office of the Executive Director

Dear Readers,

2005 has been a very eventful year for ADPC with many on-going projects and training activities. With this issue we are happy to announce the launch of a new project on Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Programme with funding support from USAID.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all ADPC’s supporters and partners and would also like to thank all those who have been providing us with valuable comments and inputs. On behalf of ADPC, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year, 2006.

Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ACTIVITIES

ADPC partners with IRG-Tetra Tech on the USAID Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Programme (December)
The United States government has launched the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) programme in response to the December 2004 tsunami disaster. This two-year programme will contribute to the development of integrated early warning and mitigation systems that allow countries in the Indian Ocean region to detect and prepare for tsunamis and related coastal hazards. The programme involves a number of key specialised expertises in tsunami warning and disaster management, namely USAID/ NOAA, USGS, USTDA, and USDA Forest Service. International Resources Group (IRG) and Tetra Tech, Inc. will provide overall support to the U.S. programme as its "Lead Programme Integrator" contractor. IRG-Tetra Tech's principal sub-contractor, ADPC will contribute additional on-the-ground technical resources.

Capacity Building Programme - Ranong Livelihood Programme, Ranong – (December 19-22)
ADPC in partnership with AIT, University of Rhode Island and DDPM is launching a Capacity Building Programme (CBP) – Ranong Livelihood Programme to address the capacity building needs to be carried out that engages DDPM, local government and the affected communities to develop the awareness of risk and the skills, tools and materials required to manage the risks identified. The objectives of the programme are to create an understanding of CBDRM for resilient communities among provincial and local government officials and participating affected-communities; to train selected individuals in CBDRM methods and tools for programs in Ranong and beyond including local trainers and DDPM officials; to prepare CBDRM handbook; to prepare improved community layouts and hazard response plans, and to provide to communities and local officials first responder skills. The CBP will be carried out through a series of capacity building events starting December.

EVENTS

Visit to ADPC for the Delegation of Church of South India Diaconal Ministry, Bangkok, (November 28-30)
ADPC invited a group consisting of 8 officials from Church of South India Diaconal Ministry for a study visit on damages of the tsunami and the emergency response and reconstruction in Thailand. The group also visited Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior and made a field visit to tsunami affected areas in Phuket.

Public Extramural Lecture to Commemorate the Memorial of the Tsunami, Bangkok (December 13)
To commemorate the memorial of the tsunami, ADPC in partnership with AIT is organising extramural public lecture by Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan, MD, Director of Central Institute of Forensic Science, Thailand on December 13, 2005. Dr. Porntip is an independent, outspoken, leading authority in the forensic pathology. The lecture will focus on Dr. Porntip’s personal experiences and lessons learnt from the Tsunami, approaches to disaster preparedness and mitigation, volunteer’s role and the need for capacity building of volunteers and expectations and challenges of forensic science as a research activity.

Tsunami Poster Competition: Creativity for Awareness, Bangkok (December 16)
ADPC in partnership with Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning (DPT), National Housing Authority (NHA), Chulalongkorn University, UNDP, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDMP), Mahidol University, The Nation, Thammasat University and Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) is organising a poster competition on 16 December to commemorate the December 2004 tsunami catastrophe. The event is open for all high school and graduate student communities in Bangkok in order to raise awareness among the youth to enhance disaster risk management knowledge and skills and to reduce the impact of disasters upon communities. The event will be held at the premises of the Chulalongkorn University.

WORKSHOPS/TRAINING

International Conference on Philanthropy in Disasters: TSUNAMI and After, Phuket (November 29)
ADPC participated in the international conference on Philanthropy in Disasters: TSUNAMI and After held in Phuket on November 29. The main objective of the conference is to develop action programmes related to regional resource mobilization, and regional advocacy for multisectoral efforts in natural disasters. Country-specific programmes were pursued to enhance community-level disaster preparedness and to increase effectiveness of in-country philanthropic contributions. ADPC Executive Director attended the conference and made presentation on Disaster Preparedness: Mitigating Risk and Impact and Learning/Re-learning Responses to Disasters.

Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) Course, Afghanistan, (November 29 – December 21)
The CBDRM training course commenced from 29th November 2005 for local government officials of the Government of Afghanistan. ADPC’s CBDRM course run regularly with the aim of institutionalising community based disaster risk management in the policy, planning and implementation of the government ministries and departments and that of the donors in target countries. This is the last activity of the current phase of the Training and Capacity Building Project being launched jointly by ADPC with InWent, Germany. Development of 575 trained human resources in the government ministries was one of the key focus areas of the project.

Provincial Training on Development and Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programmes at Provincial and District Levels, Cambodia (November 30 – December 1)
ADPC conducted training on Development and Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programmes at Provincial and District Levels in Kratie province of Cambodia. 32 participants from the Kratie Provincial Committee for Disaster Management, representing its various member line departments, such as provincial water resources management department, provincial health department, provincial department on agriculture and rural development, provincial education department, provincial department on public works, etc., as well as from partner NGOs attended the training.

Nutrition for Children & Mothers in Disasters (NCM), Teheran, (December 3-14)
ADPC in partnership with Ministry of Health, Iran and UNICEF is conducting a capacity development programme for MoH addressing the nutritional needs of children and mothers in disaster affected areas. The programme aims to develop a plan of action for a training curriculum. The programme expects to train 50 nutritionist in management of nutrition programmes in disasters who will further train other health staffs in their provinces.

National Workshop on CBDRM Good Practice Criteria, Impact Indicators, and Criteria to Determine Family and Community Vulnerability to Natural Disasters Indonesia, (December 7-8)
The national workshop on CBDRM will focus on development of national standards on community based disaster risk management. In the workshop, criteria and indicators for assessment of vulnerability at family and community levels will be developed. It is expected that the formulation of these standards will help to improve the practice of CBDRM in Indonesia.

Crisis Management Course (CMC) in Krabi (December 7-16), Trang (December 17-19)
Crisis Management Courses are the series of training courses being offered to government officials from DDPM in different provinces affected by Tsunami. This month, ADPC is organising two training courses on Crisis Management with the funding support from UNDP in Krabi (CMC 3) and Trang (CMC 4) province of Thailand. The aim of the training course is to reduce the likelihood of crisis, minimise the harm caused by a crisis event and continuously improve its crisis management ability.

Provincial Consultative Workshop, Cambodia (December 12-13)
ADPC is organising a provincial consultative workshop in Prey Veng province of Cambodia, for the finalization of "Provincial Flood Preparedness Plan". The workshop participants include provincial member departments of Prey Veng Provincial Committee for Disaster Management. Around 30 participants will take part in the workshop and they will review and provide inputs regarding the provincial flood preparedness plans that have been developed for Prey Veng.

Provincial Training on Development and Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programmes at Provincial and District Levels, Vietnam (December 19-20)
ADPC is conducting training on Development and Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programmes at Provincial and District Levels in Cantho province of Vietnam. Approximately around 32 participants are expected to attend the training representing various member departments from the Cantho Provincial Committee on Flood and Storm Control. 2 representatives each from An GIan and Dong Thap provinces will also be invited to participate.

District Consultative Workshops, Cambodia (December 29-30)
ADPC is organising two day district consultative workshops in Peam Chor District and Prey Veng Province of Cambodia for the finalization of "District Flood Preparedness Plan". The workshop participants include district member departments of Peam Chor District Committee for Disaster Management. Around 30 participants will take part in the workshop and they will review and provide inputs regarding the district flood preparedness plans that have been developed for Peam Chor.

Workshop on CBDRM Standards in Timor Leste (January 5-6)
A two-day national workshop on CBDRM standards, impact indicators and vulnerability criteria is scheduled to take place in Dili, Timor Leste on January 5-6, 2006. The purpose of this workshop is to contribute to the improvement in the practice of community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) in the countries of South East Asia through providing guidelines to decision makers and practitioners for designing, implementing and evaluating the community-based initiatives and projects.