knowledge and information. Extensive network: The four universities have largest networks in the tsunami affected areas, and thus ensure that the knowledge product will have largest circulation in future. Ensuring sustainability: Through development of the certificate courses and customized courses, young professional development will be ensured, which is linked to the sustainability of the disaster preparedness activities in the targeted countries and communities. What to achieve? The project targets on three specific achievements: Education mainstreaming in the curriculum: Through development of courses and making it part of the regular curriculum of the universities. Linkages to field practice: Linking the courses with the NGO project learning. Participatory Learning: Academic learning through participation and experiences. University Education and Field Practice Linkages Source: Anshu Sharma 2008 How to Achieve? Process based The project was developed through a series of consultation process with the universities, local and national governments, partner NGOs and school communities, especially in the tsunami affected areas. 42 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

45 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Where the Interest Lies? To develop effective and sustainable education program, it is important to have a good market research, and to understand where the interest lies. Module 1: School Safety Primary country: India, Primary Target: School teachers Secondary Target: NGOs, practitioners and university students School safety is the core of risk reduction education, and consists of both structural and non-structural safety. While there have been several debates on the nature, form and implementation of school safety programs in different countries, very few consolidated documents exists targeting school teachers. This module consists of 5 chapters: coastal hazards: conceptual framework, school safety: generic principles, coastal hazards in India, school safety in Indian context, and inclusive education. The module is prepared for 3.5 days of training program, which has 2 days of theory with illustrations and video, and 1.5 days of practical training with field knowledge. Module 2: Climate Change Adaptation Primary country: India, Primary Target: Local Government Planners Secondary Target: NGOs, practitioners and university students Climate change is real, and is happening. In recent days, climate change adaptation is becoming increasingly popular among development practitioners. However, very few adaptation practices exist in local government level. Therefore, this module targets specific "how-to" on climate change adaptation and local development planning. This module consists of 4 chapters: climate variability and climate change, climate change and disasters, mitigation and adaptation strategies and climate change practices in India. The module is prepared for 2 days of training program, which has both theory and practice. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 43

46 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Module 3: Community Based Coastal Zone Management Primary country: Maldives, Primary Target: Local Government Planners and NGOs, Secondary Target: University students Coastal zone management is increasingly becoming revenant due to vulnerability of the coastal areas. While there exist several regulations, community participation is an important issue to sustainable coastal zone management. This module consists of 6 chapters: physical, biological and human dimensions of coastal zone management, followed by brief introduction on natural hazards in the coastal zone and specific context related to Maldives. The module is prepared for 2.5 to 3 days of training program, which has 2 days of theory with illustrations and video, and 0.5 to 1 day of practical training with field knowledge. Module 4: Community Based Information System Primary country: Maldives, Primary Target: Community leaders and Teachers, Secondary Target: University students and Local Governments Information system is the key to the early warning operation in coastal areas. Community based information system (CBIS) engages local communities to take control of the information system and thereby enhancing their decision making power. One of the characteristic features of the CBIS is to link it to the regular information system like weather, agriculture, livelihood etc. This module consists of 6 chapters: basics of Community Based Information system (CBIS), contents and services provided in the CBIS, community based hazard mapping, and Maldives context of CBIS system. The module is prepared for 2 days of training program, which has both theory and practical training with field knowledge. Module 5: Participatory Urban Risk Management Primary country: Indonesia, Primary Target: Local Government Planners, Secondary Target: University students and NGOs Urban risk is gradually increasing, and will continue to increase in the next decades. While urban risk management has been traditionally a responsibility of the local government, increasing community participation in urban areas is currently being recognized and practiced. This module consists of 8 chapters: disaster risk in urban setting, urban development planning tools, DRR framework and tools, preparedness planning in urban setting in Indonesia, participatory approach in development planning, participatory risk assessment, action planning and participatory M&E. The module is prepared for an intensive training of 4 days with both theory and practice. Module 6: Leadership Training Program for NGOs Primary country: Indonesia, Primary Target: NGO leaders Secondary Target: University students The role of NGOs in risk reduction is increasingly recognized, even in the countries with traditional strong government presence. NGOs often face the issue of sustainability of their activities, and the key challenge is the leadership development for NGO activities. This module consists of 8 chapters: introduction to DRR, role and challenge of NGOs, leadership quality in building community resilience, facilitating and advocacy, CBDRR, participatory risk assessment and planning, risk communication and leadership development program. The module is prepared for an intensive training of 4 days with both theory and practice. Module 7: Post Disaster Environmental Impact Assessment Primary country: Sri Lanka, Primary Target: Local government planners and NGOs, Secondary Target: University students Post disaster environmental impact assessment is the key for sustainable recovery after nay disaster. In many cases, a quick estimate (Rapid Environmental Assessment) is done by outside agency with little involvement of local governments. It is important to enable the local governments with tools and practices of the post disaster impact assessment. This module consists of 8 chapters in two parts. The first part focuses on generic aspects of environmental impacts and the assessment tools, while the second part focuses on Sri Lanka experiences. The module is prepared for an intensive training of 3 days with both theory and practice. Module 8: Flood Risk Management Primary country: Sri Lanka, Primary Target: Local government planners and NGOs, Secondary Target: University students Flood risk is a crucial issue in most Asian countries, and community based approaches to flood risk management has been increasingly popular. In most cases, NGOs are actively involved in community based initiatives. This module will focus on the local government involvement in the flood risk management?with certain emphasis on community initiatives. This module consists of 8 chapters in two parts. The first part focuses on generic aspects of flood risk management and sustainability issues of community initiatives and its policy implications. The second part focuses on Sri Lanka experiences. The module is prepared for an intensive training of 3 days with both theory and practice. For more information please contact: Rajib Shaw, shaw@global.mbox.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp 44 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

47 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Early warning in the conventional way Project SELAMAT is being implemented by the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka with financial support from UNISDR and with the facilitation from SEEDS India. Project aims to build the capacity of seven villages through the establishment of active mechanisms for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The project is incorporating DRR activities into development program thereby to making them sustainable in the long run and to create a "culture of safety". The main objectives of the Selamat project are: 1. Improvement of community knowledge on disasters 2. Identification of disaster risks by the communities 3. Enhanced capacity of the communities for disaster mitigation and risk reduction 4. Skill development within the communities for preparation of their own vulnerability maps, doing evacuation plans with the simulations 5. Community Based Disaster Management is integrated with Sustainable Livelihood in Disaster Risk Reduction. 6. Enhanced capacity of District and National level institutions of Sarvodaya to implement disaster management programmes more effectively. Indian Ocean tsunami was the worst natural disaster experienced by Sri Lanka. Hambantota is a Tsunami affected district situated in the Southern province of Sri Lanka. The two selected villages in Hambantota named Medaketiya and Kahadamodara which are located in the Tangalle division of the district and were severely affected by the tsunami. In the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), people in the two villages in Hambantota made a request for an early warning system as a Tsunami risk reduction method. After looking the best option it has decided to establish the siren system. As there was already a siren base early warning system is established by the Government Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and incorporating the village system with this existing system was more effective than introducing a new system. In that model the early warning will send to the village disaster management committee by the DMC and based on that information the committees will take the responsibility to turn on the siren. In the PRA exercise the villagers have identified the evacuation routes and evacuation centers. And based on the early warning message they can get to the closest safe place when there is disaster risk. The place for the siren establishment was selected by the community with the officers from Government DMC. Establishment of a siren system was followed by having a 'mock' drill in order for the villagers gain practical experience on how they should react in the time of disaster and in a timely manner. The information was passed on to the community day before the mock drill and instructions were given verbally as well as in written form by way of a simple leaflet which carried instructions on how they should act in the case of mock drill. The information disseminated include; The place they should gather after hearing the siren The evacuation routes How they should disseminate about the early warning message to others who would not have heard it. In the mock drill, the Siren was turned on at the pre-determine time (11 a.m) and counted the number of people who came to the safe place within half an hour. In the Medaketiya around 135 people came to the place within half hour and in Kahadamodara 185 people have came to the safe place within half and hour, this is more than 90% of those who wee present at the time of the warning. The Government Disaster Management Centre concluded that considerable percentage of community has responded to the Siren based early warning message. People too now have sense of security and confidence. For more information please contact Sarvodaya DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 45

48 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Capacity building of coastal community on DRR in Shaviyani Atoll The Republic of the Maldives is an archipelago with 1,190 small islands stretching across in the Indian Ocean. Among the 1,190 islands, only 200 are inhabited and 80 are registered as resort islands. The islands are low-lying and they are less than two meter above sea level of which 80 percent of the land is below 1 meter above sea level. This makes the country very vulnerable to the possible sea level rise and associated natural hazards as well as coastal erosion. Its hazard risks are moderate with a low probability of hazard occurrence and high vulnerability from exposure due to geographical, topographical and socio-economic factors, (United Nations Development Program, 2006 ) and activities to strengthen the capacity and build resilience of the hazards in Maldives are crucial. SEEDS Asia launched a program to build a resilient community in Maldives by actively engaging local community with a focus on linkage between disaster risk and environment, along with community based disaster risk management training and development of disaster management plans. With the aim of building coastal communities' resilience in the target area, it was observed that food security, life and lack of accessibility of the islands are the main factors which increase communities' vulnerabilities towards future effects of climate change and tsunamis. The initiative was set to promote concept of Bio Island and to build women and youth communities self-resilience. The some of the Bio Island concept include: a) establishment and community training of bio-shield and coastal plantation, b) establishment and community training on model kitchen gardens, and c) introduction/ training of community based solid waste management system. What was unique for the initiative was that it focused on community involvement for sustainable development of community resilience, application of indigenous knowledge, and involvement of private sector, with focus on the linkage between environments in close collaboration with the central government of Maldivian National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) Authorities. Coastal bio shield: The tree plantation has been practiced to protect the coastline and bring varieties to migrated island, yet the wisdom carried upon generation to generation was disappearing. The initiative took by SEEDS Asia brought the practice back to the community and strengthened with modern concept. A transect was conducted with local elders to identify areas undergoing severe erosion to plan for bio-shield development. We observed few big trees alongside the coastline and remaining trees were partly or completely uprooted by the waves. Variety of the trees and beach shrubs were also lost. The plan was made to develop single to five layers mangrove belts with varieties. A bio-shield model was suggested based on the analysis on aspects of trees such as salinity, roots density and economic value. Training program on the coastal bio-shield for the community leaders, youth leaders and senior students at the school environment club was conducted. The community learned problems and issues in the coastal areas, the consequences foreseen, the need to develop a feasible, cost effective and environment friendly solution like bioshield to protect the beach from erosion and future hazards. Before the rainy season, a layered bio-shield was planned. Cuttings were raised in nursery for three species (Nikka, Digga and Hirundu). Good quality coconut seedlings and Kuredhi saplings which are suitable to the soil were collected from the wild environment. Nursery bags with stem cutting had been prepared with the help of environmental club students. Representative from the NDMC, youth association leader and local seniors initiated the planting activity with SEEDS Asia team members. Follow up observations found that in general the plants are growing well and among the fives species planted, Nikka, Coconut, Digga and Hirundu performed well without much mortality. Kuredhi had low performance due to damage to the root system and needed attention in the post plantation care. The community learned about gap filling to replace withered ones and the practice was found well. Home kitchen garden trainings: Many of the Maldivian islands are not suitable for large scale agricultural activities due to poor soil quality and their size. Majority of the population is dependent on food shipment from the capital Male through imports. The high dependence on basic food supply to unstable sea transportation makes the community vulnerable and put them on higher risk in times of disasters. Trainings for small scale home kitchen garden that are sustainable and environmentally friendly were proposed for the community to be prepared for future risks. Local senior and youth planting a tree A series of training program on eco agricultural practices were conducted with local women. A seed exhibition was organized in the island with the support of local leaders and women's group. Easy flip charts were used to learn about different seed types (hybrids and varieties), germination percentage, and seed selection process and storage. Seeds of different varieties and hybrids were displayed which encouraged the participants to learn the better agronomic practices and different varieties. Basic hands-on trainings on planting, watering and management were conducted at participants' gardens. Nursery tray to produce quality seedlings, simple hydroponics methods, low cost zero energy water drip system to reduce the water use and promote water conservation, and eco friendly bio pesticide were demonstrated with the importance and advantages of the methods. The simple brochures in Dhivehi translation was shared with members throughout the program, and SEEDS Asia communicated with the women on the growth of their newly planted vegetables where the members shared their views. The women committee is continuously expected to take a lead in the home kitchen garden practices with their role as local resource and model demonstration garden to the nearby households. We also conducted trainings for environment club students on importance of home garden, pest and disease management including leaf extracts, and methods of compost preparation to raise their awareness and capacity building. 46 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

49 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Solid waste management: Due to its geographical figure, centralized solid waste management is limited in Maldives. On many islands, the wastes are thrown alongside the coastline and burned regardless of material. The lack of waste management in the islands increases the community's vulnerabilities. Education and awareness on appropriate solid waste management as well as environmental awareness on how the waste management and natural disaster are interlinked becomes a key component of building communities resilience in the Maldives. As part of island clean-up activities, a waste collection competition among school students was conducted that expanded to an event involving whole island. The students collected recyclable items (plastic bottles and cans), learned about the proper waste management, and how the separated wastes can be turned into new material (= recycled) along with the negative effects that could arise. Piles of bags were collected first by students, then by trucks loads. Participants all witnessed the gigantic amount of waste compiled. Community leaders and some 250 community members discussed to safely handle them. Following the eye opening clean-up activity, a poster competition for further awareness raising was conducted. The environment club voluntarily organized an awareness rally on the environmental issues. A waste separation guide adapted to the local scenario showing how to segregate the waste and how to manage them was developed and shared with the entire community. The community leaders appointed Waste Management Committee members. The Committee discussed to take initiatives for future activities to reduce the amount of the waste and properly manage them. At their request representing the community, we prepared reusable cloth bags for entire households in the island. Another training session was jointly organized with the Committee. Cost simulation for recyclable item shipment to material traders in the capital was shared. The committee continues negotiations with the private sectors for the can collection to their island. Later we observed some group of community members developed pits for their waste disposal area to separate each wastes and some of them pack the cans for the expected pick-ups. The activities to strengthen the capacity and build the resilience of the hazard risk community must be conducted with the very community. It is important to involve key actors such as community leaders as well as CBO members. Awareness raising is the key to start the activities. Through the program implemented by SEEDS Asia, community members are mobilized and trained to support future community actions for disaster risk reduction by themselves. Initiatives on development of bio-shield and home kitchen gardens as well as practice on proper solid waste management in a small island in Maldives showed that there are chances for communityled DRR and environmental management. It takes time to evaluate long-term effects of the DRR and environmental activities. However, the fact that initiatives involving local communities are taking place is a necessary condition for sustainable DRR and development of resilient communities. Women studying seeds Local man throwing the waste Fore more information please contact SEEDS Asia Woman showing new waste disposal spot DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 47

50 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Lessons sharing from Sri Lanka Community capacity building on life saving skills Kinniya Division of Trincomalee district in the Eastern province was severely affected during the December 2004 Tsunami. Conducting small businesses and fishing is the livelihood of the predominantly Muslim community. When the devastation struck, most women were at their houses while majority of men were at work. Women were unable to evacuate from their houses to safer places immediately due to their inadequate preparedness. It was also noted that in Kinniya, number of women died from the disaster (215) were higher than that of men (162). As women are tied up with day to day household work and helping kids in their school work etc, they have less opportunities to learn life saving skills and sometimes cultural and social barriers also hinder women's participation. During the disaster management activities to enhance the capacity of first responders, UNDP and DMC focused much in improving the life saving skills of women and disadvantaged groups. First aid training programs for community have been arranged with the support of St John Ambulance Brigade of Sri Lanka. In order to address cultural barriers the Program first trained the religious leaders and trustees of the Mosques. After realizing the importance of training, the mosque leaders acted as facilitators and helped to conduct a program mostly for women. Out of 36 participants, 27 participants were women. Mosque leader endorsed the community program. "These trainings are a must for the community. Unfortunately people came to know the importance of community life saving skills only after the Tsunami devastation."this experience helped the DMC to conduct similar program in tsunami-affected divisions. First-aid training for male and females were conducted, separately. First-aid training for females has been effective and well acknowledged by the communities. 48 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

51 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Knowledge transfer to communities through Snake and Ladder Games and schools "We were told by our teachers and parents about flood and cyclone in our area. But in our age, it was the 2004-Tsunami which we witnessed with bitter experience of losses on lives and assets" says schoolteacher Mr. Musahith Kalantherlebbe, an active member of the school disaster management committee at Sinnapalamunai School of Akkaraipattu. Sinnapalamunai is a remote fishing village in the east coast of Sri Lanka. As part of the effort to build disaster resilient risk reduction communities United Nations Development Program (UNDP) adopted a strategic approach in reaching the communities and creating a culture of safety through schools. In May 2008, UNDP, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and Vijaya Newspapers Ltd through a public-private partnership arrangement, introduced a set of Snake and Ladder Board Games to children, covering different hazards. Separate game boards for Cyclones, Lightning, Floods and Draught hazards were prepared, linking good practices to reduce disaster risks in each hazard to ladders and bad practices that aggravate disaster impacts to snakes. For example different water conservation practices such as micro irrigation, covering soil with mulch and harvesting rainwater are marked next to the start of the ladder and when student hits one of the boxes he/she goes up. Similarly practices increase water pollution are marked next to snakes mouth and when a student hits those boxes he/she goes down. Children enjoyed both the games and the messages passed through the games. While playing these games, kids learn the environment processes and mitigation practices for different disasters. For the newspaper company it was a step towards fulfilling social responsibility and the company is now looking for more opportunities to participate in disaster risk education. Go up in the ladder doing good practices and eaten by the snake when you do bad things. "These efforts create a culture of prevention among school children, and to make us be prepared and vigilant on natural multi-hazards which are frequent in our are. We also received funds from UNDP to form a drama group in our school, so we can perform street dramas and songs to educate and aware the community about natural hazards and prevention measures. We will use the best and poor management practices learnt through the snake and ladder games to design the street dramas for the community" Says Mr. Musahith. School awareness on early warning. Evacuation paths and emergency plans prepared by school disaster management commmitee. Evacuation drills are mow a regular feature in practicing emergency procedures. Tsunami preparedness and evacuation drills create confidence "..when we came out of our home, there was dark color water School children, teachers and parents work together to identify safe coming towards us. Before realizing what was going to happen it routs and safe evacuation sites. District Disaster Management smashed over us." M. Nivethana, a 15 year old student at Coordination Units of DMC mark the safe evacuation sites through "Namagal" Vidyalayam of Trincomalee district was sharing her 'Transect work' and develop 'Hazard & Evacuation maps'. Frequently nightmare experience of the tsunami of December Her family organized 'Mock Drills' help to increase the awareness and update and properties were severely affected during the tsunami. ".my teachers, parents and students on the measures they should take father tried hard to rescue us, but we were completely under water during an emergency. Drills are concluded with a debriefing to and I thought it was the last day for all of us. We had nothing in the provide a feed back. immediate aftermath of the events. It took more than a year to "Now we can concentrate on our studies without any fear. I have recover from the depression. None of us had known the word confidence that we can save our lives if a tsunami disaster strikes "tsunami" and we were not prepared for such an emergency." again" said Nivethana. Her village was successfully evacuated to Like Nivethana, there are thousands of school children living in the safe places during the September 12, 2007 tsunami threat within coastal areas in Sri Lanka with the bitter experience of the 2004 one hour, exhibiting the effectiveness of the efforts so far. Tsunami. UNDP in collaboration with the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) help school communities to prepare for emergencies For more information please contact UNDP Sri Lanka such as tsunami. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 49

52 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Re-Examining Disasters, Recovery And Reconstruction International conference In the second week of January (14th, 15th) 2008, an international conference on "Re- Examining Disasters, Recovery And Reconstruction: Social Science Perspectives On The Tsunami" was organized. Forty social science scholars from 12 different countries both native to their societies and from other countries, from social science disciplines, who have studied and were continuing to study the long-term social impact of the tsunami, were invited to deliberate in this conference. There was a mix of scholars who had come to the affected countries drawn by the tsunami and its aftermath, and others who knew the affected regions from previous studies. The confluence of scholars being native and non native on one hand and on the other, a fresh look at the disaster impact on the communities and the historical and comparative picture of 'before' and 'after' disaster gave depth in analysis. Conference deliberations In the case of the current Tsunami, the aid, given its sheer magnitude, has been depicted as another Tsunami. The Aid-Tsunami led both to widespread relief and recovery on an unprecedented scale, and to an exacerbation of old and the creation of new forms of inequities arising from the prioritization, distribution and management of aid, both by the aid agencies and by national and local governments. The papers presented looked at whether this aid has been fruitful and examined to see its unintended consequences on affected communities and their mutual relations by posing the following questions: what has the aid been expended on? Where has the aid primarily been expended? How has it been expended? Who has it been expended on? These four questions may tell us not merely who has benefited from the aid but the nature and modalities of this benefit; what it has left in its wake; and all this within a larger context of society and its institutions. One of the principal things that we hoped to learn from the posing of these questions is whether the enormous amount of time, resources, money, material and manpower expended has led, in the long term, to the mitigation and reduction of 'disaster risk' as opposed merely to disaster response? Or do we see evidence to the contrary where the policies and practices of reconstruction are pointers to an enhancement of risk rather than reducing it? We also believe that it would be an extremely useful exercise to do this crossculturally to see how culture, civil society, nations, modes of governance and civil strife have inflected and shaped these efforts across the affected countries. Thus, the conference deliberations attempted to analyze the long-term social impact of the tsunami and more importantly, the impact of organized relief on these societies. Further, the objective was to advance conceptual and theoretical understanding of the field and application of this knowledge in the aftermath of tsunami and every day issues, with the aim of learning lessons for the future in terms of how disaster, relief and reconstruction may be thought of, re-conceptualized and approached. It was an extremely useful exercise to collate research findings and do crosscultural analysis as this is the first of its kind of disaster which affected 12 countries in Asia and Africa, more than 230,000 people were reported dead or missing, over 2.1 million were displaced and left homeless and millions of dollars of infrastructure was destroyed. Papers argued that any attempt at sustainable rehabilitation must take into account the complex social, cultural, ecological, economic, and political contexts in which the disaster took place and the long term needs of the affected. All the papers underlined the importance of social and cultural fabric before embarking on any rehabilitation, the need to take 'emic' perspective, understand preexisting vulnerabilities, and the forms of resilience existing in the communities. Papers from different countries and the affected regions within the countries gave a comparative picture of the complexities involved in understanding the local traumas and global responses. In all the regions understudy, Chennai, Andaman and Nicobar islands in India, Banda Aceh in Indonesia, Srilanka, Southern Thailand, pointed out that the implication of the compensation and aid was increased tensions and divisions both intra and inter communities, over the issues of monetary compensation, relief materials, shelters, livelihood, land and property rights. While initial response of individuals was humanitarian and that of cooperation, but with the external aid flowing, brought out the decade old animosity and divisions caused by ethnic, religious, regional and caste to the fore, except for the positive development in Aceh, where a three decades of armed conflict came to an end with the renewal of peace negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh movement. Most of the papers brought out unintended consequences of the humanitarian aid; unsustainable development and dependency syndrome, translating a 'simple disaster' into 'complex disaster' as a consequence of inappropriate human interventions undermining the selforganizing and resilient capacities of the communities to restore their lives. A set of papers on psychosocial care and support services on the basis of recent perspectives brought in the need for consensus in conceptualization of the problem, collaboration among actors, integration within the humanitarian sector and institutionalization of psychosocial care and support services. Other papers covered varied topics like, restoration of livelihoods without giving importance to local knowledge, skills and resources, another paper on gender based differences and inequalities, one paper on working of Tsunami Recovery Impact Assessment and Monitoring System (TRIAMS), another paper on cross cultural experiences of handling the tsunami dead and the differential treatment given to the bodies of the foreign tourists. A set of papers covered print media coverage of the relief period in Andaman and Nicobar islands, and role of religion (Buddhism) in the process of resilience after tsunami in Southern Thailand. Understanding community responses can provide a foundation upon which mitigation and disaster risk reduction can be formed. Disasters set back decades of development and brings to fore the vulnerabilities latent and manifest. Disasters also brings with it 'build back better' ideologies, however it has been documented that the really affected are left out in the race. Building infrastructure takes on the priority compared to rebuilding the lives and livelihoods. The ethnographic and longitudinal studies gave insights into what has gone wrong in the process of relief, recovery and reconstruction. The conference thus shared the experiences in reconstruction and rehabilitation, implication of humanitarian aid, levels of community participation, and the emergence and reemergence of conflicts, social and cultural consequences intended and unintended, forming the core areas of deliberation. 50 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

53 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Disaster Risk Reduction The intimate connections between disaster recovery by and the resilience of affected have become common feature of disaster risk reduction programs since the adoption of Hyogo Framework for Action The fundamental goal of disaster risk reduction is to ensure the safety of people's lives and livelihoods, for which people must be at the centre. The Actionaid report in four countries, reports that legislative and institutional frameworks for undertaking disaster management activities that include risk reduction and preparedness measures are in place. The governments have demonstrated a commitment to DRR through the formulation, and to some extent, the operationalisation of plans at the national level. Though many initiatives are underway, but from the people's experiences and views priorities have yet to be operationalised in disaster risk reduction work on the ground. Almost three years after the tsunami, people's consultations suggest that their pre-existing poverty, and so too their vulnerabilities, are largely unchanged. (Action Aid). The papers shows that in all these affected communities, under rehabilitation plan, care has been taken to reduce risk, especially locating them, relatively safer place, away from sea, constructing shelters which are earthquake resistance. However, the pitfall is that the shelters are removed far away from their work place, thereby making them more vulnerable economically, adversely impacting their livelihoods. Further pushing away fishermen into the interiors in the pretext of safety and paving way to hotels and resorts are experienced in different countries. Though, different efforts in preparedness and risk reduction at community level is on with the help of NGOs, like teaching women to swim, use of boats, fishing in Chennai, Andaman and Nicobar islands, ensuring property rights to women, and formation of youth groups in disaster preparedness. One of the principal question posed was, whether the enormous amount of time, resources, money, material and manpower expended has led, in the long term, to the mitigation and reduction of 'disaster risk'. The papers show that some of the policies and practices of reconstruction are pointers to an enhancement of risk rather than reducing it. An edited volume of selected papers, will be coming out shortly, with more insights from social science perspectives on cross cultural experiences of recovery measures to the disaster discourse. For more information please contact: Sunita Reddy: sunitareddy@mail.jnu.ac.in Sedimentary record of the tsunami recurrence in Sri Lanka In order to conduct a future risk assessment in the Indian Ocean, it is important to know the tsunami recurrence interval. However, there is no historical record that describes the similar magnitude of the earthquake with Mw>9.0 and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. There is a mythical account in Mahavansa, Sri Lanka's national Buddhist chronicle, which describes the sea flooding on land about 150 B.C. (e.g., Goff et al., 2006). However, no reliable scientific evidence supporting this mythical account has been available until now. In order to understand the tsunami recurrence interval in the Indian Ocean, scientific research is required instead of the historical accounts. Large tsunamis remove sediments from the sea bottom and beaches and transport them landward or seaward. Sandy sediments transported by a tsunami and deposited on land or on the sea bottom become part of the geologic record, deposits that can be used to identify historical or prehistoric tsunami events (e.g., Atwater, 1987; Nanayama et al., 2003). In the Indian Ocean countries, Jankaew et al. (2008) recently reported the sedimentary evidence for the past tsunami event in the grassy beach-ridge plain at southern Thailand. They reported that the most recent full-size predecessor to the 2004 tsunami occurred about years ago. Monecke et al. (2008) also reported similar results at Sumatra Island, Indonesia that the sand sheets were deposited soon after A.D and A.D These results are very important to understand the occurrence of the huge tsunami in the Indian Ocean in the past. However, it is still unclear whether these past tsunami events were similar magnitude to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, whether these tsunamis were also affected to the other countries such as India or Sri Lanka, and whether such huge tsunami periodically occurred in the past. In Sri Lanka, there was very few tsunamis attack to this country, because there is no subduction zone around the island and only transoceanic tsunami, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, would reached there. In this context, Sri Lanka is one of the best countries to study the sedimentary record of the past tsunamis. In this study, we conducted field survey in south to southeastern part of Sri Lanka to find the sedimentary records of the past tsunami event at this country. Study area and methods We conducted field surveys at Dickwella and Hambantota at south to southeastern part of Sri Lanka (Figure 13). The Dickwella section locates the low ground and now it is used for the rice field. The Hambantota section locates in the Karagan Lagoon. Each place was within the inundation area of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami according to Wijetunge (2006) and local residents. At these sections, we took several drilling core samples. Using the sedimentary samples, we conducted sedimentological study as well as AMS radiocarbon age dating on pieces of wood and other plant debris as well as shell fragments. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 51

54 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Preliminary results At Dickwella section, we obtained approximately 6.5 m length of the sediment samples (BH-1 core, Figure 14). There are at least 4 obvious sand layers including the 2004 tsunami sand sheet. Although we need more work to identify whether these sheets were formed by the tsunami, we tentatively interpreted that they were formed by the past tsunami events, because the area has not affected by the storm or flood. Moreover, some of these sand sheets show clear upward fining trend. Our preliminary dating results show that the age of the sediments near the bottom of the core is approximately 5700 year B.P. At Karagan Lagoon in Hambantota, we obtained 8.5 m length of the core (KR-3 core, Figure 14). There are 5 distinct sand layers, Location map of the studied area at Sri Lanka. although no sand layer of the 2004 tsunami was observed. The age of the sediments at the bottom of the core (8.3 m in subbottom depth) is approximately 7300 year B.P. Above-mentioned preliminary results suggest that we have chance to obtain the continuous sedimentary record of the past tsunamis at least until 7300 years B.P. at Sri Lanka. We are now conducting the age dating of each sand sheet as well as the sedimentological and paleontological studies to identify their tsunami origin in order to clarify the tsunami recurrence interval at Sri Lanka. Fore more information please contact: Kazuhisa Goto: kgoto@tsunami2.civil.tohoku.ac.jp Columnar sections with photographs of the typical sand layers at Dickwella and Hambantota. 52 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

55 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN A candidate paleo-tsunami deposit preserved in peat in West Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The 2004 tsunami deposit in Pangnga Province, southwestern Thailand. Note that the sand sheet continuously covers the ground surface. Paleo-Tsunami study in Aceh and West Sumatra Province Regions along the Sunda mega thrust at where the Indo-Australian plate subducts under the Burma plate are frequently suffered by earthquakes and associated disasters including tsunami as is known from recent repeated earthquakes and written record of about 400 years. The seismic rupture of Mw 9.2 of the 2004 Aceh-Andaman Earthquake is unexpected size and dwarfs historically known earthquakes in the region. It comes out open that subduction-zone earthquakes does not repeat in similar magnitude but varies in size, as is common in other subduction zone such as Chile and Kuril trenches. One of the first order questions to make resilience for earthquakes and long-term advisories is how often type catastrophe was occurred in the western Indian Ocean. This question will be figured out by geological survey. Tsunami deposits that are sand, mud and gravels entrained from sea floor and coast during tsunami inundation and left as sediment sheet on ground surface to be future tsunami record in strata (See Figure Figure 15). Tsunami deposit survey enables us to trace back past tsunami record of thousands of years. Actually, recent study of tsunami deposit in southwestern Thailand and Aceh Province in north Sumatra revealed tsunamis in the last millennia (Fujino et al., 2008; Jankaew et al., 2008; Monecke et al., 2008). The effort to expose the tsunami history in Indian Ocean is in its infancy. To reveal more precisely the timing and distribution of affected area of past tsunamis, region-scale fieldwork and comparing results between regions using radio isotope dating are needed. Tsunami deposit works including the UNISDR project continue effort to expose the tsunami history in the western Indian Ocean regions such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Aceh and West Sumatra. Preliminary results Tsunami deposit fieldwork by UNISDR project was conducted in July 2008 in Aceh and West Sumatra provinces. The main purpose of the fieldwork is to find evidences of past unknown large tsunamis, and then provide long-term advisories for large earthquakes in these regions. In these regions no tsunami deposit study that expose past unknown tsunami events was conducted excluding Monecke et al. (2008), though repeated large earthquakes are known from historical records. For example, a Mw ~9.0 earthquake was occurred in front of the coast of West Sumatra Province in The associated tsunami washed villages in the province and travelled across the Indian Ocean. Though further examinations are needed to verify, candidate tsunami deposits were exposed in the two provinces. Usually tsunami deposits are recognised as extensive sand layers in terrestrial sedimentary strata. We focused on a kind of coastal lowlands, namely strand plain that is developed by seaward progression of beaches. Sand layers left by tsunamis are usually well preserved on strand plains. One of a sand layer at strand plain in Padan, West Sumatra Province is traceable for several hundreds of meters. Also in Aceh, our shallow coring exposed sand layers of possible tsunami traces in peat (See Figure 17). Ongoing carbon isotope dating will reveal the timings of these candidates of paleotsunami deposit, and futher examination including microfossil analysis may provide extra evidence to identify these layers as paleo-tsunami deposit. Fore more information please contact: Shigehiro Fujino, shige-fujino@aist.go.jp View of sampling operation using a shallow coring tool. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 53

56 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Strengthening the Last Mile of Tsunami Early Warning Systems in the Indian Ocean Initiated at the Kobe Conference in 2005, the development of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) is underway under the lead of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). Building on the Hyogo Framework for Action many countries in the region have established new policies for disaster risk management (DRM) and a large number of agencies and organisations are engaged in disaster preparedness and early warning activities. Aimed to support the implementation of these new policies considerable guidance and recommendations regarding the technology-human interface of Early Warning Systems (EWS) and the issues pertaining to community disaster preparedness - the so-called 'last mile' have been made available and debated both at field based workshops and at high-level meetings. Technological aspects of EWS have received considerable attention by donors and governments, but addressing Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) in EWS development rarely receives the same attention and resources. Despite increasing awareness regarding the importance of addressing the last mile in EWS, government agencies and organisations at regional, national and sub-national levels face considerable challenges in implementing guidance and policy recommendations. In an effort to investigate the enabling conditions needed for different actors to implement actions to strengthen disaster preparedness and improve the delivery of early warnings in countries in the Indian Ocean Region, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and Raks Thai Foundation (RTF) are currently undertaking a participatory assessment with EWS stakeholders in the region. The project is designed to enable a collective reflection amongst actors through consultations with stakeholders in government and NGOs, focus groups in communities at risk, and a review of the post-tsunami literature. The following preliminary insights are based on evidence from Thailand and Sri Lanka. KEY CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAST MILE 1) There is a lack resources for sub-national government levels Despite the large influx of international funds for the development of an EWS for the Indian Ocean, there is a lack of capacity for disaster management activities at the lower levels of government. As a result, provincial, district and municipal governments lack staff and financial capacity to manage the considerable tasks of disaster risk management placed upon them by the national governments. 2) CBDRM relies on volunteerism As a consequence of the lack of resources, CBDRM relies heavily on volunteerism. Incentives that motivate young people to volunteer include services such as health care, language and other skills training that is beneficial for seeking employment, advancing careers, and obtaining improved social status. Despite these incentives and the dedication of volunteers, there are concerns about the longer-term sustainability of disaster preparedness efforts that rely to such a large extent on volunteerism because even volunteers require basic financial support for operational logistics. The lack of funds to compensate volunteers for their time is considered as a cause of low staff retention. The high turnover of volunteers and the need to continuously recruit and train new ones can put a considerable strain on an organisation. The lack of resources also causes frustration amongst volunteers about the inability to act and to induce positive change in their communities. 3) Sub-national DRM planning is fragmented and sectoral National-level disaster preparedness planning in both countries has been considerably improved following the 2004 tsunami through new policy frameworks and a restructuring of the roles and responsibilities of different government agencies for DRM and early warning. But the integration of CBDRM in sectoral policies and the establishment of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) remains a challenge. Poor planning and coordination is manifest in autonomous actions by various organisations and government departments in disaster preparedness, resettlement, livelihood support, and reconstruction. The links between coastal zone management, natural resource management and DRM are not well understood and few integrated approaches addressing these links exist. While many opportunities for DRM in the environmental domain are not realised, there are some efforts to integrate DRM into development planning processes in order to reduce disaster risks in the recovery process and to improve livelihoods. 54 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

57 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN 4) CBDRM must navigate many stakeholder interests Local actors, such as NGOs, community based organisations (CBOs) and sub-national government agencies have many and often diverging motivations for engaging in CBDRM. These include a concern over risks, a lack of trust in national EWS, and co-benefits for natural resource management and livelihoods improvement. In order to improve the coordination between different actors these multiple needs and interests relating to the last mile must be addressed. The degree of implementation of DRM and EWS policies and strategies depends to a large extent on the willingness and priorities of local administrators, and the way proposed interventions are framed in contexts that are relevant to address local priorities and to build partnerships. In many cases CBDRM is approached by NGOs and governments primarily as an issue of awareness raising and knowledge transfer to local actors. Spaces for collective reflection and negotiation of how CBDRM planning can unite rather than divide are mostly missing. DRM implementation is highly competitive and this is clearly manifest in the relationships between government agencies and NGOs. NGOs and CBOs tend to have limited legal status and are often ignored in national and sub-national agenda setting and decision-making. Government representatives consider NGOs to be 'over-participatory', focusing too strongly on community engagement and not seeking closer collaboration with government agencies. These views reflect a polarisation between a top-down government approach to provide early warning technology and a bottom-up NGO approach that focuses on communitybased disaster preparedness. 5) Policies are ambiguous and international guidance is too generic In their very nature, guidance and recommendations for the implementation of DRM policies are generic and ambiguous and therefore not directly applicable to local contexts. Policies are widely criticised for the absence of implementation guidelines. Local government agencies frequently lack human and technical capacity to operationalise policies and guidelines in the context of their daily work because information and resources are not sufficiently available at this level. Progress in preparing disaster risk management and emergency plans differs substantially between countries, and between provinces, districts and municipalities within the same country. At the regional and national levels there have been many workshops that have provided a considerable amount of international expertise on EWS and DRM. Capacity building of national and provincial governments has been delivered by international organisations such as USAID, AUSAID, GTZ, JICA, and ADPC. But recommendations also tend to be generic and it is not always feasible to follow the standards developed for other countries. The 'fine-tuning' of policies under consideration of the local context, traditions, culture and indigenous knowledge remains a challenging process that involves many stakeholders. Finally, policies and guidelines for DRM and early warning don't tend to take into account CBDRM. They are also rarely targeted at field staff. On the other hand, CBDRM guidelines often lack specific technical information addressing the linkages of the last mile and CBDRM. For these reasons, some agencies and organisations have developed their own manuals based on lessons from their own projects and operations. INVITATION TO ONLINE DIALOGUE It is not possible in this article to do justice to the richness of impressions from the substantial work many organisations are undertaking, nor the many examples of valuable lessons learnt through their implementation efforts. Rather, the purpose here is to raise a number of issues for debate. We invite you to provide feedback on these issues and to share your own insights and experiences. From 1 March 2009 SEI, ADPC and RTF will be hosting a joint online dialogue on the last mile at Details will be communicated through ADPC's DRM Updates. Frank Thomalla, Stockholm Environment Institute Asia, Bangkok, Thailand. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 55

58 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Increased awareness of tsunami in New Zealand The disastrous consequences of the Boxing Day 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami prompted the New Zealand government to review the country's risk from tsunami. Responding to that research, the Ministry of Civil Defense & Emergency Management coordinated the national tsunami risk management program. The program is a suite of international, national, regional and local level projects that build New Zealand's resilience to tsunami. It includes: Strengthening and formalizing links between New Zealand and international science agencies that monitor earthquakes and tsunami to provide information for the National Warning System and research Modeling sources of tsunami and possible impacts on different parts of New Zealand GNS Science and Land Information New Zealand installing sealevel gauges at various locations around the coast Upgrading the National Warning System to ensure that warnings are issued within 15 minutes of information being received Publication of: The National Tsunami Advisory and Warning Plan Mass Evacuation Planning Guidelines Tsunami Evacuation Zones mapping guideline National Tsunami Signage standard A tsunami brochure to provide nationally consistent information that all central and local government agencies and other organizations can use, and can expand with specific local information Research into the effectiveness of local alerting mechanisms, and the development of a tool to assist city and district councils in deciding what mix of alerting methods best suits their own area's geography and population Research into the capability of national telecommunications networks to carry emergency alerts A nationwide series of tsunami seminars aimed at the 16 regional civil defense emergency management (CDEM) groups, and city and district council planners, consultants and advisers involved in long term community planning and consent processes Work by each of the 16 CDEM groups, guided by the national program, on local and regional modeling, mapping, alerting systems, evacuation planning and public education. GNS Science Mapping tsunami evacuation zones now and in the future In 2007 and 2008 GNS Science helped developed recommendations for the Tsunami Evacuation Zones guideline and National Tsunami Signage standard. Ideally, evacuation zones need to allow for all possible inundations from all known tsunami sources, taking into account all of the ways each of those sources may generate a tsunami. However, the high degree of uncertainty in tsunami source models, and the very time consuming and resource intensive nature of modelling, makes this comprehensive approach to tsunami risk assessment unlikely in the short term. Instead, the recommended approach is to map tsunami evacuation zones now, allowing a margin for safety, and progressively refine the accuracy of boundaries as the science improves over time. GNS Science has been working with Wellington, Manawatu- Wanganui and Northland regions to pilot a method for mapping boundaries in the short term. Calculations are made in a Geographic Information System (GIS), using data about land elevation, rivers, coastlines and probable wave heights. The calculations have been tested against limited, available data from real tsunami and against other models. The models will be improved as more data becomes available The GIS model allows for maximum potential wave run-up being reduced by 1m for every: 200m the tsunami travels inland 400m traveled up significant rivers 50m traveled away from rivers. Zones are capped at 35m above sea level because inundations above this elevation are extremely rare in New Zealand, and to take this remote possibility into account would cause over-evacuation in the vast majority of situations. The wave height model is a revised version of one developed in 2005 as part of a GNS Science-led national tsunami risk review, commissioned by the Ministry. The use of at least two and at most three evacuation zones is recommended: A red zone of the immediate area of the shore, which would be evacuated in any tsunami warning. This could happen several times during a person's lifetime. An orange zone based on a 500 year event from sources more than one hour's wave travel time away. This is the zone for which we may reasonably expect to be provide official tsunami warnings now or in the foreseeable future. A yellow zone based on a 2,500 year return period (i.e. maximum credible event) from all sources. This zone must encompass all credible tsunami, including those for which there will only be enough time for natural or informal warnings. There are limitations to this method and local checking of the accuracy of the zones is needed. It is recommended that, over time, zones are revised as science and models improve. GNS Science is presently also working on more-advanced models, currently focussing on finite-element hydrodynamic modelling, which may be able to refine evacuation zones. Further in the future it could become possible to draw boundaries around all inundations predicted by many, well-tested computer models - this would be the ideal method. 56 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

59 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Whangarei District Council Whananaki tsunami evacuation planning Whangarei District Council is located near the northern end of New Zealand. Its district includes many small, largely isolated communities, which are often made up of pockets of houses and other buildings rather than being a single, contiguous township. The District Council in partnership with the Northland CDEM Group has been encouraging the development of community response plans within local communities. The plans are designed for the response phase of an emergency so that the community can respond with no outside assistance. Help may take some time to reach these communities due to their isolated nature and often limited road access. The plans set out local facilities, resources, roles and responsibilities. These are not limited to the, usually, very minimal formal emergency services within the community but also include roles of schools, marae, camping grounds, shops etc. Each community owns the resulting plan and the Council's role is to assist with the formulation and maintenance of the plan only. The community drives the plan and it includes its priorities and local content. One community that begun work on a local plan is Whananaki, situated on the North and South sides of the Whananaki Inlet. Its winter population of 400 grows to about 8,000 in summer as two large camping grounds fill up. Its emergency management facilities are limited to a volunteer rural fire force and a community-owned emergency centre. The community response planning process began with a public meeting organized by the Council's Emergency Management Officer, Antoinette Mitchell. The purpose of this initial meeting was to establish a working group of community representatives who would lead development of the plan for the wider community. The working group's first tasks were to determine what area would be covered by the plan, identify pockets of housing and other buildings within the area and list community resources. From the beginning of the planning process Whananaki voiced an interest in becoming a pilot community for tsunami evacuation planning. The Council arranged a meeting with Dr Graham Leonard from GNS Science. Dr Leonard explained the tsunami research carried out by GNS Science and prepared a draft map of possible tsunami evacuation zones. Local customization of the map followed, with the working group making additions and amendments. A community evacuation exercise was carried out to test the evacuation routes identified by the community. Community members walked through the proposed evacuation routes, making notes as they went. The working group had given all the people taking part written questions and topics to comment on. These included, for example, "time it took to evacuate to safe location", "terrain: easy/medium/difficult", "could you use this route in the dark?" etc. Final updating of the map was done to include the findings of the community exercise. The next steps now being carried out are installation of tsunami information boards and evacuation route signs, communicating the plan to the wider community, and incorporating the tsunami evacuation plan into the community response plan. Developing this tsunami evacuation plan has been a success for the Whananaki community and sets useful examples for others. The key learnings from this community's involvement and planning are: There needs to be strong leadership within the community from an individual or organization that becomes responsible for driving the plan The process will take time but the end result is worth the investment Misunderstandings of hazards are common There are a lot of false expectations about formal response during an emergency People may have a lot of questions The process and the plan must be very clear about who is responsible for what and what will happen during an emergency. Conclusion These case studies illustrate how the program works. It is nationally coordinated to use the latest international scientific and emergency management knowledge to produce consistent strategies, guidelines and systems that can then be adapted to meet regional and even very localized needs. In this case, it has allowed an isolated, coastal town with a permanent population of only 800 to access sophisticated tsunami modeling in a way that its people can use to better protect themselves. Fore more information please contact: David Coetzee, david.coetzee@dia.govt.nz DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 57

60 Disaster Preparedness in Aceh with a twist. Whether its delivering messages through students, broadcasting through radio or building partnerships with communities, Austcare, an Australian NGO is delivering an important message of disaster preparedness in Aceh. Students in Aceh participate in Disaster preparedness activities Aceh students take the lead in Disaster Preparedness For students from 'Rumah Sejahtera', a small orphanage in Banda Aceh North Western Sumatra in Indonesia, they are learning about what most students only hear about on TV. For these 100 students, school is not just about Mathematics, Science and Language, for they are also learning about disaster preparedness and emergency response. It is a subject close to their hearts in the wake of the tragic 2004 Tsunami in which many lost family members. Since mid 2008, enthusiastic students have participated in training and workshop activities provided by Austcare, an organisation working in Aceh delivering community development projects including a disaster risk reduction programme. This programme was set up to respond to the 2004 Tsunami and because Indonesia is as a country prone to disasters. Residing on the 'ring of fire', a major fault line running through South East Asia, Indonesia experiences regular natural disasters such as earthquakes. This programme has responded by working with communities such as the Rumah Segahtera orphanage to educate people and reduce the impact of future disasters in Indonesia. Major activities of the programme focus on empowering people to assess the risks and dangers and then formulate village plans, which include everything from evacuations routes to planning for emergency supplies. At the school, an interactive hands on approach is used to deliver messages of disaster preparedness through group exercises, movies and interactive DVDs. 'Students are able to focus on risks associated with disasters and how to prepare for emergencies, explains Miss Dewi Mainawati, Austcare Project Officer. Across the island to Nias Two more schools are participating in Austcare's programme in Nias, another island off the coast Northwest Sumatra, also heavily affected by the Tsunami. Austcare has partnered with LPAM, a local non-government organisation to educate students about disaster preparedness and planning. Similar activities are taught in the local language of Nias and also incorporate local knowledge. Activities help students and teachers become aware of the risks associated with disasters and what they should do to reduce their risk. Evacuation Roads and Safe Water Storage Infrastructure has been rebuilt throughout Aceh and Austcare has contributed with disaster preparedness in mind. Austcare has built new evacuation roads and new water storage facilities in partnership with community teams. On the remote islands of Pulo Nasi, a small island two hours by fishing boat from Banda Aceh, new evacuation roads now enables people to evacuate to safer grounds in the event of an earthquake or Tsunami. The people of Pulo Nasi have been involved in the construction of the road in addition to planning mock evacuations of their families in the event of a disaster. 58 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

61 Communities help formulate emergency planning New water facilities have also been installed allowing people to store water. These facilities to give people day-to-day water security and a safe source in case of emergencies. Disaster preparedness goes to the airways Broadcasting across four different stations in Aceh, Austcare has teamed up with local radio stations to present radio drama and talk back shows focussing on disaster preparedness. Each week new topics are presented covering different scenarios covering natural and man-made disasters. Each topic challenges people to think about being prepared and reducing risk. A typical call or text message from the public may ask 'what should families take from their house in the event of an earthquake' or 'how should one build safe infrastructure'. The public has responded strongly to the radio shows and with an audience potential of 4 million people (Aceh province), radio programs such Radio Republic Indonesia or "RRI" as it is know in most villages, have helped reinforce an important message of disaster preparedness and risk reduction in Aceh. For more information contact Martin Aspin, maspin@austrcare.org.au DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 59

62 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN The Rights Based Approach to Emergencies: Experiences from ActionAid's Tsunami response programme Disasters affect people differently. Evidence clearly suggests that poor and excluded people particularly women - are disproportionately affected by disasters and take longer to recover. To address this inequality, those intervening must take sides with people who are poor and excluded if their vulnerability is to be reduced and their rights fulfilled. Communities can increase their resilience to hazards and prevent them from becoming disasters if they have the necessary knowledge, skills, financial resources, infrastructure, institutions and linkages. ActionAid adopts a rights-based approach to emergencies, endeavouring to go beyond the provision of immediate life-saving support to respond in ways which aim to simultaneously facilitate the empowerment of women and excluded social groups, enabling them to claim their rights. It recognizes that a long-term perspective is critical if the available resources are to be employed to support change rather than to merely restore people to pre-disaster levels of poverty. ActionAid recently prepared a report reflecting on the experience of its Tsunami Response Programme, a multi-country initiative covering India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Somalia (Puntland) and Sri Lanka. It draws primarily from People's Reports prepared against five priorities under Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) on violence against women; disaster risk reduction; land rights and adequate housing; and fisheries-based livelihoods in the response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami, prepared by alliances of over 350 organisations in the aforementioned countries. It also draws on studies on women's experience of violence following the 2007 floods in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. The tsunami experience again underlined the clear connection between poverty and vulnerability to hazards. Disaster results from the inability of both people and institutions to cope with hazards. This can be attributed to various social, political, economic and environmental factors - yet regardless of cause, poor and excluded people suffer disproportionately. This poverty-induced vulnerability reflects the failure of development to reduce the underlying causes of risk, and a lack of engagement with the socio-cultural and political perpetuation of inequity. Widows, single women, elderly people, small-scale fisher folk, farmers, labourers, socially-excluded groups and people with disabilities or living with HIV/AIDS are vulnerable because they do not have access to resources: to a house that could withstand the hazard; to livelihoods that could absorb the shocks; to the services that would develop their capacities; to the institutions and officials who should protect them; to the infrastructure which would make them safer; to the socio-cultural freedoms that would enable them to be resilient; to the fora that make decisions which affect them; to the information that would enable and empower them; and to the right to be included as an equal and dignified member of society. Poverty-induced vulnerability is a direct consequence of the denial or violation of human rights and the result of unequal power relationships. The measures required to address these issues are evident from existing laws, policies, standards and codes of conduct. One key challenge is the operationalisation of mechanisms and processes to ensure that the rights of poor and excluded people are respected, protected, promoted and fulfilled. Accessing justice: A Case Study A People's Tribunal, supported by ActionAid was organized in Chennai in January 2007 in an effort to secure justice for people who had been marginalized in the tsunami relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction processes. The Tribunal worked on the belief that it is the responsibility of governments to uphold and restore the human rights of their citizens. Six hundred and ninety-two people representing nine locations in Chennai and Thiruvallur Districts gathered at this public hearing. They expressed solidarity with representatives from their communities who testified before the jury members about the various forms of marginalization and exploitation they faced due to the state's policies and practices, including threats of forced eviction, violation of land rights, discrimination against religious and caste-based minorities, and inadequate housing and services in relocation sites. The jury comprised the Special Rapporteur for Adequate Housing from the UN Human Rights Council; a retired judge of the Chennai High Court; a former member of the Human Rights Commission; a former University Vice-Chancellor; and directors of two leading NGOs. The Tamil Nadu Special Deputy Collector for the Tsunami, IAS, and the Community Development Officer of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board also attended. In response to the testimonies the jury presented their findings and recommendations to the government. These were then presented to a senior government officer who provided a written response. This process is documented in a report entitled: "Voiceless no more: Voices of the most marginalized tsunami survivors for whom justice is still a distant dream." Consultations with over 31,500 people emphasized that disaster response must address the pre-existing poverty and vulnerabilities of poor and excluded people. Key lessons are: The need for social, political and economic analyses of affected populations, to adequately identify different excluded or 'invisible' groups and their different needs, issues and experiences of discrimination/abuse of their rights. The imperative to take sides with poor and excluded people, to consciously support their inclusion, and to address the political and power relationships which perpetuate poverty and thus vulnerability. The importance of responding to people as active agents in their own recovery, respecting their capacities and resilience. The fundamental necessity of congruence between what is stated (and written in laws, policies, guidelines and standards of conduct) and what is done. The importance of a long-term commitment to working with poor and excluded people and their institutions to enable them to claim their rights. The need for a critical analysis of the development policies and practices of government and international response agencies by generating evidence from the ground to challenge those who increase vulnerability of poor and marginalised groups. The need for proactive measures to ensure that women's rights to bodily integrity, information, participation, health care and education, water and sanitation, livelihoods, shelter and security of tenure are respected, protected, promoted and fulfilled. 60 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

63 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN An understanding of disaster response as an integral component of the development process. As disasters are a part of life for many people who are poor, the capacity to respond to disasters should be factored into development processes, with a longerterm perspective that takes into account the time needed to strengthen poor people and ensure the resilience of their institutions. The integration of disaster risk reduction into disaster response. The need to enhance coordination among intervening agencies and make space for affected communities to participate in decision-making to ensure that national and district level disasterresponse policies and plans are consistent with the ground level reality. The fundamental necessity to devise and put into practice effective accountability mechanisms by which the affected population can hold implementing agencies accountable and seek redress for poor quality, inadequate and inappropriate work. The importance of training skilled human resources at all levels for effective and efficient disaster response and risk reduction programming, training and implementation. Securing Rights: A Case Study In a village of Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka, the local temple priest was very influential, controlling the management of the temple and playing an important role in village affairs. Yet in a neighboring hamlet, nearly 23 internally displaced families lived in virtual isolation, forbidden from worshipping in the temple or participating in village council meetings. The formation of a Vigilance Committee by ActionAid's partner in the aftermath of the Tsunami led to recognition of their exclusion and adoption of strategies for future action. Some of the previously excluded villagers became members of the Vigilance Committee and are now raising their voice against the discrimination they face. Nearly 120 women from the hamlet and neighboring villages marched to the Divisional Secretary and submitted a representation protesting against the restrictions imposed on them offering worship in the temple. Gradually they mobilised support from other hamlets of the village and the temple leader had no option but to allow their entry. After a few months one of the poor residents from the hamlet was elected to the management committee of the temple - a great achievement in their struggle for power. Such developments help to rectify the power imbalances existing in the village. ActionAid attempted to integrate these lessons in our rights based approach by putting people at the centre of its response programme. It recognized that people must have easy access to information and both space and opportunity to be involved in crucial decision-making processes: where they live; the house design; the inputs they require for their livelihoods; and how to be safe from violence and future disasters. Key rights based interventions involved: raising awareness amongst poor people of their rights in emergency situations, and their responsibilities and obligations for emergency preparedness and response. raising awareness internationally of people's rights in emergencies. speaking out against abuses of human rights we witnessed. working to influence the policies of national governments, international donors, and private companies to ensure that people's rights were secured and protected in emergency situations and they were involved as active agents of change. The people-centred approach to link programme with policy influencing work integrated a number of critical principles: the centrality of affected people at all stages; the connectedness between programme, policy and communication functions; the discourse being informed by affected people's voices at all levels; and the formation/strengthening of alliances to amplify the power of these voices. Knitted together, our experience is that these processes have great potential to effect real and lasting change. Fore more information please contact: Harjeet Singh, harjeet.singh@actionaid.org Credit: ActionAid Sri Lanka, Caption: Sharing of budgets with women of Sri Lanka Credit: ActionAid India, Caption: Community meeting with tsunami affected people. Credit: Harjeet Singh/ActionAid International, Caption: Vulnerability analysis being done by woman from Maldives DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 61

64 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN The role of coastal forests in the mitigation of tsunami impacts A year old coastal forest established to protect agricultural land and community in a hazardous bay, Oki Bay (Kochi Prefecture), Japan. (J.K. Patterson Edward, Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India) Following the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, tree planting campaigns were initiated in coastal areas to rehabilitate devastation wrought by the tsunami and afforest coastlines cleared of trees in the preceding decades. These efforts were partly justified on the basis of claims that trees and forests had provided protection against the tsunami. Such claims were later questioned, however, and the lack of clear information available to decision makers became apparent. In response, FAO's "Forestry programme for early rehabilitation in Asian tsunami-affected countries", funded by the Government of Finland, organized a workshop on "Coastal protection in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami: What role for forests and trees?" The meeting drew together a wide range of participants and revealed the manifold nature of the subject area. The diversity of opinion revealed the urgent need for interdisciplinary work to bridge the gap between science and policy and provide information on whether and how to plant or manage coastal trees and forests for protective purposes. A publication entitled "The role of coastal forests in the mitigation of tsunami impacts" was subsequently published to bridge the gap between science and policy by presenting and synthesising information on tsunami protection and forests drawn from empirical studies, simulations and mathematical models. The work summarised in the publication was undertaken specifically address the physical aspects of tsunami mitigation by forests, which formed the core of the debate. The protection afforded by coastal trees and forests is related both to the size and force of the tsunami and factors related to the trees/forest and underlying substrate. Tsunami force and size are dependent on the nature and proximity of the initiating event, the local coastal formations and under-sea topography or "bathymetry". The degree of mitigation offered by a coastal forest is determined by the width of the forest, its horizontal and vertical density, and the distribution of structural elements. Tree diameter and height are additional key factors as are the strength and elasticity of the trees and the soil substrate. Rivers and gaps in coastal forests are, however, likely to result in local increases in destruction and, in the case of forest or trees being destroyed, broken remnants may also increase damage by acting as projectiles carried by the water. Because of unpredictability at the local level, prospective protection forests should be assessed in accordance with likely wave sizes, forest related features and in view of associated caveats before any protective potential can be assumed. Early warning systems and evacuation plans must also be implemented as necessary and complementary measures to protect lives from massive tsunami. Trees and forests may, however, provide protection at lower cost than engineered coastal protection structures and can also offer additional benefits. 62 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

65 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Extensive control forest in Ibaragi Prefecture on the Pacific coast of Japan. Such forests are designed to mitigate coastal hazards (strong coastal winds and blown sands, storm surge and tsunamis) and protect inland agriculture and habitation. (Hiroyuki Kameda, Kyoto University, and National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Japan) Though the work in the publication represents the current state of knowledge on this subject, it is not intended to be exhaustive on all aspects of establishing coastal forests. It is hoped that the information provided will be used in conjunction with economic, social and environmental considerations to improve management of coastal trees and forests both in the Indian Ocean region and elsewhere in the world. The publication can be accessed here: Coastline hit by 2004 tsunami in Aceh Province Indonesia (Susan Braatz FAO) DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 63

66 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Regional Program for Participatory and Integrated Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Development for Long-term Rehabilitation and Development in Tsunami-affected Areas Introduction This 5-year program was initiated in September 2006 with funds from the Government of Japan (US$ 4,687,338) to FAO, in response to the unprecedented tsunami disaster of December The overall objective of the program is to strengthen national capacity and participatory processes in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors for the integrated and sustainable management and use of land and other natural resources in the tsunamiaffected areas of Indonesia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand in order to enhance the livelihoods of the affected communities and reduce their vulnerability to coastal storms and economic downturns. The majority of people affected by the disaster were small farmers and fisher folk depending on seasonal agricultural, fishing and other income-generating activities. Interventions aimed at "building back better" these communities from a longterm perspective, it is imperative to develop multifaceted livelihood rehabilitation strategies with full considerations of three pillars of sustainability: economic, ecological and social. Accordingly, the program activities were crafted through carefully designed integrated, multi-sectoral, ecosystem-based approaches with appropriate stakeholder participation, gender and culture sensitive focus among others. Project sites were located at local community or island level in Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. After intensive consultations with the community and relevant stakeholders through Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) and national and local workshops, detailed work plans were formulated and the interventions were initiated in each country. In this short article, and in connection with the disaster reduction/building resilience to tsunami, coastal reforestation activities related to environmental protection/ecological are introduced. Foresting for Disaster Mitigation and Environmental Restoration Maldives In Maldives, an inhabited island of Gadhdhoo, South Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll (430 km south of the capital city Male) was chosen as a project site. Out of the 407 households, 92% (374 households) were suffered from the tsunami, although there were no fatalities. The area of the island is 37 ha, but the land reclamation is under way to expand the area. The island is currently without coastal vegetations (Figure 2), and the Greening Plan was prepared by zoning the island; including buffer zone, environmental protection zone and green zone (Figure 1). Figure 1: Zoning under the Greening Plan of Gadhdhoo Figure 2: Newly reclaimed land area in Gadhdhoo island 64 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

67 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Figure 3 and 4: Tree seedlings under propagation at the nursery Buffer zone is a long strip of peripheral land on all sides of the island except on the northern side. The soil is very hard and consists of coral waste and is subjected to wave action and salt spray. This zone is a buffer between the sea and terrestrial ecosystem on the landward side, and ideal for raising coastal shelter belt plantations. Casuarina equisetifolia, which grows in other islands in Maldives, but not in this island, is considered ideal for coastal shelterbelts/bio-shield plantations in this zone, considering its fast growth and adaptability to harsh environmental conditions. Since the main purpose of the coastal shelter belt plantation is to deflect the wind, casuarinas will be planted as several line plantations at close spacing. Environmental protection zone is a small strip of land on the northern side of the island encompassed by buffer zone. The sea in the vicinity of this zone experiences strong wave action. Since there are habitations and houses in the vicinity of this zone, they have to be protected from winds and salt spray, functionality of this zone is similar to the buffer zone. However, due to the limited availability of land, several rows of dwarf coconuts will be planted followed by natural local varieties so that a wind barrier is created against the strong monsoons. Wherever the land is available, casuarinas will be planted. Green zone is a narrow strip of land lying between the reclaimed area and the original island on the southern zone and essentially divides the island into two parts. The width of the zone is m, and it can function as a recreation area. Public gardens or children's parks can also be developed in this zone. The zone can also be used for creating urban forests with timber yielding, fruit bearing and ornamental trees. Accordingly, this zone will have a good combination of these tree species, which will also enhance the bird life and moderate the microclimate of the island. After intensive consultations with the community, 36 species of fruit trees, ornamental/ timber trees and coconut are planned to be planted, including Artocarpus altilis (Bread Fruit tree), Calophyllum inophyllum (Funa) and Casuarina equisetifolia. Tree seedlings are under propagation at the nursery established in the adjacent island, to be planted at the beginning of a rainy season in April 2009 (Figure 9 and 10). The planting and maintenance activities are planned to be conducted with extensive participation of the island community organizations and students.

68 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Figure 5: Arial photo of the Kreung No village and the location of the coastal forest rehabilitation Figure 6: Coastal forest rehabilitation site before the activity Figure 7: Planting activity of Casuarina equisetifolia at the site Indonesia In Indonesia, a small village called Krueng No, Aceh Jaya was chosen as a project site in the western coast, 160 km south from Banda Aceh. This area is one of the hardest hit areas. The village has a land area of 4,900 ha and populations/households of 398/123. Fishery is the main income source in the village with comparatively rich marine resources such as lobsters. They used to have good mangrove vegetations along the coast, but they were badly cut down for charcoal production before the 2004 tsunami. These degraded vegetations were completely washed away by the tsunami. Succeeding the Finish funded FAO emergency forestry project, coastal forest rehabilitation activities are under way for the devastated areas (Figure 5 and 6). Major trees species for the coastal beech areas include Casuarina equiseifolia, Terminalia catappa, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Xylocarpus granatum, and those for the mangrove areas include Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, Sonnetaria alba and Nypa Fruiticans. Figure 8: Explaining youths and villagers how to plant trees Figure 9: Casuarina equisetifolia planted voluntarily by villagers in 2005 shows good growth Figure 10: Tambak (fish pond) construction under way in Aceh Jaya

69 Figure 11: Declaration of forest protection Planting Casuarina equisetifolia at the demonstration site started on 12 December 2008 (Figure 7). In total, 17 villagers including five women and four junior high school students participated in the activity. Guidance was given for them on how to do planting (Figure 8). Participants observed carefully how to make planting holes, open polythene bags, put the seedlings into the holes, pour nitrogen fixing bacteria containing sands, cover the soil with mulch, and set bamboo sticks to protect planted trees from the wind. Actually, casuarinas planted voluntarily by villagers at the sandy beech near the village in 2005 show very good growth (Figure 9). Also, one of the notable developments in the collaborative arrangements is the successful agreement on the declaration of coastal forest protection. The coastal lands are competitive for other income generating activities such as fish pond development, and land use conflicts have been prevailing (Figure 10). The Krueng No community agreed to protect and not to destruct coastal and mangrove forests for development purposes, with their understandings of the important roles costal forests for protection their lives and the ecosystem. The community declaration was signed by seven community representatives on 11 November 2008 (Figure 11).

70 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Sri Lanka Figure 12: Project area in Sri Lanka and demonstration planting sites In Sri Lanka, four small fishery and agricultural villages surrounded by lagoons in Thirukkovil Division, Ampara District called Vinayagram 1, 2, 3 and 4 were chosen as a project site (Figure 12). These villages are one of the severely affected areas by the tsunami. Because of the tsunami, 58 people were killed. In addition, 103 people were killed due to the war during the past five years. The villages are approximately 200 km away from Colombo and 40 km south from Ampara city. There are around 1,647/6,489 households/populations. According to the PRA, out of the whole households, 82% and 14% are categorized very poor (with monthly incomes less than 14 USD) and poor respectively. Lagoons used to be covered by rich mangrove vegetations until approximately 15 years ago, but the entire vegetations were cut by the armed forces. Present mangrove forests are secondary forests (Figure 19). The damages caused by the tsunami waves affected the vegetation around the estuary and to a distance of four hundred meters interior in the lagoon. The recent assessment estimated the area needed for mangroves rehabilitation to be 8-10 ha. Rhizophora mucronata was selected for the demonstration planting of 0.02 ha, which started from December At present, the estuary is permanently blocked with a sand bar and a gravel road recently built over the sand bar, which disconnect the flow of sea water to the lagoon. This has prevented the tidal variation in the lagoon and has affected the salinity level of lagoon water. The salinity of lagoon water closer to the estuary appears to be high due to underground seepage of sea water, but has gradually decreased in the interior parts of the lagoon. It is reported that this has contributed the declining coastal fishery resource in the area. Accordingly, opening of the estuary to allow free movement of sea water to the lagoon is reported to be a pressing requirement. Figure 13: Lagoon at the project site 68 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

71 As for the coastal sandy beech area, natural vegetations appear to be a cutch thorny species (such as Randia dumetorum, Carissa spinarum) indicating halophytic and xerophytic conditions. The primary forests had been gradually lost, with the establishment of coconut estates and settlement areas. The secondary forests had been repeatedly utilized for fuel wood and small timber, but entirely cut by armed forces by about 15 years ago. Due to the tsunami, all secondary shrubs and creepers were totally damaged, and beeches with no woody vegetation extend for 5.6 km along the coastal beech. Demonstration line planting (150m x 40m, 0.6 ha) of Casuarina equisetifolia, Pandanas kaida, Anacardium occidentale and Tamarindus indica were initiated in December For more information please contact: Shingo Shibata FAO Chief Technical Adviser Figure 14: Sandy beech area at the project site Figure 15: Preparatory activity for sandy beech plantation

72 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN The Value Of Local Wisdom And Child Participation In The Disaster Risks Reduction Context: Lesson Learnt from Sikka and Rembang Indonesia Indonesia has many indigenous groups that are living in disaster prone areas. This cultural diversity provides for different knowledge and practices in support of disaster management to address local risks. Indigenous knowledge, transferred from generation to generation through legends, songs, traditions and even unwritten conventions (eg. in several village in North Sulawesi, every house has their own "kentongan", made from bamboo which been hang in the front each houses and be used for warning people in the village if there was disaster or any incident occurred, the number of sound resulted from "kentongan" will having different meaning such as 10 beats for flood warning or 12 beats for announcing death, etc) is known as a "local wisdom". And this local wisdom has been well proven to raise awareness on preventing disasters. Indigenous efforts for reducing and preventing disaster risks in Indonesia and other countries need to be better valued and appreciated in strategies to strengthen community resilience to disasters. Naritoom defines local wisdom as the knowledge that was discovered or acquired by local people through the accumulation of experiences in trials - and integrated with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the surrounding nature and culture. This is closely related to a community's life style (including livelihood, cultural values, gender norms and other practices) and the availability of resources to adapt to the changing of nature and environment. However, natural and environmental changes can generate problems if communities are not able to adapt to or prevent these changes. Geographically, Indonesia is located at the crossing of two continental plates - Eurasia and Indo-Australia -and is also within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Given its highly vulnerable locality leading to frequent disaster occurrence, disaster risks reduction (DRR) is a key component for community development. The involvement of community, society, and natural resources as well as local wisdom in DRR activities will strengthen processes of disaster management. Moreover, the Hyogo Framework for Action calls for education and knowledge as a third essential priority for disaster management, which emphasizes that indigenous knowledge can be a medium to build a culture of safety and resilience. Plan Indonesia has been implementing a Child-Centred Disaster Risk Reduction program in Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara and Rembang, Central Java since June This Program is aiming to fulfil child rights in a disaster prone context by providing children the opportunity to participate actively in building a safe and healthy environment. In this context, children are involved in the process of risk assessment and identifying the vulnerabilities and capacity of their communities. Moreover, they are also involved in developing DRR awareness raising materials and methods, and short and long term DRR action plans for their schools and communities. The child centred DRR Program has been piloting in the provinces of Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara and Rembang, Central Java. In Rembang district, the program has been implemented in 23 elementary schools located in 15 villages in 2 sub-districts (Gunem and Sale) while in Sikka, the project is targeting 15 schools in 14 villages in 3 sub-districts (Mego, Tanawawo and Paga). In implementing child centred DRR, the value of local wisdoms has been identified to disseminate DRR messages or information to related stakeholders for building disaster resilience in communities. The use of local wisdom in raising community awareness to prevent disaster risks also supports the role of children as agents of change. This paper describes the roles of community and local wisdom in DRR processes through a child centred approach to Disaster Management, based on Plan Indonesia's program experience in Sikka (East Nusa Tenggara) and Rembang (Central Java) Plan International is a child-centered community development international NGO working in 62 countries on projects and initiatives that address the causes of poverty and its consequences for children's lives. Plan is supporting community resilience to disasters through a Child-Centred DRR approach. In Asia, we are implementing child centred DRR projects in Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Bangladesh. For further information please contact: Vanda Lengkong, vanda.lengkong@plan-international.org 70 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

73 BUILDING RESILIENCE TO TSUNAMI IN INDIAN OCEAN Indigenous EWS: The ability to predict cyclones - communities of Renggarasi, in Tanawawo Sub-district, Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara. Sikka has a population of over 280,000 people. The majority of its population is Catholic. Every year Sikka is threaten by hazards such as cyclones, earthquake, tsunami and landslides which have a significant impact on its communities. Moreover, the active volcano of Egon presents an additional hazard for the people of Sikka. Some areas of Sikka have adapted to living by the threats of disasters, relying on local knowledge about how to reduce risks of disaster. One of the areas is Renggarasi, sub-district of Tanawawo where a cyclone hits every year. However, the community operates their own early warning system to predict cyclone occurrence. This involves paying attention to natural signs, which appears two or three days before. When red clouds appear moving fast in the sky, and a rainbow appears across the mountain and the sea, between the months of January and March, the people of Renggarasi get ready to deal with the cyclone. The communities make use of local knowledge to reduce the impact of cyclones. Following the identification of early warning signs from nature, they will immediately prepare their houses tying up the roofs with rattan and at the end of the rattan they hang a heavy stone. Nowadays, some of households are binding up their roofs with steel-wire. To protect their banana trees, they bind together some of the trees into a large bunch. By using this method, they protect roofs and banana trees from being destroyed during the cyclone period. This ability to predict and prepare for cyclones has been transferred from generation to generation. The people in Renggarasi (a sub-district of Tanawawo) can serve as a model to other communities at risk of cyclones of the value of indigenous DRR interventions in strengthening community resilience to disasters. Awareness Raising: The utility of local arts for disseminating information on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara and Rembang, Central Java. In the Indonesia context, using arts either for expressing perspectives or criticism is a common cultural practice. Art is also an important medium to disseminate informative messages to children, youth and adults. Indigenous mediums for information sharing include theatre performance, songs, poetry, dancing, music, etc. This media is often most effective and understandable when adapted to local taste and sense. In Sikka, children, youth and adults gather together for Kibolik Club (theather group). In worldwide understanding, theatre is understood as a performance which is shown or displayed in front of a crowd, such as puppet shows, music, conjuring, dazzled, comedy, drama, act/play and circus. Particularly for the Sikka context, Kibolik club refers to a group of people who make an art performance by using drama. Mostly drama is used to educate people and generally raise or address an issue based on experiences in the respective area. Given the high risk context of Sikka, to promote and raise awareness of DRR, a local Kibolik group interpreted, in the form of theatrical performance using their own local terminology, the risks of flood and landslides which they experienced and invited the community to be prepared. This performance entitled "Tana Kora" (landslide and flood) shared messages of the causes of landslides, its impact and coping mechanisms as well as how to reduce its risks. Kibolik groups have been successfully raising awareness of DRR by performing at villages in the Tanawawo sub-district. In Rembang district on the other hand, the majority of the population is Muslim. As such, they often play Qasidah music. Historically, Qasidah (also spelled qasida) is a form of poetry from pre-islamic Arabia, it typically runs more than 50 lines and sometimes more than 100 and has a single presiding subject logically developed and concluded. Qasidah is a type of art where religious poetry is accompanied by chanting and percussion. As Qasidah music is well known in Rembang district, it has been adopted to be one of the media for campaigning and promoting DRR messages to the community by children. Children create and make an arrangement for a lyric containing DRR messages integrated with Qasidah music to be performed at village gatherings. This kind of method has proven to be effective for delivering DRR message as the community is familiar with Qasidah music and remember the catchy lyrics afterwards. Moving with the times: Considering the progressive movement of boys & girls Scouts in Rembang, DRR activities in 23 elementary schools in Sale and Gunem Sub-district are being integrated with Scouts activities. Plan has capacitated Scout groups in Rembang in DRR. By participating in scout groups, children are active in the process of hazard, risks, vulnerability and capacity assessment. They are also establishing a school map completed with evacuation routes and have rehearsals scheduled for evacuation drills. Summary Raising awareness of DRR at community level will have maximum results by appreciating the value of local wisdom and involving all members of a community including children. Children as an active member of a community are able to contribute to DRR activities if they are given the opportunity and an enabling environment to participate. Through child centred DRR, children can become agents of change under the roles of: risk analysers; implementers of DRR interventions; and as communicators of disaster risks and disaster management in their family, school and community. The value of local wisdom based on local knowledge of daily practices should be given greater credit as a key element to strengthen intergenerational community based resilience to disasters. Performance Kibolik Theater Sikka Qasidah performance Rembang Scout and DRR activity DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 71

74 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION Regional Observance Of The International Day For Disaster Reduction And The Asean Diaster Management Day It was at the 10th meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) on 26 October 2007 in Singapore that ASEAN, UN/ISDR and Thailand agreed to organize a regional drawing competition on the occasion of the 2008 Regional Celebrations of the International Day for Disaster Reduction and ASEAN Disaster Management Day. At the following meeting of ACDM March 2008, Thailand's proposal to organize joint regional celebrations of the 2008 ASEAN Day for Disaster Management (ADDM) and International Day for Disaster Reduction through a regional drawing competition on the theme "Community Safety: Hospital, School and House of My Dream" was approved. The Regional Drawing Competition announcement was circulated by the ASEAN Secretariat to the member states, namely, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, and posted on ASEAN Secretariat and UNISDR's websites. The theme of the regional drawing competition was selected to ensure the link between the World Campaign on Education and the on Hospitals Safe from Disasters. Children aged 8-15 were invited to describe, through drawings and paintings, how safe hospitals, schools and houses can contribute to the realisation of a safer and disaster resilient ASEAN community. The primary objectives were: To promote and increase awareness among the school children in ASEAN on disaster risk reduction initiatives, particularly the importance of building safe schools, hospitals and houses in realising the vision of a safer and disaster resilient ASEAN community; To promote and increase awareness on ASEAN among the school children in the ASEAN region; To increase the visibility of annual programmes of ASEAN Day for Disaster Management and the International Day for Disaster Reduction.

75 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION Held in Bangkok on Wednesday, 8 October, the observance heard messages from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, delivered by Shigeru Mochida, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and Adelina Kamal, the Assistant Director for Disaster Management at the ASEAN Secretariat, respectively. In their messages, the Secretaries-General drew attention to the increasing number and scale of natural disasters in the recent past, involving the loss of thousands of lives and rendering hundreds of thousands homeless and jobless - and the need for action to be taken now. "We must do more to turn commitments on paper into deeds that can keep the next major disaster from taking so many lives and destroying so many livelihoods," said Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon. "Now more than ever, when we are trying to accelerate national and international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, disaster risk reduction needs to be acknowledged and incorporated as a key plank of that work." He added that with this year's Wenchuan Earthquake and Cyclone Nargis still fresh in people's minds, it was all the more appropriate to recall the lessons learned. "These disasters are stark reminders that we are still a long way from achieving our target of having a disaster resilient and safer community by the year 2015," said Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, in his message. "All of us have a role to play in mitigating the impact of disasters and building the resilience of our infrastructure and communities to disaster." This was followed by the award distribution to the winners of the competition. The winners of the competition were 11-year-old Thirawat Chumthong (1st place) from Thailand, 14-year-old Vicente Tiu Tangcueco (2nd place) from the Philippines, 13-year-old Jamille Bianca T. Aguilar (3rd place) from the Philippines, 10-year-old Alyarosa Taqwaariva (4th place) from Indonesia and 10-year-old Khairil Anwar Bin Jumat (5th place) from Brunei Darussalam. "My drawing reflects my family's dream of hospitals, schools and houses that are safe from natural disasters," said Thirawat Chumthong, when asked about the idea behind his drawing. "However, this condition is only in my dream as in reality, we are faced with a lot of natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons, etc." The award ceremony was followed by a discussion on the subject of "Community safety and disaster resilient infrastructures in the Asia Pacific region." The session was moderated by the UNISDR's Senior Regional Coordinator, Dr. German Velasquez. Representatives from the World Health Organization, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and Thailand's Ministry of Public Health led the discussions and emphasised the role resilient infrastructures play not only in saving lives but also in the continuation of provision of life-saving services in the face of a disaster. A sight-seeing tour was also organized by the Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Ministry of Interior, for the winners of the regional drawing competition. This years' observance of the International Day for Disaster Reduction and the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management was the third time that ASEAN and UNISDR have partnered in marking the Days. Representatives of the ISDR Asia Partnership, members of ISDR Regional Education Task Force and Regional Task Force on Safe Hospitals, Ministry of Interior, Thailand and other relevant Ministries (Education, Health etc.), Donor Agencies, UN Agencies, Secondary School in Thailand, participated in the joint observance of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and the ASEAN Disaster Management Day. For more information please contact Mr. Karim DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 73

76 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION Vietnam Celebrates International Disaster Reduction Day WHO representative, Dr. Jean-Marc Olive delivered his speech at the ceremony The Vietnamese disaster management community came together for a joint celebration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction on October 8 of last year. Events in the capital, Hanoi, and the central city of Hue brought together representatives from the National and Provincial levels of Government, international donors and non-government organizations, UN agencies and community groups. In line with the World Disaster Reduction Campaign theme of "Hospitals Safe from Disaster", the ceremony held in Hanoi focused on the need to ensure medical facilities were able to cope with the impacts of disasters. Dr. Dao Xuan Hoc, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Dr Jean-Marc Olive, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative, and Mr. Nguyen Ba Thuy, Vice Minister of Health, delivered speeches at a formal ceremony hosted by the Ministry. Each highlighted the significant impact disasters have on Vietnam every year and the crucial role of hospitals and medical centers in both disaster response and longer term development. "Health care facilities are often impacted by natural disasters, especially those located in remote and flood prone areas." said Dr. Dao Xuan Hoc, Vice Minister of MARD. "Health care centers that operate on a small scale or with insufficient human resources are facing serious difficulties in satisfying requirements of disaster preparedness and mitigation". "Natural disasters cause losses in terms of crops, the economy and degradation to the ecological environment, but these are not as fierce as human losses. Disasters caused unpredictable consequences, but we can mitigate the damage if we are well prepared", said Nguyen Ba Thuy, Vice Minister of Health. Dr. Jean-Marc Olive, WHO Representative in Viet Nam highlighted the fact that "Building or relocating health facilities in elevated areas is the simplest measure to protect them from floods. Besides, appropriate building designs, safety policies and public awareness on this issue are key factors to achieve safe hospitals". A number of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and the Natural Disaster Mitigation Partnership (NDMP) combined to put on a display at the ceremony focusing on Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM). CBDRM is now widely recognized in Vietnam as being a successful and cost-effective approach to disaster risk reduction.

77 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION As a practical addition to the Hanoi celebrations, NDMP and the Government's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) facilitated a discussion forum immediately following the ceremony. This provided a great opportunity for National and Provincial Government representatives to discuss progress in the development of Provincial action plans to implement the National Strategy for Disaster Prevention, Response and Mitigation to Another event celebrating the International Day for Disaster Reduction was held in the central province of Thua Thien Hue, this time with a strong community focus. Commune representatives and more than 300 school students participated in an animated celebration of disaster reduction. The event, organized by Development Workshop France (DMF), also commemorated the achievements of DWF and local partners in being awarded a 2008 World Habitat Award. The award recognizes the innovative work of all involved in developing effective solutions to housing needs in an area subject to repeated natural disasters. Both ceremonies received considerable coverage in television and print media ensuring the message of disaster reduction and hospitals safe from disaster reached all corners of Vietnam. Such publicity helps to raise public awareness and understanding of the importance of taking action before disasters strike. The 2008 celebrations for the International Day for Disaster Reduction in Vietnam were a great success involving communities, Government and international organizations alike. They showcased the strong willingness of all disaster management actors to work together in a productive and coordinated manner and, most importantly, they made a significant contribution to ongoing efforts to reduce disasters and their impacts on the people of Vietnam. For more information please contact: Ms. Linh Giang, chulinhgiang@ccfsc.org.vn DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 75

78 HFA IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Policies and Programs International Policy Framework For Disaster Risk Reduction There is now international acknowledgement that efforts to are called upon to engage fully in supporting and implementing reduce disaster risks must be systematically integrated into disaster risk reduction through the ISDR system, strengthen the policies, plans and programmes in all sectors and in both overall capacity of the UN system to assist disaster prone countries development and humanitarian fields. In this context, a milestone in disaster risk reduction, integrate actions in support of the was reached in January 2005, when governments adopted the Hyogo implementation of the Hyogo Framework into relevant coordination Framework for Action : Building the Resilience of Nations mechanisms, such as the UNDG, IASC, and including through the and Communities to Disasters as a key policy guidance instrument Resident Coordinator system and UNCTs. for the implementation of disaster risk reduction. Its intended Since the adoption of the Hyogo Framework, increased outcome for the decade is "the substantial reduction of losses, in commitments by Governments, parliamentarians, non-governmental lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of organizations, and other stakeholders have resulted in some good communities and countries". The Hyogo Framework emphasizes the progress - although still limited - in implementing disaster risk reduction need to integrate disaster risk considerations into sustainable in many parts of the world. This is manifested through a number of development policies, planning and programming, as well as into countries adopting instruments to guide policy and enact legislation emergency preparedness, response and recovery programmes. It sets for risk reduction, while others have integrated risk reduction into out the following five priorities for action: 1: Ensure that disaster their national development plans or poverty reduction strategies. At risk reduction is a national and local priority with a strong institutional present, 45 governments have established multi-sectoral national basis for implementation, 2: Identify, assess and monitor disaster platforms for disaster risk reduction and at least ten more are in risks and enhance early warning, 3: Use knowledge, innovation and advanced stage of preparation. A total of 120 governments have education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels., 4: designated official focal points for the implementation, follow-up and Reduce the underlying risk factors, 5: Strengthen disaster monitoring of progress of the Hyogo Framework. preparedness for effective response at all levels. The Hyogo Framework called on ISDR secretariat and its partners The Hyogo Framework highlights the pre-eminent responsibility to prepare periodic reviews of progress and to identify gaps and of States to implement disaster risk reduction, but it also calls upon challenges in implementation. In this context the UNISDR secretariat the international organizations, including the United Nations system has started coordination and preparation of biennial global and international financial institutions to undertake a number of assessment reports on disaster risk reduction, of which the first is to tasks within their mandates, priorities and resources. Stakeholders be launched in Bahrain in May UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

79 HFA IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into the UN System Since the adoption of the Hyogo Framework, the Executive Boards of several UN system entities, including specialized agencies and programmes, have made commitments to mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and ensuring programme coherence. The UNDP Strategic Plan ( ), approved in June 2008, urges UNDP to continue to extend its support to programme countries within the context of the Hyogo Framework. The World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have each adopted a new policy on disaster risk reduction. The UNEP Governing Council approved a new Medium Term Strategy which identifies disasters and conflicts as one of six core priorities for the organization through 2013, and OCHA has created a dedicated capacity at headquarter level and produced guidance material to support the implementation of HFA Priority 5 at all levels. The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a six-year strategy on risk reduction and emergency preparedness aimed at developing health sector and community capacity, and is collaborating with UNISDR and the World Bank on the World Disaster Reduction campaign on Hospitals Safe from Disasters. At its 34th session, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has adopted a distinct Strategic Programme Objective on disaster preparedness and mitigation among its 15 objectives of its six-year Medium-Term Strategy ( ). Increased commitment of IFIs was exemplified by the launch of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) by the World Bank in 2006 to address needs of vulnerable countries and provide coherent approaches globally and regionally to risk reduction and recovery by using the ISDR system. UNISDR is currently finalising an inventory of DRR policies in the UN system which will be made available at the Global Platform in June. The ISDR system joint work programme, undertaken by a core set of ISDR system partners, FAO, IFRC, ILO, OCHA, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, WMO and the World Bank, is a concerted effort to contribute to international coordination and scaling-up of action. The Inter-Agency Group acts as a venue for joint work programming among the participating organizations and to improve coherence and coordination with a view to better support countries to implement the Hyogo Framework. However, despite some positive developments, there is still a huge gap in institutional capacities and resource allocation to cover all critical areas to reduce risk and to reach concrete results. Many agencies still see disaster risk reduction only from the response/ preparedness side, not as a cross cutting, long term and sustainable development issue that needs to be fully incorporated in the ongoing development work. The level and degree of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in "non-traditional DRR agencies" is still not well developed or known. In order to accelerate the implementation of the Hyogo Framework in the UN system, the Secretary-General decided that disaster risk reduction and the Hyogo Framework for Action should be further mainstreamed into the UN system's policies and practices, through specific action by the United Nations Development Group (UNDG). In this context, a joint UNDG-ISDR Task Team on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into UN programming progresses at the country level was established in January 2008 to improve and increase country level support to Member States to implement national disaster risk reduction strategies guided by the Hyogo Framework. The Task Team, which was chaired by UNEP and UNDP, has recently finalised the Guidelines on integrating disaster risk reduction into the common country assessment and UN Development Assistance Framework (CCA/UNDAF) processes. The Guidelines will be made available soon to all relevant actors, including UNCTs and Governments. Key Challenges In Mainstreaming Despite the growing recognition of disaster risks, the availability of tools and methods and the clear guidance of the Hyogo Framework, progress toward addressing disaster risks is far from satisfactory. While some progress in mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the UN system is under way, it is still limited and slow in nature. Only a handful of agencies have been able to update their policies and mandates to reflect the priorities of the Hyogo Framework. The implementation of specific policies and measures is still lagging behind to achieve the sought-after outcome to substantially reduce disaster losses. Some of the key challenges to mainstreaming disaster risk reduction seem to be: Agency's mandate and policies are not in line with the requirements of the Hyogo Framework (Executive Boards have not endorsed/revised mandates based on the HFA, or are still negotiating) Donor policies do not reflect disaster risk reduction as a development issue (nor humanitarian issue, in some cases). Disaster risk reduction falls in between budget lines and the culture of disaster response still dominates the mindsets of many donors and governments. Limited cross-organizational buy-in, and understanding of the multi-sectoral and cross-cutting nature of disaster risk reduction. Limited understanding of how to build disaster risk reduction into ongoing, existing work (i.e. build disaster safe schools and hospitals) The levels of investment in disaster risk reduction and their benefits are not well documented and the available evidence indicates that investment is far below what is required. The incentives for major organizations to engage in coherent multistakeholder activities, including through the ISDR system, are weak or non-existent. The value of the United Nations to support countries in reducing the vulnerability of people is well recognised. The main challenge for the UN system, in respect to disaster risk, is to develop effective coordinated support to Governments and vulnerable countries in line with the vision of "One UN - delivering as one", and the comparative advantage of specialized expertise and capacity of each UN system entity. The first challenge is for many UN agencies to mainstream DRR within their own organization. The example of UNDP closely coordinating its work on climate change adaptation programme with its DRR programme is encouraging. For more information, please contact: palm@un.org DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 77

80 HFA IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS HFA Implementation in Asia and Pacific Region Priority for Action 1 Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation Feedback from both individual countries and sub-regional organizations confirms that several countries have achieved progress in this area and that there is a continuing policy trend to move away from pure disaster response to risk reduction. Sub-regional frameworks on disaster reduction and programs have helped a number of countries adapt objectives, enhance commitment and gain understanding. The extent of the shift from response to risk reduction varies from country to country and is related to governance capacity, socio-economic parameters and the time that has elapsed between initial policy formulation and implementation. One group of countries (Australia, Iran, South Korea, New Zealand and Vanuatu) reports comprehensive or significant achievements including strengthened capacity at various administrative levels and resource allocation. For instance, both Australia and New Zealand can build upon a strong legislative framework and organizational structure for risk reduction. The Islamic Republic of Iran allocates 1% of its public budget to risk reduction. The remaining countries report more modest levels of progress and have mainly focused on the formulation of new risk reduction policies and legislation and the reform or establishment of organizational and institutional structures for risk reduction. Indonesia, for instance, has enacted and continues to implement a new disaster management law that stipulates the integration of risk reduction into development planning. Sri Lanka has been active in consolidating its new disaster management organization at national and local levels. Overall feedback from sub-regional organizations seems to suggest that new disaster management laws, while a positive step, are not all considered comprehensive, and that commitment, technical capacity and the support received from UN, donors, (I)NGOs and sub-regional structures vary significantly. While practically all countries report the development of longterm Disaster Risk Reduction plans and/ or "National Action Plans" (NAP) to promote the adaptation and implementation of HFA priorities, these plans are not always well synchronized with national policy or sufficiently coordinated among the different stakeholders and have not all been approved yet and/ or matched with budgets. Together with a lack of institutional and human capacity as well as financial resources, this results in slow implementation. The Bangladesh report emphasizes attitude-related challenges in changing the previous emphasis on response: "Introducing DRR culture and practices takes time to replace age-old relief culture."7 Progress on risk reduction is particularly difficult and slow at local levels. While Australia, Indonesia, Nepal, New Zealand and the Philippines express clear institutional commitment to the delegation of authority to local levels,8 and while remaining countries all emphasize the importance of local and community level empowerment, the level of capacity is highly variable. Local officials are not necessarily familiar with new regulations and there is a lack of dedicated organizational local capacity for planning and implementation. In the absence of clear monitoring and evaluation criteria the enforcement of new regulations poses major challenges. This is compounded by a general lack of clarity on the roles of local government and/ or competition of different administrative levels over authority and resources (particularly in highly decentralized countries such as Australia). Community based risk reduction initiatives are being pursued in several countries. However, coverage and quality is often uneven, and projects are yet to be linked into a wider risk reduction system that links local, provincial and national levels. The active coordination of NGOs wishing to work at the community level remains a challenge for national and local governments, particularly in those countries with limited resources to strengthen community capacities. Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Lao, Nepal and the Philippines specifically point out highly insufficient budgets for risk reduction that may also be prioritized or reserved for response related expenditures. All countries describe difficulties in ensuring adequate levels of resources at the local level. The existence and shape of national platforms that could in principle serve as a mechanism to promote dialogue and mainstreaming across different stakeholders varies significantly across the region. This suggests a lack of clarity and agreement on the purpose and expected structure of these institutions. Three countries - Indonesia, Nepal and Sri Lanka - reported the establishment of a national platform within the reporting period. This brings the total number of national platforms in Asia and Pacific to seven9. All other countries have multi-sector coordinating mechanisms10; however, neither civil society11 nor the private sector is represented. New Zealand seems to remain unconvinced that a "singular forum or committee for hazard risk reduction" would be necessary when "continuing risk management and integrated policy and planning processes are intended to ensure that national priorities for risk reduction are established, [ ]." Priority for Action 2 Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning In 2005 very few countries in the region (including Australia) had conducted national multi-hazard risk assessments12. Since the adoption of the HFA, Hong Kong, Iran, New Zealand and South Korea report significant achievements in this area. In the remaining countries there is common recognition of the need to conduct comprehensive assessments. Feedback indicates that national-level information on hazards is easier to gather than information on vulnerability, though hazard assessments are often sector-specific and hard to integrate since different sectors employ different methodologies and data formats. Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka report a general lack of consistent approaches and objectives of risk assessments from the national to the local level. Methodological issues include the need to define "community reliance" or "safety" within a broader risk assessment framework to monitor and document the effectiveness of investing in risk reduction at the local level. On the positive side, some countries, including Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu have either suggested, initiated or developed at the very least, a framework for risk assessments and the standardization of risk assessment procedures and methodologies in place (national and/ or local levels). In areas of higher climate risk, global climate change may considerably intensify established patterns of risk and stretch coping capacities to the limit, highlighting an urgent need to conduct climate change studies and model impact, particularly in key sectors and at the local level. Bangladesh reports considerable progress in assessing the risk from climate change on agriculture but this seems an isolated case. According to feedback from countries, the majority of current risk 78 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

81 HFA IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS assessment activity seems to be happening at the sub-national and local level, though initiatives tend to be scattered, externally funded and often detached from an integrated risk information and monitoring system. The Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster has prompted the establishment of early warning systems (EWS), particularly in the countries directly affected (Indonesia and Sri Lanka out of the thirteen countries that submitted reports), but also increased interest in other countries to review and update their systems (Australia, Bangladesh, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, South Korea, Vanuatu). At the national level Sri Lanka and Indonesia have made progress in system development but experience continuing challenges to disseminate information to end-users at the community level, particularly to those in less accessible locations. Another challenge is the ability of communities to respond adequately to warning messages. In many countries targeted investments in preparedness of high risk communities remain sporadic, dependent upon external aid and insufficiently harmonized with each other. An end-to end early warning system as emphasized in the Delhi Declaration therefore remains an urgent and valid ambition. Regarding the exchange of information and better regional cooperation across countries, equally called for by the Delhi Declaration, the sub-regional organizations of ASEAN, SAARC and SOPAC have provided important support and coordination. Agreements on trans-national and regional cross/ border risks have been reached in the ASEAN sub-region to develop the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System. A Regional Early Warning Strategy was endorsed at the 13th Regional Disaster Management Meeting in South Asian nations have also agreed on the establishment of a regional EWS coordinated by SAARC. Only five countries report progress on trans-boundary risk reduction at sub-national levels. This includes comprehensive capacity and achievements in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and selected intra-district or intra-provincial initiatives in Indonesia and the Philippines. It is fair to conclude that trans-boundary risk reduction practices are still in their infancy as solid local and regional risk reduction capacity has still to emerge in a majority of countries. Priority for Action 3 Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels Five countries (Australia, Hong Kong, Iran, New Zealand and South Korea) report substantial and even comprehensive achievements in the development of disaster management information systems. In the Pacific, SOPAC has developed a regional information base (Pacific Disaster Net) to assist members in the implementation of their national action plans. Out of the remaining eight countries, six report an institutional commitment to the establishment of a central and comprehensive information management system. Progress in this regard, however, has been slow and often dependent upon external aid. While there are numerous studies and assessments undertaken across the region, the research is often sector-specific and therefore dispersed and not presented in a format that can be easily accessed (which points back to the lack of standards for risk assessments raised under Priority 2). ASEAN's sub-regional progress report summarizes these challenges succinctly: "The issue appears to be not in the availability of information but in the duplication and inefficiency of distribution of such information".13 This is at least partly related to the lack of awareness on the usefulness of consolidated information, the lack of incentives to share information as well as institutional and human capacity gaps. Two countries (Australia and New Zealand) have standardized tools for local risk assessments, while SOPAC has been actively advocating the use of the Comprehensive Hazard Assessment and Risk Management (CHARM) Tool in the Pacific Islands (with Vanuatu reporting its adoption). In general, however, there are far more tools for hazard than risk assessments, and cost-benefit analysis of investments into DRR remains uncommon. The integration of DRR into school curricula and public awareness has been high on the agenda of multi regional, bilateral and national governmental and non-governmental organizations, particularly in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, as reiterated in the Delhi Declaration. The subject was given further prominence by the 2006/ 2007 ISDR/UNESCO campaign "Disaster Risk Reduction begins at school" which promoted the safety of school buildings and the integration of DRR into school curricula or activities. A majority of countries have however not yet reached considerable levels of progress. While an outperforming group of four14 countries (Australia, Hong Kong, Iran and New Zealand) report comprehensive or substantial achievements, three countries (Bangladesh, Korea and Nepal) have reached institutional commitment, and the remaining countries have not yet made significant progress. Several national reports reflect a certain degree of skepticism regarding the effectiveness of current public awareness activities and describe the absence of clear national strategies, of solid monitoring and evaluation systems and a top-down approach that takes insufficient notice of cultural and linguistic differences within countries. The New Zealand report highlights the need for a sustained, long-term approach: "The major challenge is changing behavior of individuals and organizations, and progressing intentions into actions".15 Yet in many countries public awareness remains dependent upon foreign aid and sustainability is limited. There is growing awareness of the role that national and local media can play in public awareness; however, their potential requires enhancement and remains underutilized. Starting DRR education early, i.e. in school and even pre-school, is commonly seen as an important strategy to effect change in perceptions and behavior. Reports from seven countries indicate that initiatives in the area of DRR concentrate on "projectized" activities often implemented in areas recently hit by major disasters. There are few systematic efforts starting with clear needs assessments, strategies and an approach that looks for opportunities in both extra- and intra-curricular activity as well as formal and nonformal education. Countries noted the absence of technical capacity to design DRR curricula and training materials and the need to create a cadre of trainers and educators. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 79

82 HFA IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS Priority for Action 4 Reduce the underlying risk factors The Delhi Declaration on DRR re-emphasized the mainstreaming of DRR into development plans and sector strategies to reduce underlying risk factors. On the whole, countries report the lowest progress levels against this priority. All responses illustrate a reasonable level of commitment recognizing the need to integrate DRR into environmental plans, land use and natural resource management, economic human settlement planning, major development projects etc. However, translating hazard and risk information into integrated policies across planning documents and undertaking coordinated and concerted action is a challenge. Linkages with poverty reduction and national MDG strategies are a rarity (see next page). Only Australia, Iran and New Zealand report substantial achievements, whereas the remaining ten countries see themselves between level two ("some progress") and level three ("commitment attained"). One of the obstacles is that the inclusion of DRR objectives in development or sector plans is not always followed up by dedicated budgetary, department/ agency or business plans. In addition some of these initiatives are small-scale pilots that need yet to be translated into policy and institutional commitment. Overall low achievements in this area should not come as a surprise since priority 4 is in many ways the most challenging area, and signifies the biggest departure from the previous emphasis upon response. It also depends upon the preceding priorities, i.e. solid risk assessments and information management systems, clear risk reduction strategies, strong institutions, awareness of risks and risk reduction options and capacity to implement/enforce and evaluate. In general most countries report some initiatives on environmental and natural resource management policies and standards, though it is not always very clear to what degree these really include DRR objectives. Some reports seem to reflect an assumption that environmental and DRR objectives largely overlap. Others are more skeptical. The Philippines report for instance remarks "While environmental and natural resource laws do provide a framework, their interpretation does not easily translate into instruments for DRR and DRM."16 Work on climate change as re-emphasized in the Delhi Declaration is underway in some countries; South Korea for instance reports very specific work to adapt DRR plans and standards in the light of climate change scenarios (against a sobering realization that growing risk exceeds the current ability and practices to mitigate). In Australia, Bangladesh and Vanuatu the linkages between work on DRR and climate change focus on the preparation of climate adaptation frameworks and programs. Only Australia and New Zealand base their work on an explicit social inclusion agenda, though all reporting countries recognize the need to address the social vulnerability dimension of risk. However, instruments to address social vulnerability often remain restricted to conventional programs such as food aid. A more positive perspective provide encouraging initiatives, such as in the Philippines, where the National Anti Poverty Commission has designed a poverty reduction strategy for people in hazard prone areas that incorporates interventions ranging from microfinance and insurance instruments to rice credits and cheap food and burial benefits. In Lao the United Nation's Development Assistance Framework (in support of the Sixth National Socio Economic Development Plan) lists disaster risk management as a critical component of the poverty reduction framework. Nepal, Sri Lanka and Iran are conducting studies on the relationship between poverty and disasters which will feature in greater detail in the 2009 Global Assessment Report. A growing diversification of social safety net programs with a very active role of NGOs is reported from Bangladesh. Yet these initiatives require detailed evaluations to identify the exact benefits for communities and to better understand the inter-relation between microfinance and risk reduction. With the exception of the highly industrialized countries that are part of this small sample, efforts to address vulnerability through economic and productive sector policies are rare. There is no doubt that the attempts to increase the resilience of (often privately owned) critical infrastructure through public private partnerships in high income countries represent innovative examples, however they cannot be easily transferred to nations where large segments of the population earn a livelihood in the agricultural sector and poverty levels are high. The National Report from Indonesia captures this when it says:" the assumption that better or improved public private partnership can provide protection to vulnerable economic activities seems to be not always the case."17 Climate change has added to a renewed interest in agriculture and one country reports studies on agriculture resilience. Risk transfer schemes such as crop insurance- if existing - are at a stage of experimentation and require an increased dialogue between regulating agencies i.e. the government, the insurance industry and representatives of the intended client groups. The regional record regarding spatial planning and land use control is equally diverse, with considerable achievements in Australia, Iran and New Zealand, and with some institutional commitment in Hong Kong, Korea and Nepal, and very limited progress in the remaining 7 countries. The biggest difficulty reported concerns the enforcement of codes and regulations which is related to complex land tenure conditions, a lack of clearly designated authority and ability to impose sanctions, and conflicting interests between various layers of government, to name just a few. However, these difficulties often reflect the lack of a broader framework and strategy for settlement development that emphasizes accountability of those involved in settlement planning and construction. There is a general lack of awareness of minimum building standards among the population. Codes require reviews in the light of climate change and changing risk patterns. The use of GIS technology for land-use planning is becoming more common throughout the region though issues related to compatibility of data-bases and clear protocols for data-entry and use persist in some countries. The record regarding procedures for the integration of risk reduction into major development projects is a little better as four countries (Australia, Iran, Marshall Islands and New Zealand) report comprehensive achievements, six report on an institutional commitment, and only three report on modest progress. Vanuatu has initiated the development of an overall policy requiring risk assessments for all development projects, South Korea has established a disaster mitigation impact regulation for development planning and other countries have decided to focus upon a priority sector (Philippines: transport) or a densely populated urban area (New Zealand: Wellington). Common obstacles to push the integration of risk reduction include the lack of an effective regulating agency and enforcement capacity. An increasing commitment to addressing risk in development projects seems contingent upon a realization of the cost-benefit ratio of investing in risk reduction. Countries18 that that have had recent experience of significant disasters such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran and Sri Lanka report institutional commitment to integrate DRR into recovery and reconstruction strategies (also an action point of the Delhi Declaration). However, experience has shown that translating these resolves into reality is difficult in practice, particularly in the absence of resilient coordination mechanisms, guidelines and other relevant specifications and previous experience. Obviously difficulties affecting the sustainable development of settlements during "normal" times will also affect reconstruction after disasters including complex or insecure land tenure systems and a lack of community awareness. Successful risk reduction practices in recovery start to emanate but are overall far and few between. 80 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

83 Priority for Action 5 Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels It may come as a surprise that the self-assessment of progress in disaster preparedness and response, an area that most countries have more solid experience of than risk reduction, is not more positive. Yet this area scores lower than both, HFA priority areas one and three. Australia, Iran, South Korea and New Zealand report substantial achievements and Lao, the Marshall Islands and Nepal report only minor to modest progress while the remaining six have achieved institutional commitment but not solid levels of performance. There are many possible explanations for this phenomenon (amongst others longer experience in disaster and response that may lead to a more critical self-assessment). The reports also suggest that while policy development19, institutional development at the national level, and planning have been stronger, the areas of financial resources and mechanisms for information exchange and management and local level preparedness capacities are lagging behind. All countries, except two, report the existence of permanent emergency funds, however two main problems are mentioned: the insufficient level of funding and slow disbursement mechanisms. Slow disbursements may not only be related to decision-making and administrative procedures but also be caused by weak post-disaster assessment capacity and poor information management mechanisms. On a positive note the concept of Emergency Operation Centers is spreading and currently actively introduced in Sri Lanka and Indonesia together with standardized information management systems. Other countries have been exposed to the concept by training events. Except for the four outperforming countries mentioned above, availability of funding for preparedness, particularly at the local level, seems another important concern. Out of the other countries, only the Philippines report the possibility to use National and Local Calamity Funds for pre-disaster activities. While efforts are reported to strengthen local disaster preparedness capacity, this is frequently related to UN- or NGO- programs raising questions of sustainability. The Philippines and New Zealand note that supporting local disaster preparedness requires the development of standard assessment tools for benchmarking capacity to determine required investment and monitor performance. Well targeted training in preparedness and disaster response at the local level for both decisionmakers and technicians requires more attention. With regard to the development of disaster and contingency plans to reduce the loss of life and property, an item that was again included in the Delhi Declaration, most countries report success or continue to work on such plans.20 However, there are huge variations in scope and geographical coverage of these plans between countries and the various national, sector-specific and local plans seem not always integrated into an overall planning framework. Some plans are reportedly outdated and funding, as well as the human and institutional capacity to actually implement (and update) these plans can be inadequate. On a positive note there are an increasing number of drills and simulations in reporting countries of the region. Debriefings and post disaster reviews are held more frequently though a culture of regular learning from disaster response operations is yet to emerge in most countries.

84 DEBATE ON DRR AND CCA Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: Avoiding the Unmanageable, Managing the Unavoidable "Climate change is expected to cause more severe and more frequent natural hazards. As our cities and coasts grow more vulnerable, these hazards can lead to disasters that are far worse than those we have seen to date. We have a moral, social and economic obligation to build resilience by Implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action will also help us reach the Millennium Development Goals." Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, 2007 The changing face of risks The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that "warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level." The report further states that man-made emissions of greenhouse gases can already be blamed for fewer cold days, hotter nights, killer heat waves, floods and heavy rains, devastating droughts, and an increase in hurricane and tropical storm strength. Disaster statistics provide us a glimpse of what is further to come. For example, compared to the average flooding data of the last seven years, 2007 had considerable increase in the number of flooding disasters, and Asia was the continent hit hardest by disasters, according to figures by the Belgian WHO collaborating Center for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). In addition, the CRED report notes that eight out of the 10 countries with the highest disaster deaths of 2007 were in Asia, with 4,234 killed in Bangladesh by cyclone Sidr last November. CRED further notes that these trends are "consistent with the predictions of the IPCC, in that Asia, and also West Africa are already suffering from more severe and frequent floods." The changes are happening on top of the already increased threats of disasters worldwide. For example, the World Bank's Global Hotspots Study found that 25 million square km and 3.4 billion people are highly exposed to at least one natural hazard with 105 million people highly exposed to three or more hazards. This combination is changing the face of disaster risks, with vulnerability to hazards increasing rapidly, and climate-changespecific impacts (sea-level & temperature rise, glacier melting) expected to aggravate existing vulnerabilities to disasters. In addition to changing vulnerabilities, hazards are changing as well - we are observing increased intensity and/or frequency of known hazards, and the distribution of existing hazards shifting, with some regions expected to face hazards that they have not experienced in the past. These can severely threaten or even roll back development, with the Stern Review (on the economics of climate change) observing that the "costs of extreme weather alone could reach 0.5-1% of world GDP per annum by the middle of the century, and will keep rising if the world continues to warm." The review further observed that "Climate change is happening and measures to help people adapt to it are essential. And the less mitigation we do now, the greater the difficulty of continuing to adapt in future." These all highlight the need to implement joint risk reduction & climate change adaptation strategies, and in addition underline the need for action to urgently avoid further global warming.

85 DEBATE ON DRR AND CCA Practical actions to adapt to climate change There are a number of actions that can be taken to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards and adapt to climate change, which include the promotion of a culture of prevention and resilience, the development of institutions (policies, planning legislative, multistakeholder mechanisms, etc.) to actively contribute to these goals; identification of risks (risk mapping, hazard & vulnerability assessments); promotion of early warning systems, building hazardresistant structures (in particular critical infrastructures, schools, and hospitals), protection and development of hazard buffers (natural ecosystems such as forests, reefs, and mangroves); and improving preparedness, response, and the development of pre-disaster recovery plans. Fortunately, we already have a framework that guides us in doing the above - and it's called the Hyogo Framework for Action. The formal process for climate action still needs to be within the framework of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. These are essential in reducing climate change risks through climate change mitigation; through sharing and learning through the UNFCCC Nairobi Work Program on Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation, and the development of the Bali Action Plan's disaster risk reduction mandate. On the other hand, the HFA is essential for climate change adaptation and in effectively reducing risk of extreme events - HFA provides relevant guidance to reduce vulnerability and manage risks. In this context, one important challenge ahead of us is how to advance the linkages between DRR and climate change adaptation in the context of the Bali Action Plan. Responding to Bali's DRR mandate The Bali Action Plan (BAP) was agreed by UNFCCC COP-13, Bali in December 2007 and will guide negotiations during on the global climate regime to apply from The BAP recognizes the importance of risk reduction for adaptation, calls for risk management and risk reduction strategies, including risk sharing and transfer mechanisms such as insurance, disaster reduction strategies and means to address loss and damage. To effectively respond to the disaster risk reduction mandate of the BAP, we now need support CC negotiators & actors at national & local levels in the following areas: Collaboration between climate change and DRR bodies and experts Accessible DRR information and tools for climate change adaptation negotiators and managers This will include the mobilization and the collection and summary of national risk information, including socio-economic data concerning existing vulnerability and capacity; the review national development strategies and sector plans to identify actual or potential interventions, and the provision of practical information and guidance on DRR and risk management (concepts, tools, measures, policies, etc., and sources of information). At present, UN/ISDR is developing guidance for Governments on specific risk reduction measures to support the implementation of the Bali Action Plan. Draft CC adaptation and DRR strategies and action plans, drawing on the HFA This will include the convening of cross-sectoral teams to formulate integrated multi-sector adaptation & DRR strategies and plans and to inform and advise national adaptation negotiators; the development of adaptation plans (stimulate integrated policy) drawing on the approach and language of the Hyogo Framework and building on available DRR strategies and action plans; and the inclusion of adaptation action on all five of the Hyogo Framework's priority areas. Again, UN/ISDR is presently developing guidance on elements required in an adaptation and DRR framework A Shared Agenda The Bali Action Plan is an important international recognition of the relevance of and linkages between disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. We have the next 18 months (the "road to Copenhagen") as our window of opportunity to make a difference, and we can do this by supporting climate change negotiators, building collaboration DRR-climate adaptation bodies at all levels, making DRR tools accessible, using the Hyogo Framework's approach and language, and planning to connect the post-kyoto (first commitment period) and the post-hyogo agendas more closely. We all need to work together in this regard. Source: German Velasquez This will include the encouragement of systematic dialogue and information exchange between national platform for DRR and climate change national communications teams; the promotion of joint development of disaster reduction and adaptation strategies and action plans; and the inclusion of disaster risk reduction experts in the national climate change adaptation policy team to support negotiations. DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 83

86 DEBATE ON DRR AND CCA Bridging the gap: Integrating climate change and disaster risk reduction Rising to the challenge of climate change One of the fundamental linkages between the climate change and disaster management arenas is their shared objective to address vulnerability in communities affected by climate risk. The difference is that while disaster risk reduction has traditionally looked at risks that communities know and are familiar with, climate change adaptation focuses more on future scenarios as projected by climate science. However, this distinction is becoming less pertinent than it was in the past. Climate change is with us now. The future we now see through the eyes of projected climate change is very different from the future we may have expected based on past climate. Agencies working to address the impacts of climate, be they focused on health, water, agriculture, the environment or disasters, have an opportunity to deal with these multiple issues simultaneously through an integrated, participatory approach. Tools and training need to take into account the fact that the nature of risk is changing and be guided by the trends and projections used by climate science. There is much opportunity to work together to inform communities and take action. The role of climate information in reducing disaster risk There are many ways to incorporate climate information into disaster planning and decision-making, be it at the community, district, national, regional or global level. Such information needs to be used at different timescales, from early warning relating to extreme weather events such as floods and cyclones to seasonal forecasting of phenomena such as El Ni?o and La Ni?a, as well as the longerterm projections of climate change science. The sources of climate information are also varied. People highly dependent on climate for their livelihoods are familiar with changing weather patterns. Traditional knowledge can help to answer questions such as: Is it getting hotter, drier or wetter? At what time of the year? Where are unusual weather patterns being reported? What impact is this having? While scientific information is important for measuring changes in rainfall, temperature and the frequency of extreme events, using it in conjunction with local knowledge on trends can enhance decision-making and the development of appropriate responses. At the opposite end of the spectrum, experts working in the field of climate change, including scientists, can provide valuable information to enhance understanding of climate variability and change. Whatever the source, the information needs to be provided in forms that are sector specific and can be translated into practical risk reduction measures. Assessing and addressing current and future climate risks at national level The National Societies of Bangladesh, Indonesia and Solomon Islands have all conducted awareness-raising activities to familiarize staff, board members and volunteers with the concepts of climate change and to initiate dialogue with various actors working on climate change, such as national meteorology and environment bodies. Some National Societies have taken this one step further and created documents that nationally assess the nature of a changing climate, the stakeholders involved as well as the opportunities for action. Assessing and addressing current and future climate risks with communities In an innovative approach to addressing both current and future climate risk, the Solomon Islands Red Cross road-tested a participatory assessment which combined the Red Cross Red Crescent's Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment with WWF's Climate Witness Community Toolkit produced in the Pacific. The aim of the exercise was to identify communities' vulnerabilities to the impacts of climate change and disasters and to develop activities to address priority needs and strengthen coping mechanisms. Local Red Cross branches were trained in the necessary processes and learned more about the causes and impacts of climate change and how to respond to them. This information was then shared with the community as part of the overall interaction. Village assessments included youth and women's focus groups to enable knowledge to be captured from different sources and all voices to be heard. The Red Cross health team followed up with a visit to promote hygiene and first aid, and the National Society is now seeking assistance from donors to install rainwater-harvesting equipment on the islands. The community itself will assemble the equipment once it is purchased and will be trained in how to operate and maintain it. Through this integrated participatory approach, the Solomon Islands has successfully demonstrated how climate change impacts and associated disaster and health risks can be effectively addressed simultaneously. Tackling climate change in Asia and the Pacific Some National Societies in the Asia-Pacific region have taken up the challenge of climate change, recognizing that it is a part of their core mandate, which is to protect the lives of the most vulnerable. Among these, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Indonesian Red Cross Society and the Solomon Islands Red Cross have made particular headway in integrating climate change into their disaster risk reduction work. These efforts can be grouped under six broad categories: 84 UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

87 DEBATE ON DRR AND CCA Education and awareness-raising Young people are one group of Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers who have been particularly creative in communication efforts on the subject of climate change. In Indonesia, International Youth Day 2008 presented the opportunity to promote the global theme "Youth and climate change: a time for action". Indonesian Red Cross youth members encouraged young people's involvement by getting schoolchildren to participate in drama, poetry, singing and music performances that expressed their roles in promoting risk reduction measures in the face of climate change. Young people will inherit a burgeoning problem and need to be part of the solutions and decision-making to address it. Non-traditional partnerships and networks Climate change provides a compelling reason to cross boundaries and forge new relationships with non-traditional partners at all levels. This might include partnerships with government meteorology or environment departments and even environmental organizations in civil society. For example, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in partnership with WWF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), convened the Pacific Communities and Climate Forum, which brought together climate change experts and disaster risk reduction practitioners from the region. It aimed to expose people working with communities to the latest climate information and come up with fresh ideas for community-based activities in the Pacific Islands region. It also enabled representatives of the disaster management, health, climate change and environment sectors to identify opportunities for partnership and information sharing. Advocacy Currently, the government of the Solomon Islands is devising a National Adaptation Programme of Action. The Solomon Islands Red Cross is an active member of the committee working on this process and is integrating into it the results of the participatory assessments it has conducted with communities to ensure that community priorities and concerns about climate change and disaster risk (such as those mentioned above) are being fed into the plan. Integrating climate change into existing training, plans and strategies Reflection on how climate change can be integrated into disaster risk reduction programmes of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society concluded that much of the National Society's work already contributes much to addressing the impacts of climate change, now and into the future. However, there were a number of additional steps that could be taken, including: providing specific training for staff on climate change; integrating climate change knowledge into community-based activities; having communities reflect upon changes in their environment; developing networks with the climate change sector; and advocating that the government take further disaster risk reduction measures. Figure 1: Youth engagement Climate change is a problem inherited by young people however Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have found young people can be equally part of the solution and bring a creative zeal to awareness campaigns DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009 UN/ISDR INFORMS 85

88 Lessons learned At the national level, there needs to be a recognition of the parallel planning processes and funding that drive the work of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Considerable effort is called for, not just from governments but also from civil society, to consolidate these processes and funding mechanisms to ensure that there is understanding of common goals and an incentive for these sectors to work closely together. Promoting understanding of climate change can be made easier if opportunities are taken to integrate the subject into existing forums, such as meetings on health or disaster management. Climate change is best addressed by those with the technical knowledge in the sectors most concerned. However, they in turn need the support of people with climate expertise to improve their understanding of the changing nature of the risks they are working to address. There are many opportunities to enhance work through collaboration with non-traditional partners and the enhancement of existing networks to reduce the impacts of climate change on the most vulnerable. A deeper understanding of how climate change and extreme weather events can affect communities will enable civil society and governments to develop stronger risk reduction programmes. No one organization can stand alone and "do it all". Different organizations bring different qualities and strengths to the table: for the Red Cross Red Crescent, this includes its strong community-based risk reduction approaches, while for others it will be things such as understanding of and communication on the issue. The way forward Addressing climate risk in the broader context of people's lives and the challenges they face is important. Climate change is here now and will continue to threaten the work being done to reduce people's vulnerability unless it is factored it into that work. Temperature levels are continuing to rise, and the potential impacts in this century will be unprecedented in human history and will need to be addressed through a multisectoral approach. The Red Cross Red Crescent's strength lies in its links to communities and volunteer networks, which are well placed to be part of that solution. This is not to say that ordinary work should be "relabelled" as climate change adaptation. Rather, it means that across the board there is a need to scale up efforts to address climate risk, and with the right collaborations there are many tried and tested methods to help achieve that. Source: Rebecca McNaught, UN/ISDR INFORMS DISASTER REDUCTION IN ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE 04, 2009

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90 Disaster Reduction in Asia & Pacific ISDR INFORMS A magazine from International Strategy for Disaster Reduction covering the field of disaster prevention and mitigation for all people of Asia and Pacific region. Subscriptions To subscribe to Disaster Reduction in Asia & Pacific: ISDR Informs Please send your full name, institution or organization for which you work, and address or P.O. Box to the following address: Isdr-bkk@un.org Subscriptions are completely free. The magazine is available on-line at Please also visit: Disaster Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean Disaster Reduction in Africa International Strategy for Disaster Reduction UN/ISDR Asia and the Pacific C/o UNESCAP UN Conference Centre Building Rajdamnern Nok Avenue Bangkok 10200, Thailand