Editorial
Dear Readers, Greetings from Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC). The Regional Community-based Avian-Human Influenza (AHI) management practitioner’s workshop is presently underway in Bangkok. The workshop, scheduled from 10-13 March will share case studies identified from the ADB-funded project ‘Strengthening Community Based Management of AHI in Asia’ and will consist of examples of activities in community-based management of AHI in Asia. The case studies will also be used as a basis to highlight underlying themes such as community engagement and community participatory processes.  The case studies and the lessons identified will then be collated to become part of a toolkit for community-based management of AHI in Asia. To know more about the project, please visit http://www.adpc.net/communityAHI-Asia/. ADPC proudly announces opening of an office in Dhaka, Bangladesh to coordinate activities for the Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness Program. The office went under operation on 16 February 2008. The inaugural session was attended by Executive Director a.i., ADPC, Mr. Ian Rector, Chief Technical Advisor of Bangladesh Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP), Mr. Saidur Rahman,   Director of Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre (BDPC), Mr. N.M.S.I. Arambepola, Director of Urban Disaster Risk Management (UDRM) and Mr. Aloysius J. Rego, Director of Disaster Management Systems (DMS) from ADPC. ADPC will specifically carry out seismic hazard and vulnerability mapping of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet city corporation area, contingency planning for Earthquake hazard and training, advocacy and awareness raising with regard to Earthquake and Tsunami hazard. I also present the Asian Disaster Management News, September-December 2007: Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Education Sector (to download, please click ). I am further pleased to invite you to browse through our website www.adpc.net for more ADPC news updates, publications, events and training calendar for 2008. On that note, I now inform you about our activities for the month of February 2008.   Dr. Bhichit Rattakul Executive Director a.i. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center  ADPC in action Emergency management planning for schools under the school based disaster risk management project, Sri Lanka The following activities are undertaken with support from GTZ. 20-26 Jan: A mock drill was conducted for pilot schools’ staff and teachers. A consultation meeting with Disaster Management Committee (DMC) officials and other stakeholders was held to discuss on the outcomes of pilot experiences and to assist the schools in finalizing the school emergency plan for the Ministry of Education-Meepe. 1-4 Apr: A one day workshop on “Guidelines for school safety” will be conducted to finalize the draft guidelines for school safety and Meepe emergency plan. This guideline would be utilized as national guidelines for all schools in Sri Lanka.    Tsunami warning center operation assessment, 6-17 Feb, Myanmar ADPC conducted an assessment of the tsunami warning center operation in Mandalay. The activity was undertaken in order to improve the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) of the tsunami early warning system in Myanmar. CONOPS assists national tsunami warning centers (NTWCs) in mapping the operational flow of hazard and non-hazard information between organizations, defines the intra-department reporting relationships within the NTWC, and develops a robust decision-making process for the generation of tsunami warnings.   Brief updates on PROMISE activities The Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE) has demonstration projects in Hyderabad (Pakistan) and Kalutara (Sri Lanka), as well as Chittagong (Bangladesh), Dagupan (Philippines), Da Nang (Viet Nam), and now Jakarta (Indonesia) for Phase 2 of the program.  The program is funded and supported by the US Agency for International Development - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID-OFDA). 14 Feb: PROMISE-Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Institute of Local Government (NILG). NILG is mandated to conduct training courses for local government functionaries, both at the urban and local level.  Two school awareness sessions were held at Ananda Bazar Govt. Primary school for 300 students, and at Halishahor Munshi Govt. Primary school for 350 students and teachers.  A presentation was made on hydro-meteorological hazard, vulnerabilities of school buildings and students during disasters, and measures for school disaster risk reduction.  School disaster management committees comprising teachers, students and parents were formed at the end of the sessions. 16 Feb: PROMISE-Indonesia had a kick-off workshop hosted during the Regional Planning Board meeting of the Jakarta Provincial Government.  Dr. Harkunti Rahayu of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), the PROMISE country partner for Indonesia, presented the strategy for Flood Risk Reduction in Jakarta and Jabotabek Area.  The meeting was attended by all stakeholders in Jakarta province and by representatives from USAID Indonesia.  The workshop resulted in key inputs on the location of demonstration sites, the type of activities, and local champions.   21 Feb: PROMISE-Philippines had a turnover ceremony for the small-scale disaster mitigation projects, public awareness calendars, and first aid kits for trained people from the eight pilot barangays and the City.  Dagupan City Mayor Alipio Fernandez gave a message of thanks and support to the Project, and the program ended with the expression of thanks and commitment from the Barangay Captains.  The Technical Working Group and the Barangay Captains of the pilot communities had a study tour on 28 Feb to Guagua and Minalin municipalities in Pampanga province.  The visit to Guagua’s Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council was to showcase the MDCC’s experience in Disaster Risk Management and the Municipal GIS and how it is used for DRM,  monitioring, community moblization, emergency response, local ordinances, and indigenous mitigation.  The visit to Minalin was to see the Community-Based Disaster Response Organizations, a peoples' organization mobilized by the Pampanga Disaster Response Network. PROMISE-Vietnam held a training class on construction monitoring techniques and a field visit for 18 members of four Community Development Groups.  These training classes on Disaster Preparedness and Building Practices were expanded to six wards of Cam Le district to include risk identification and assessment, development of disaster preparedness plan, and good building practices towards a safer community.  Five more training classes were conducted this month for a total of 19 out of 20 classes proposed by the community; around 150 persons, of which there were 60 women, attended, bringing up the total of 570 grassroots people trained on CBDRM and safer construction techniques. Round table meeting on development of contingency plan, 17 Feb, Bangladesh A round table meeting on the development of contingency plans for major cities in Bangladesh was held in Dhaka. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Abdul Bari Khan, Additional Secretary Ministry of Food and Disaster Management of Bangladesh Government.  Dr. Bhichit Rattakul, Executive Director a.i. of ADPC was present as special guest. Among other guests, Mr. Ian Rector, Chief Technical Advisor of Bangladesh Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP), Br. Gen. Abu Nayeem (Md.) Shahidullah Director General, Directorate of Fire Service and Civil Defense, Bangladesh, Mr. Saidur Rahman, Director of BDPC, Mr. Arambepola, and Mr. Aloysius J. Rego, Directors from ADPC were also present. About 45 experts and officials from 23 agencies and organization participated in the meeting.  The project is funded under the CDMP.   Bangladesh project partners visit ADPC, 20 Feb  The Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Director of Flood Forecasting and Warning Circle at Bangladesh Water Development Board visited ADPC to hold discussions on the ongoing program on “Flood Forecast Technology for Disaster Preparedness” in Bangladesh as well as updates on the ADPC-facilitated Regional Multi-hazard Early Warning System for Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, in which Bangladesh is one of the participating countries. The meeting noted and appreciated the contribution of the ongoing flood forecasting program in Bangladesh in increasing the lead time of flood forecasts and in enhancing institutional and local responses to flood warnings as witnessed during the 2007 flooding.  Discussions on developing flash flood forecast, 23-26 Feb, Bangladesh  ADPC held discussions with Bangladeshi partner institutions, namely the Bangladesh Meteorology Department (BMD), Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC), Institute of Water Modeling (IWM), and SAARC Meteorological Research Centre (SMRC) in order to discuss data availability for the project on developing flash flood forecast for northeast Bangladesh under the Flood Forecast Technology for Disaster Preparedness in Bangladesh project.      Collaboration on curriculum development with Shanghai Fisheries University, 24-25 Feb, China ADPC provided support to Shanghai Fisheries University on the development of curriculum on integrated coastal resource management. The technical inputs were on the integration of disaster risk reduction component into integrated coastal resource management.   Climate forecast applications for disaster mitigation, 25 Feb, Timor-Leste The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of USAID provided support to expand the “Climate Forecast Applications (CFA) for Disaster Mitigation Program” to Timor-Leste. ADPC and the National Directorate for Meteorology and Geophysics of Timor-Leste convened a stakeholder meeting in Dili bringing together 21 stakeholders from various government agencies, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations. The participants formed a National Working Group for Climate Forecast Applications in Timor-Leste in order to guide and spearhead efforts to strengthen the country’s capacity for disaster risk reduction, primarily through the establishment of an end-to-end climate forecast generation and application system. They also agreed on the CFA Timor-Leste project work plan and future collaborative activities.   USAID Bangladesh mission visits ADPC, 7 Mar USAID Bangladesh Mission representative visited ADPC to give a briefing on the ongoing Flood Forecast Technology for Disaster Preparedness in Bangladesh project, which is being implemented by ADPC in partnership with national and international partners, and supported by USAID Bangladesh. ADPC and USAID Bangladesh mission will also discuss the development of early warning system in Bangladesh.   Support implementation of Flood Preparedness Programs at Provincial, District and Commune Levels in Lower Mekong Basin (Phase III): School Flood Safety Program Workshop, 7 Mar, Cambodia One day workshop was held on School Flood Safety Program (SFSP) in Kratie Province, Cambodia in selected 20 schools from the Orientation Sessions, Department of Education Youth and Sports (DoEYS), NGOs and Provincial Committee on Disaster Management (PCDM) of Kratie. The objectives of the workshop were to consolidate the experiences and lessons learnt from the SFSP Orientation sessions, to develop an action plan with PCDM, DoEYS and other line agencies to further conduct flood safety awareness programs in the schools by the teachers as part of regular activity of the school, and to review existing Information, Education, Communication (IEC) materials on flood risk reduction in the country.  National Flood Forum, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat in joint collaboration with the National Mekong Committees (NMCS) and National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOS) of Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam will be organizing National Flood Forum (NFF) in the three project countries. This event is an important activity of the project under Component 4 of Flood Management and Mitigation Programme, supported by European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) and implemented by MRC and ADPC on following dates: 18 Mar - Cambodiana Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 21 Mar - Lao Plaza Hotel, Vientiane, Lao PDR 10 Apr - Tien Giang, Vietnam  The NFF will provide country level forum for the national and provincial agencies to discuss flood management and mitigation initiatives in the countries. It would also provide an opportunity to the NMCS and its line agencies to ensure its contribution to the implementation of the National Strategy for Disaster Management as per commitment to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). Representatives from related national line agencies as well as the provincial authorities, NGOs, UN Agencies and Development partners will also be invited. Training and Learning National Consultation Workshop on Coastal Community Resilience, 15 Feb, Myanmar ADPC, in collaboration with the Myanmar Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, facilitated a national consultation workshop on coastal community resilience in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The workshop brought together forty representatives from government and non-governmental organizations. The Coastal Community Resilience (CCR) initiative promotes tsunami and other hazard readiness through the collaboration of national and local emergency management agencies, coastal managers, training institutions, and local communities. It is part of a broader program on establishing a multi-hazard early warning system for tsunami and hydro-meteorological hazards for Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, which is being facilitated by ADPC and funded by the Regional Tsunami Trust Fund through UNESCAP.  Updates from Partnerships for Disaster Reduction Southeast Asia - (PDRSEA Phase IV)  5th Disaster Management Practitioners (DMP) workshop for South East Asia, 2-4 Apr The workshop theme focuses on Building on the themes of previous DMP workshops held in 2006 and 2007. The 5th DMP workshop will focus on “Sustaining Partnerships: Meeting the Challenges of Scaling-Up CBDRM Programs.” Download Brochure National Advocacy Workshop, 19-20 Mar, Vietnam Based on the experiences gained in implementing PDRSEA IV’s pilot project in Vietnam, a National Advocacy Workshop on the role of local authorities in CBDRM will be organized in collaboration with Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control (CCFSC), UNESCAP and ADPC, with support from DIPECHO.   The workshop will share the experiences of PDRSEA IV with local authorities in order to convince the various stakeholders about the importance of supporting CBDRM strategies. High-level decision makers, local government, donors, UN agencies and NGOs will be invited to the workshop.  Advocacy and pilot implementation project in Education sector in Southeast Asia - Support to the implementation of the Hyogo Framework of Action through RCC’s program on mainstreaming of DRR into development planning and implementation 15–18 Jan, Philippines: Orientation session and pilot testing the DRR module in schools at Basilan province, Mindanao, Philippines was conducted. A total of four teachers from both public and private schools were trained. An evaluation on teaching the DRR module in class rooms was facilitated in the following week at Basilan province. 17– 19 Jan, Cambodia: Training of Trainers (TOT) for 50 teachers from Kratie, Prey Veng and Kandal province were trained on how to teach DRR in class rooms at Pedagogical Research Dept, MoEYS, Phnom Penh. An evaluation on teaching methodologies was organized as part of school safety day activities in pilot schools after the DRR module has been taught to students. Activities involved quizzes, hazard hunts and poster painting to evaluate the students’ learning. 16– 17 Jan, Lao: A Project Working Group meeting was conducted with the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and National Research Institute for Educational Science (NRIES) members to discuss for advocacy workshop preparation and work assignments. A discussion with Urban Research Institute (URI) on 1st draft study paper on impact of disaster on education sector was held.   National Advocacy Workshops 19–20 Mar- Cambodia 26 Mar- Philippines: date and venue to be confirmed by National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) National Advocacy Workshops will be jointly organized by Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS), National Committee Disaster Management (NCDM) and ADPC with support from DIPECHO and UNDP. The objective is to raise public awareness on how investments in risk reduction affects education as well as in disaster resilient school construction could help in minimizing financial losses incurred by MoEYS in the aftermath of a disaster.  The workshops will orient the officials from MoEYS and other related Ministries (Ministry of Planning, Finance and Public Works) and to identify the gaps in the present system of school construction and initiate mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction (DRR) into development policies, planning and implementation.   Workshop on approaches to coastal community resilience, 26-29 Feb, Seychelles ADPC presented the Coastal Community Resilience (CCR) framework and implementation activities at the workshop on approaches to coastal community resilience, held in Seychelles. The workshop was organized by the UNESCO/IOC and International Federation of the Red Cross as an event at the inter-sessional meeting of the ICG/IOTWS Working Group 6. Building Partnerships CBDRM video feature, Feb, Philippines Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) and the Technical Working Group (TWG) participated in the development of a video on Mangin’s CBDRM efforts, funded by Oxfam Great Britain.  Pre-production was done in early February, and the filming was done in the 3rd week of February.  The video features various PROMISE activities undertaken in Mangin as one of its eight implementation sites, including: CBDRM Training, Participatory Risk Assessment, community participation, community Risk Reduction Plan including the Early Warning System and Evacuation Plan, flood response simulation exercise, winning the Regional Kalasag Award for disaster preparedness, and the partnership between Barangay Mangin’s disaster coordinating council with the city’s DCC. Calendar of Events ADPC's 37th Regional course on Disaster Management (DMC-37), 17 Mar- l 4 Apr, Bangkok Download brochure here Vulnerability assessment training, Bangladesh Under the “Flood Forecast Technology for Disaster Preparedness in Bangladesh” project, ADPC will conduct training on vulnerability assessment for local institutions in five different locations. The training will be conducted in partnership with Center for Environmental & Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) and Bangladesh Water Development Board.   Assessment of tsunami warning center operation, Mar, Sri Lanka ADPC will conduct an assessment of the tsunami warning center operation in Sri Lanka in March. This activity is being undertaken in order to improve the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) of tsunami early warning system in Sri Lanka. CONOPS assists national tsunami warning centers (NTWCs) in mapping the operational flow of hazard and non-hazard information between organizations, defines the intra-department reporting relationships within the NTWC, and develops a robust decision-making process for the generation of tsunami warnings.   Scoping mission for Coastal Community Resilience (CCR) implementation, Mar, Sri Lanka ADPC will conduct a CCR scoping implementation in Sri Lanka in late March. The Coastal Community Resilience (CCR) initiative promotes tsunami and other hazard readiness through the collaboration of national and local emergency management agencies, coastal managers, training institutions, and local communities. It is a part of a broader program on establishing a multi-hazard early warning system for tsunami and hydro-meteorological hazards for Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, which is being facilitated by ADPC and funded by the Regional Tsunami Trust Fund through UNESCAP.   National consultation workshop on Coastal Community Resilience, Maldives  ADPC, in collaboration with the National Disaster Warning Center and other partners working on integrated coastal resource management in Maldives, will facilitate a national consultation workshop on coastal community resilience in Maldives in late March 2008. The workshop will bring together representatives from government agencies and non-governmental organizations. The Coastal Community Resilience (CCR) initiative promotes tsunami and other hazard readiness through the collaboration of national and local emergency management agencies, coastal managers, training institutions, and local communities. It is a part of a broader program on establishing a multi-hazard early warning system for tsunami and hydro-meteorological hazards for Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, which is being facilitated by ADPC and funded by the Regional Tsunami Trust Fund through UNESCAP.   Flood Emergency Management Strengthening (FEMS) under Component 4 of the Mekong River Commission's Flood Management and Mitigation Program - in the 4 Mekong countries of Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Thailand  Study tour for delegation from Vietnam to Cambodia The study tour is being organized from 20- 26 Apr 2008 to provide a great chance for provincial and district authorities of both countries to learn and share their experiences, good practices and enhance the existing cooperation on flood preparedness and mitigation activities.  The study tour aims: To explore the good practices and share real experiences on flood preparedness planning and implementation in Mekong Delta provinces and districts in Vietnam and Cambodia and  To promote partnership, networking and cooperation on province-to-province trans-boundary flood preparedness and emergency assistance  Cambodia Flood Preparedness Manual (FPM) Writeshop A writeshop will be conducted in the fourth week of April 2008 in collaborating with National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) and other DM partners in Cambodia. The Cambodian DM practitioners, program managers and senior officers who have in-depth experiences and knowledge on flood preparedness will be invited for the workshop. ADPC Website Resources ADPC Reading Resources: Asian Disaster Management News, September-December 2007: Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Education Sector The Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE): Disaster Mitigation in Asia Issue 56 more>> A Study on Impacts of Disasters in the Education Sector in Lao PDR  Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management in the Comprehensive (Multi-sectoral) Development Planning Process at the Local Level: more>> Workshop report: “Consultation on Integrating Disaster Risk Management into the Local Planning System: Focus on the Comprehensive Planning Process,”  December 2007: more>> Vacancy:   Technical specialist: Agriculture Risk Management For further information on the position, please visit our web site at http://www.adpc.net/v2007/Career%20Opportunities/Default.asp ADPC Regional Training Schedule for 2008 Visit www.adpc.net