Editorial Dear Readers, ADPC launched its first Regional Training Course on End to End Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems in Bangkok, Thailand on the 15 Sep 2008. The two weeks course is being attended by 23 participants from 16 countries in Asia, Africa, and Central America. The course builds on the capacity of participants to design, manage, evaluate and undertake improvements in people-centered end-to-end early warning systems for hydro-meteorological & geological hazards and extreme events. The training program includes three workshops, field visits to key national agencies in Thailand as part of an institutional landscaping exercise for early warning systems, and a visit to Uttaradit Province to study landslide disaster mitigation and preparedness activities, including the landslide early warning systems, which is spearheaded by the Thailand Department of Mineral Resources. ADPC is also undertaking the implementation of several new activities. ADPC will develop the training materials for disaster risk reduction for coastal zone managers. The UNEP funded project will aim to build capacities of Mangroves for the Future (MFF) National Coordinating Bodies, technical institutions and implementation partners in the three EC AIDCO target countries: India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The immediate goal is to bring basic awareness of DRR to MFF project designers and implementers. The long term goal is to strengthen the role of existing technical institutions to provide risk reduction training and other services to coastal zone and disaster risk managers. ADPC is undertaking the preparation of a World Bank (WB) funded background paper for the assessment on the economics of Disaster Risk Reduction. ADPC has deployed its staff in three recent disaster struck countries, Myanmar, China and India, to carry out damage and need assessments and various post disaster recovery programme initiatives. I am pleased to inform you that the Disaster Policy and Preparedness department of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has invited Mr. S H M Fakhruddin, ADPC technical specialist in the editorial board for the 2009 edition of the World Disasters Report focusing on early warning and early response. Please browse through our website www.adpc.net for more ADPC news updates, publications, events and training calendar for 2008. I now inform you about our activities for the month of August 2008. Dr. Bhichit Rattakul Executive Director Asian Disaster Preparedness Center ADPC in action ADPC with partners facilitate end-to-end CFAB-FFWC flood forecast information sharing in Sirajgonj, Aug 08 ADPC has initiated a pre-flood rapid situation assessment initiative. ADPC is presently engaged in facilitation of an end-to-end flood forecast information sharing and situation assessment with partner agencies.  In late August 08, when the flood peak is forecasted in Jamuna river and other basins in Bangladesh, Sirajgonj and Gaibandha districts of the flood risk districts of the country, ADPC with its national and local level partners in Bangladesh, (FFWC, BWDB, CEGIS, IWM, MoWR, CARE, CDMP (DMIN)) have actively engaged in the pre-flood activities. Taking an end-to-end approach of flood information from the local level, ADPC has established a presence at both national and local levels and has shared the CFAB-FFWC forecasting information with communities. Both District Administration and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) have appreciated the CFAB-FFWC flood forecasting information and have started taking immediate action within their capacity.   Consultative meeting on Typhoon Track Map The National Hydro Meteorological Services (NHMS) of Vietnam and ADPC organized a consultative meeting under the Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters in Southeast Asia   (ECRSEA) to discuss and update the existing Typhoon Track Map into a risk communication tool for typhoon/storm warning.  As a preparatory activity, NHMS and ADPC conducted a series of consultations and discussions with fisher folks and local authorities in the pilot provinces on their current knowledge and understanding of typhoon/storm warning its associated uncertainties, their perceptions and information needs.   The consultative meeting was chaired by the Director General, NHMS with the participation of experts from various departments of NHMS. As a next step, the feedback from the fishing community will be sought and the map will be updated and shared with broader national and provincial stakeholders for comments.   Testing of the community disaster risk reduction training standardized curriculum, 1-8 Aug, Islamabad, Pakistan In partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (RC/RC) Societies- South Asia Regional Delegation (SARD), ADPC has developed a consultation version of a standardized Community Disaster Risk Reduction training curriculum, which integrates community-based disaster risk reduction approaches and the RC/RC Movement's volunteering policy, strategy and methodology.  As the next step, ADPC senior staff under its Disaster management systems team conducted the first testing of the three curriculums to review and verify relevance and applicability. In the first stage of the testing there were initially 30 participants, 25 from Pakistan and five from Afghanistan, representing a number of National Societies. The workshop sessions provided valuable guidance on how to further refine the curriculum and enhance the participants’ skills relating to risks reduction. A Technical Working Group composed of senior representatives from the Delegation and National Societies in South Asia will provide inputs to supplement the materials presented and give suggestions on how to better facilitate the learning process. Based on the outcomes of the three testings, ADPC will develop jointly with SARD training supporting materials (trainer’s guide, participant’s guide training and IEC materials) for DRR practitioners in National Societies and other partner agencies in South Asia in close cooperation with the Federation Consultant.  This initiative aims to support field practitioners of the National Societies of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the IFRC office in Maldives in improving the overall quality and impact of the DRR training programmes outputs in South Asia. The curriculum will be useful to other national societies and federation delegations from other regions.  Priority implementation partnership on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into housing sector, 6-8 Aug, Sri Lanka The Priority Implementation Partnership (PIP) on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into housing sector in Sri Lanka was initiated in partnership with Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights and Disaster Management Center of Sri Lanka with support from AusAID.   The PIP being implemented under the umbrella of the RCC Program on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction, aims to integrate hazard resilient features into housing sector policies, plans and programs and in the process strengthen the partnership between the Ministry of Housing and Common Amenities and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, thereby contributing towards the implementation of the Road Map for Disaster Risk Management in Sri Lanka by increasing disaster resilience in the Housing Sector.   The initial planning mission of the PIP was undertaken in Colombo, and based on which the scope of work of this initial phase of the PIP was detailed out. It is proposed that the PIP be led by the Disaster Management Center (DMC) under the guidance of Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights and implemented by forming a technical working group set up with representatives from various concerned agencies. The  DMC, Ministry of Housing and Common Amenities and sub-departments including the National Housing Development Authority, Ministry of Urban Development, the Urban Development Authority, National Physical Planning Department, Coast Conversation Department, Central Environmental Authority, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation, Ministry of Local Government; and technical agencies such as the National Building Research Organizations and other stakeholders involved in Housing development and regulation.   Hope Philippines - CDP’s new partner in Child Oriented CBDRR, 6-7 Aug Hope Philippines focuses on Children during disasters. Training included concepts of CBDRM, Child Oriented Participatory Risk Assessment & Planning and other CBDRR principles and tools. The participants produced a puppet show on DRM for kids to be used for advocacy for children in schools and in the community.    Inspection of sea level stations equipment, 13-16 Aug, Vietnam ADPC visited Vietnam to inspect and conduct an inventory of sea level stations equipment in Qui Non and Vong Tau. These equipments were installed under the Sea Level Stations Project funded by UNESCAP.    Evaluation and lessons learning review of the Government of India and UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme, 17 Aug ADPC in partnership with SEEDS India is undertaking the Evaluation of the Government of India UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme which is being implemented over a period of six years (2002-2008) in 169 multi-hazard prone districts spread across 17 States of India. The Inception mission of the evaluation took place in New Delhi in end of July 2008, and the first phase of the field visit started from the 17 of August 2008. The evaluation is meant to provide outcome analysis of the project activities carried out in 14 out of 17 States of the Programme as well as forward looking recommendations for future strategy for consideration of Government of India, the State Governments, UNDP and other stakeholders in India.   Strengthening implementation of food preparedness programs at provincial, district and commune levels in the lower Mekong Basin, 27 Aug-24 Sep 08 Project start-up meetings for “Strengthening Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programs at Provincial, District and Commune Levels in the Lower Mekong Basin” took place in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam with support from ECHO (Phase IV) and “Flood Emergency Management Strengthening” in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and Thailand with support from GTZ (Phase II).   The start-up meeting for Cambodia was held in Phnom Penh on 27-28 August; in Vientiane and Thaksek town in Lao PDR on 2 & 4 Sep; in Bangkok, Thailand on 9 Sep; and in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on 23-24 Sep.   Officials from National Mekong Committees, National Disaster Management Offices, Government Departments, National Red Cross Societies, and other agencies are among the national/provincial level participants. The meeting objectives are to discuss overall activities, roles and responsibilities of partners, and overall approaches to be taken at the national level.  ADPC facilitated CFAB and FFWC flood forecasting information sharing at community level, 30 Aug, Bangladesh ADPC has taken immediate steps to share the CFAB-FFWC flood forecasting information at the community level in Kazuri union of Sirajgonj district. In a community level consultation session, the latest flood forecast information was shared with over 60 representatives of the local government, union disaster management committee, members of civil societies and vulnerable groups. Local communities have shown a great deal of enthusiasm, appreciation and expressed the need to receive the CFAB and FFWC flood forecast information on a regular basis with increased lead time. In the community, it was observed that the local government is effectively engaged in the cell phone based SMS public notification system of the flood forecast information. This information is then locally interpreted and then preparedness measures are considered. Flag hoisting system is also seen operational as a public dissemination mode in the community.   PROMISE Updates: PROMISE- Indonesia undertook mapping of hazard study and vulnerability assessment which included completed activities such as data collection, project site  selection, analysis for Hazard and Vulnerability Assessment. Mapping of Flood Preparedness  and Mitigation initiatives and programs are underway. More PROMISE updates from the Disaster Mitigation in Asia, Issue No. 62, Aug 2008 Here. Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) updates: Contingency planning for earthquake hazard: Agency level meetings were held in August to present the template and to assist in developing a contingency plan for the Disaster Management Bureau (DMB), Department of Relief and Rehabilitation (DRR), Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Fire Services and Civil Defense and Dhaka City Corporation.  Seismic Hazard and Vulnerability Mapping:  Field work for both Hazard & Vulnerability assessments such as boring work, PS logging test, active fault and shallow seismic survey, micro tremor survey, building survey, ambient vibration test, etc was carried out in August. To transfer technology to local professionals, three seminars (presentation and demonstrations) was organized for fault modeling and microtremor studies, PS logging and Ambient Vibration test. Training, Advocacy and Awareness for Earthquake and Tsunami Hazards: Consultation and coordination meeting with Islamic Foundation of Bangladesh has been carried out to get feedback on the training materials for religious leaders.  Training materials have been developed for training managers of critical infrastructure and for teachers on school safety and evacuation. Training and Learning Training cum workshop for Information and knowledge management in disaster risk reduction, 3-5 Aug, Iran ADPC conducted the workshop in association with UNDP Iran with the prime objective to help UNDP formulate a strategy for pooling the local resources and knowledge for earthquake disaster management in close consultation with various local stakeholders. The focus was also to provide common platform for various agencies involved in earthquake disaster management activities to share their knowledge database and enhance their capabilities. Twenty-five officials from various agencies representing science and technology departments, UNDP, government agencies participated in the workshop.   Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) training, 2-8 Aug, Pakistan IFRC SAARC training on CBDRR for field practitioners of RC National Societies was held in Islamabad, Pakistan with 27 participants. Key modules included CBDRR: Framework for reducing risk, participatory disaster risk assessment, development of CBDRR plans, building and training community-based disaster risk management organizations, community-managed actions, participatory monitoring and evaluation, case writing on CBDRR, advocacy for sustaining CBDRR initiatives, and planning for community re-entry. Training programme on developing contingency plans for MENA countries, 8-12 Aug, Turkey ADPC conducted the training cum workshop for Red Cross and Red Crescent societies of MENA region at Ankara, Turkey with 22 representatives from four countries, Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Turkey. The principal objective of the workshop was to facilitate national societies from Jordan, Palestine, Jordan and Turkey to understand the guidelines issued by IFRC, to understand the approach for contingency planning for the earthquake, to create awareness among societies for disaster response strategy, to develop a platform for sharing good practices and knowledge about disaster management and to facilitate developing action plans for disaster management activities. Training on forecast applications for Polder user community water management, 8 Aug, Cambodia Under the Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters in Southeast Asia   (ECRSEA) project, a one-day training on forecast applications for Polder User Community (PUC), Prey Nup Polders was organized in Prey Nup District, Sihanoukville. Experts from the Department of Meteorology and GRET trained fourteen representatives from PUC on weather and climate in Cambodia, understanding and interpreting short range weather forecast information (3-5 days), and integrating forecast information into existing water management plan. The training aimed to enable the Polder User Community to use localized risk based forecast information products made available under the ECRSEA project,  assist their efforts to maintain the optimum water level inside the polder region and mitigate the impacts of floods, droughts during extreme rainfall events.    Disaster Risk Management, 10-20 Aug, Maldives 2-week course on Disaster Risk Management was organized by WHO Maldives in Naifaru Atoll for the staff of Ministry of Health. 23 participants from different hospitals and health center attended the course.   National Climate Training, 11-15 Aug, Philippines  The National Climate Training (NCT) in the Philippines was successfully concluded with 35 graduates representing national agencies, local government units, non-governmental organizations, and private organizations. Held in Tagaytay City, Philippines, the NCT is a part of a broader effort to build the capacity of institutions to manage climate-related risks under the Climate Forecast Applications (CFA) for Disaster Mitigation Program. The CFA program is a collaborative undertaking of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, international, and local partners with support from the United States Agency for International Development Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA). The summary training report  can be found here. 3rd regional course on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in Local Governance (MDRRG), 1-5 Sep, Philippines ADPC conducted the third regional training course on MDRRG with 19 participants from Pakistan, Indonesia and Philippines. The programme was jointly conducted by ADPC and CDP, Philippines. The course sensitized a cadre of local government professionals and development partners on issues posed by the recurrent hazards. The course enhanced knowledge and capacities of local urban authorities, associated NGOs and other stakeholders in streamlining disaster risk reduction in urban development. Training participants with PAGASA officials and ADPC representatives ADPC Website Resources ADPC’s paper titled, Urban Congestions and Hydro-meteorological Hazards in Secondary Cities in Asia at the IDRC Davos 2008.   Natural Disaster Mitigation Partnership (NDMP), Vietnam Newsletter Vol. 7, 2008 features the Working group meeting of program for hydro-meteorological disaster mitigation in secondary cities in Asia organized by ADPC, NDMP and CECI in Danang, Vietnam. 15-17 July 2008    Tropical Coasts, December 2007 features article on disaster risk reduction in Asia – emerging trends and solutions by Mr. N.M.S.I Arambepola, Director, ADPC   PROMISE-Philippines featured in Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR 2008 The publication "Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk Reduction: Good Practices and Lessons Learned from experiences in the Asia-pacific Region", is published by UNISDR with the assistance of the European Union.  It aims to build awareness of indigenous knowledge as an effective tool for reducing risk from natural disasters.  PROMISE-Philippines is featured as the case study, “Combining Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge in the Dagupan City Flood Warning System” written by Lorna P. Victoria.  To download, please go to: http://www.unisdr.org/indigenous_knowledge-drr. Forthcoming Activities       Regional training course on Flood Disaster Risk Management (FDRM-9), 6-17 October 2008, Bangkok, Thailand Download brochure here The FDRM-9 has been designed to meet vital concerns of most Asian nations to combat the perennial problem of floods and the resultant destruction. The course offers an integrated approach for dealing with this situation. The course will also expose the learners to globally acknowledged practices for dealing with Flood Disaster Risk Management. Experts from a number of different countries and organizations will complement the ADPC faculty in conducting the course.  The course has six modules that impart information and skills in flood problem analysis, understanding and appreciation of the various approaches to flood risk reduction, determination of appropriateness of strategies and measures to achieve the desired goal of flood risk reduction. The training methodology includes interactive lectures, workshops, individual work, case studies, plenary sessions, panel discussions and field visit activities.   Please share the information with colleagues and partner organization networks. Participants interested to attend the course are requested to fill in the ADPC Training Application Form. Please download the application from of all the above courses from the ADPC website www.adpc.net. Should you need any further information related to the courses, pls contact us at tedadpc@adpc.net or call us at (+66-2) 298 0681-92.   Hospital Emergency Preparedness and Response  (HEPR-6), 20-24 Oct, Bangkok, Thailand Download brochure here The HEPR is a five-day course which is designed to assist health personnel, both administrative and medical, to prepare health care facilities and personnel to respond effectively to internal or community emergencies that involve large numbers of casualties. The course will enable course participants to develop well designed facility-specific plans to respond to emergencies. Upon completion of the course, the participants will be able to: Describe the role of health care facilities in disaster management Apply a method of assessing components of a health care facility. Simulate a mass casualty incident addressing the roles and responsibilities of each component of Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS). Discuss the basic medical requirements of managing mass casualty incidents. Apply on-site medical care concepts to specific emergency situations. Prepare an outline of a health care facility disaster preparedness plan including response and recovery. 2nd Regional Training Course on Climate Risk Management: Science, Institutions, and Society, 17-28 Nov 2008, Bangkok, Thailand The Regional Training Course builds on the capacity of professionals to manage risks associated with climate variability, change, and extremes. It builds upon the ADPC’s two decades of experience in disaster management, facilitating regional cooperation and building capacities of disaster management institutions at all government levels, disaster management practitioners and communities, and a decade of experience in institutionalizing climate information applications for disaster mitigation. It incorporates case studies and sectoral examples from ADPC’s climate risk management programs and projects all over Asia. Upon completing the course, participants will be able to: design early warning systems for climate-related risks; design climate risk management, climate forecast applications, and climate change adaptation projects, and develop tools to integrate climate risk management practices into development programs and policies. The first CRM course offering was completed in May 2008 with 27 participants from 14 countries.  Kindly see the course brochure for more information here or email Kareff M. Rafisura at kareff@adpc.net. Registration is ongoing. Due to the limited number of participants that can be admitted to the course, early registration is recommended.     ADPC delivers a 3 credit course, titled “Managing the Disasters” for a required master degree program on Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM) for Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok from August-October 2008.   International Study Tour, hosted by GTZ-Indonesia and ADPC,  15-17 Oct, Yogyakarta, Indonesia  in collaboration with Asian Development Bank, CARE, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Rescue Committee, GTZ Indonesia and ADPC. The tour highlights will include: Presentation and discussion session led by GTZ Indonesia on its project in school-based awareness raising and life-skills development in Indonesia Field visit to project site in Bali and discussion session with project beneficiaries (school children, teachers, etc.) Discussion workshop on approaches to awareness-raising and behaviour change within the context of community-based AHI management The study tour will promote: Learning from the experience of and lessons identified by GTZ Indonesia in school-based awareness-raising and life-skills development in Indonesia Understanding of issues and priorities in working with school children in the context of AHI management in Asia Identification of successes and challenges of different approaches to behavior change and life-skills development, through discussions between study tour participants and with project beneficiaries Identification of key lessons for community-based AHI management, that can be shared with other organizations and practitioners throughout Asia Sharing of experience between practitioners from different countries involved in community-based management of AHI Regional capacity-building workshop for community-based management of AHI, managed by ADPC, 27-31 Oct, Bangkok, Thailand The training workshop  in collaboration with  Asian Development Bank, CARE, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Rescue Committee and ADPC will sensitize community-level practitioners to tools and processes that are currently available to strengthen their work at the community level in managing different aspects of AHI. Practitioners will be given an overview of 'good practices' and useful tools and methods for community-based management of AHI. Case studies, group discussions, and activities will stimulate critical thinking about how these tools and methods can be adapted and applied in their own contexts to strengthen projects in community-based management of AHI. Themes that will be addressed in the workshop are: Community-level research and assessments Communication for health promotion through behavior and social change Safe and sustainable small-scale poultry production and trade Community-level surveillance and reporting of AHI Community-level emergency preparedness ADPC with Disaster Management Center will organize a Coastal Community Resilience (CCR) training workshop on 19 Sep 2008 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  ADPC with Department of Agricultural Extension and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) delivers a local level training on Livelihoods Adaptation to Climate Change in Bangladesh from 23-24 Sep 2008 in northern Bangladesh.