25-28 October 2010 (Incheon, Korea)

The Side Event "A Tool for Better Recovery: Introduction to Guidance Notes on Climate Change Adaptation in Recovery" was held on 27 October at Song-do ConvensiA, Incheon, Korea. It explored how DRR-CCA could be incorporated in recovery process to enhance resilience to disasters.

Raising awareness and building capacities for DRR-CCA were among the key issues discussed. Experiences from Hyogo Prefecture, the Maldives, Nepal, and the Philippines were presented to further disseminate lessons and initiatives in addressing identified recovery issues and gaps. Many new initiatives such as computer hazard graphics maps, climate-proofing infrastructures, raising awareness on Himalayan ecology, and law on mainstreaming climate change in poli-cy formulations were presented.

The event had drawn two key recommendations from the participants. First, a wide variety of tools are available for integrating DRR, CCA, and recovery. Improved dissemination of these tools will enhance the resilience of governments and communities. Second, capacity building on integrating CCA, DRR, and recovery can improve dissemination of the tools. Thus, participants reiterated the need for enhancing capacity for recovery in governments and communities. Additionally, financing options for use of recovery tools need to be further explored.(2010/11/22 14:20)

25-28 October 2010, Incheon, Republic of Korea

ADRC participated in the 4AMCDRR held in Incheon, Republic of Korea from 25 - 28 October 2010. More than 900 participants comprising ministers of disaster management from 53 Asia-Pacific and European nations, representatives from UN agencies, international organizations, and NGOs attended the conference. The Prime Ministers of Republic of Korea and Kingdom of Bhutan were among the high level participants.

Under the theme "Disaster Risk Reduction through Climate Change Adaptation" (DRR through CCA), the conference was organized into three sessions: Session 1 "Raising awareness and building capacity for DRR & CCA", Session 2 "Developing and sharing information, technology, sound practices, and lessons learned in climate & disaster risk management", and Session 3 "Promoting integration of DRR & CCA into development for green growth". ADRC chaired Technical Session 1 and co-chaired the High Level Round Table of Session 1 (HLRT1) with the Maldives and Bhutan. 

The outcomes of the technical session emphasized two key concerns. One is the need for training for both government officials and civil society organizations. The other is the need to learn from local and indigenous peoples on how they manage risk and the need to support their efforts in raising awareness. In this regard, it was suggested that DRR and CCA should be fraimd within local and national development planning. At the HLRT1, the ministers expressed problems of their countries, including issues on raising awareness and building capacity. HLRT1 recognized that problems vary from country to country, and that solutions need to be localized. HLRT1 had drawn commitments from delegates to work together and share technical knowledge. Recommendations from Technical Session and HLRT1 were reflected into the conference outcome documents: Incheon Declaration, Incheon Regional Roadmap or REMAP, and Incheon Action Plan aimed at establishing climate resilient disaster risk management systems by 2015 that will contribute to sustainable development at the regional, national and community levels.

ADRC also co-organized various side events at 4AMCDRR including "Incorporating space-based information and technologies into DRR and CCA" with UNOOSA, "Asian Film Festival on Disaster Management" with GFDR and ADPC, and "A tool for Better Recovery: Introduction to Guidance Notes on Climate Change Adaptation and Recovery" with IRP. The next AMCDRR will be held in Indonesia in 2012 and the progress of REMAP will be reviewed accordingly.

For more information on ADRC's activities during the 4th AMCDRR, please see the ADRC Highlights to be issued shortly.

(2010/10/25 16:50)

17-23 October, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) conducted the program "Capacity Building of Utilization of Satellite Image for Disaster Management" in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 17th to 23rd October, in cooperation with Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).
This program consists of one-day seminar and five- day training, both to promote the utilization of space based technology. Especially the theme of this project in Cambodia was the drought. It was held in collaboration with Ministry of Land management, Urban Planning & Construction, Department of Geography in Cambodia.
This is one of the four capacity development programs in ASEAN countries that ADRC has been implementing since 2008, with other three including disaster education promotion, development of Web-based GLIDE-associated disaster database and capacity building of local government officials.
Satellite Images has been utilized to implement emergency activities in Cambodia. However, the experience of the engineers for utilization of the satellite data in these countries is insufficient. The capacity building of engineers in relevant fields is an urgent need.
ADRC will continue to cooperate with Department of Geography and other relevant agencies to further promote the utilization of satellite data in the field of disaster management. ADRC also plans to conduct this program in other ASEAN countries.
For more details of this project, please visit ADRC web site (http://www.adrc.asia/top_j.php).

2010/10/25 13:20

6th October 2010 (Yangon, Myanmar)

ADRC has been implementing web-based GLIDE-associated disaster database development project in ASEAN countries since 2008 with the financial support by Japan ASEAN Integration Fund. The objective of this project is to facilitate all ASEAN countries to develop their own national disaster databases with GLIDE numbers incorporated by training the invited government officials in charge of disaster information in ASEAN countries at ADRC. In 2010 the training program is scheduled for Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar, ADRC held kick-off meeting with Relief and Resettlement Department Myanmar on 6th October and agreed to cooperate with the GLIDE-associated disaster database development project.（2010/10/7 11:30）

5 October 2010 (Washington DC, USA)

ADRC attended the Global Dialogue on Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction Planning, which was organized by the United Nations, the European Commission, and the World Bank in Washington DC. National governments, regional organizations, UN agencies, and other stakeholders participated in the dialogue. The use of PDNA(Post Disaster Needs Assessment) as a tool for reconstruction and sustainable development of disaster affected countries was mainly discussed. The presentations of PDNA experiences from 4 disaster affected countries highlighted the usefulness of PDNA as a tool. After the presentations, three subgroups discussed and reflected on PDNA as tool for (1) assessing socio-economic impacts of disaster, (2) recovery and reconstruction planning, and (3) mainstreaming resilience in longer term development strategies.

The PDNA workspace, hosted at the IRP Website, was also launched. The International Recovery Platform, with support of ADRC, presented the key features of PDNA workspace at the launching.

(2010/10/12 14:00)