|
| CPR Newsletter: Securing development, peace and justice for all | |
|
Reducing risk of natural disasters Asia has long been recognized as the most natural disaster-prone region in the world. The December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami highlighted the need for countries to examine ways of reducing the impact of natural disasters in their communities and better managing them when they occur. UNDP has been helping national and local officials mitigate the effects of floods, cyclones and earthquakes through capacity-building efforts. Following the December 2004 tsunami, UNDP’s Regional Centre in Bangkok responded to the increased technical assistance needs of the affected countries with Crisis Prevention and Recovery’s (CPR’s) Regional Programme on Capacity Building for Sustainable Recovery and Risk Reduction. Launched in November 2005, the programme is working with UNDP country offices and disaster management agencies in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, India and Thailand to develop national capacity to better manage and recover from future disasters. The Regional Programme is supporting the development of end-to-end early warning systems and has, to date, provided training opportunities to more than 50 national experts in tsunami-affected countries. It is also assisting disaster management agencies in enhancing their abilities to manage information and make better decisions through the creation of databases of past disasters and available resources. The Regional Programme is supporting the creation of historical databases of natural disasters going back 30 years to assess patterns over time. These historical databases are intended to generate analytical reports to help local officials design better policies to mitigate the risks of future natural disasters. The programme is also setting up databases in the Maldives and Sri Lanka to keep a record of available resources and equipment, which the authorities can quickly deploy in the case of a natural disaster. In support of end-to-end early warning systems, trainings on multi-hazard risk mapping were provided in 2006 to officials that work directly with communities. In Sri Lanka, 18 disaster management experts were trained in 9 different districts. Meanwhile in the Maldives, a group of 20 representatives, of which 10 were women from non-governmental organizations, were introduced to disaster preparedness issues and discussed ways to better engage their communities on the issues. Last May, the Regional Programme also sponsored the participation of five national early warning systems experts from the tsunami-affected countries to attend the first Pacific Ocean Tsunami Drill in the Philippines. An assessment study of current institutional and legislative systems for disaster risk management in beneficiary countries is also underway and will pave the way for recommendations on how national officials can strengthen the legal basis for early warning systems in each country.
|
Quick
Links... Newsletter
Home Send
us Your Feedback! What do you
think of this article? If you have suggestions on impelementing these
best practices, recommendations for related reading, or other ideas, let
us know.
|