Editorial Dear Readers, The month of July was eventful at ADPC.  Mr. Aloysius J. Rego (Loy) was appointed the new Deputy Executive Director of ADPC, approved by its Executive Committee on 11 July 2008. Loy’s association with ADPC dates back to 1996.  Since then he has assumed number of positions, roles and responsibilities at ADPC. Under his leadership as the Director of the Disaster Management Systems (DMS) team, he has implemented programs on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR), flood preparedness & risk reduction in the Mekong Delta provinces, community-based DRR and the development of governance policies, and DRM plans in South and South East Asia. He has been actively involved with the ADPC Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) mechanism. As ADPC looks to the future, Loy’s appointment as Deputy Executive Director will strengthen ADPC to further the growth of the Center.   ADPC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on cooperation on capacity building for preparedness, mitigation and early warning of natural disasters.   ADPC will facilitate the project, ‘integration of tsunami warning by strengthening multi-hazard warning systems’ for Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.  The project will benefit government institutions and institutions involved in early warning  through early warning national forums, strengthening multi-hazard early warning systems in the target countries,  strengthening field-level capacities in translating hazard risk information into impact outlook and response options, communicating these information to communities within a risk management framework and testing the functionality and reliability of early warning systems through system audit.   The 17th Regional Training Course on Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction took place from the 21 July- 1 Aug in Bangkok with 36 participants from the region. At the opening ceremony, the Guest of honor, Mr. Djumantoro Purbo, Charge d' Áffaires, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia affirmed ADPC’s role in implementing  programs for reducing disaster risks, vulnerability and building community capacities to promoting and enhancing a ‘culture of safety.’  The CBDRR course provided the participants essential skills and knowledge in community-based disaster risk management.   Participants with Dr. Bhichit Rattakul, Executive Director & Mr. Loy Rego, Deputy Executive Director, ADPC  ADPC produced the document, ‘National Guidelines for School Disaster Safety: Towards a Disaster Safe School-Sri Lanka, 2008’ along with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, the Education Leadership Development Center/Meepe, Education officers of the Eastern Province and five pilot schools in Colombo and Ratnapura district. IRIN reported Loy Rego's insight on ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and its initiatives for disaster management in "Natural disasters spur regional cooperation in Asia" The recent announcement on ASEAN nations Regional Plan for Disaster Management specifically focused on greater civilian-military coordination and pooling resources to deal with natural disasters. Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2007-2008 featured an article by Mr. Frederick John Abo, ADPC on the role of ICTs in risk communication in Asia Pacific. The article emphasized on electronic health initiatives and the ‘last mile’ communication in disaster warning.  The above-mentioned press articles and the document are available on the ADPC website. 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 other activities for the month of July 2008.   Dr. Bhichit Rattakul Executive Director Asian Disaster Preparedness Center  ADPC in action ADPC conducts Fire Safety and Bangladesh National Building Code workshop, 24 Jul The contingency team of ADPC Dhaka Office in Bangladesh and with the collaboration of the Directorate of Fire service and Civil Defence (FSCD) and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) organized the Workshop, under the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP). The keynote speaker of this Workshop was Professor Dr. Nizamuddin Ahmed, Head, Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).  ADPC made a presentation on “Fire Safety and Earthquake Contingency Planning” followed by an interactive Q&A session. Please follow the link for more CDMP updates in the Information bulletin for July 2008. This can be downloaded here . Updates from the Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE) funded by the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA-USAID):  2nd Working Group Meeting, 15-17 Jul, Danang, Vietnam PROMISE held its second Working Group Meeting (WGM-2) at the Green Plaza Hotel, Da Nang, Viet Nam.  The event was co-organized with the Government of Viet Nam (through the national Disaster Mitigation Partnership and the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control) and Center for International Studies and Cooperation – Vietnam. The sessions were Experiences in Urban Disaster Risk Management, Vietnam; Technology Development and Transfer for DRR; Practices for Mainstreaming DRR in Urban Development; Networking and Partnership Development for Urban DRR; Planning and Implementation Process for Urban DRR; Governance and Urban DRR; and Sustainability of Program Activities. A field visit was made to the PROMISE-VN wards of Da Nang (in Cam Le district). Observations were made on: community-based emergency preparedness and flood disaster mitigation; ward-level emergency operation centers (EOC) set-up; small-scale disaster mitigation projects; demonstration of water-based search-and-rescue; and the flood early warning system under the Da Nang Committee for Flood and Storm Control. Participants were from the local governments of Chittagong, Da Nang, Dagupan, Hyderabad, Metro Jakarta and Kalutara; country partner organizations-Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre, Center for International Studies and Cooperation-Vietnam, Center for Disaster Preparedness, Aga Khan Planning and Building Society-Pakistan, Bandung Institute of Technology, and Lanka Jathika Shramadana Sangamaya Sarvodaya, and from networking partners and other interested organizations-US Agency for International Development / US Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance, World Bank-Urban Development Sector, and Ove Arup & Partners, the Ministry for Disaster Management and Human Rights (SL), and the National Building Research Organization (SL).  The meeting documents can be downloaded here.  Country project events are as follows: INDONESIA – PROMISE-Indonesia held a focus group discussion on 25 June with stakeholders to validate the results of the risk assessment for the Tebet sub-district.  They presented the risk map to technical working group (TWG) of the Jakarta Provincial Government and planned the CBDRR interventions at grassroots level, to begin preparations for the Town Watching methodology (a variation of the participatory risk assessment that had been used for urban areas), and to begin developing the emergency response plan for the Jakarta Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  PHILIPPINES – PROMISE – The Philippines had a project assessment on 2-3 Jul in Pangasinan. The objectives of the assessment were to see what went well and what needs to be improved in the PROMISE Project; the ways forward for the sustainability of the DRR in Dagupan City and beyond.  The assessment was attended by the captains for the eight project barangays, City Administrator Alvin Fernandez and members of the TWG, and CDP staff.  The outcome of the assessment will be included in the final report.  ADPC tests the developed standardized community disaster risk reduction training curriculum for field practitioners in South Asia 1-8 Aug, Islamabad, Pakistan In partnership with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent 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 a next step, ADPC Senior staff under its Disaster management systems team conducted the first of three curriculum testing in Islamabad, Pakistan from 1-8 August 2008 to review and verify the relevance and applicability of this curriculum. During this first stage of testing there were 30 participants representing a number of National Societies. The workshop sessions provided valuable guidance to further refine the curriculum and enhance the participants’ skills on risks reduction. Based on the outcomes of the these, ADPC with the South Asia Regional Delegation will jointly develop training supporting materials (trainer’s guide, participant’s guide training and IEC materials) for DRR practitioners within National Societies and other partner agencies in South Asia in close cooperation with the Federation Consultant.  This initiative will 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 program outputs in South Asia. Additionally, the curriculum will be useful to other National Societies and Federation Delegations in other region as well as other agencies working in the South Asia region. Training and Learning ADPC conducted training on Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Modeling in Maldives with funding support from UNDP Maldives.   National study tour for emergency preparedness, 21-23 Jul, Thailand The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Thailand and ADPC hosted a study tour for participants from organizations working with vulnerable communities in Thailand. The study tour was held in Chiang Rai and involved participants in the pandemic simulation exercise coordinated by IOM in cooperation with the Thai Ministry of Public Health. International Rescue Committee’s presentation of pandemic preparedness planning in refugee camps in Thailand provided a contrasting perspective to IOM’s work with migrant communities.  Through their observation of IOM’s work in emergency preparedness planning and through discussions with stakeholders – including representatives of migrant communities – study tour participants identified some key lessons that might benefit community-based emergency preparedness planning elsewhere. For example:   Lesson 1: Emergency preparedness plans are incomplete if they do not take into account the risks specific to vulnerable communities. Morevoer, when dealing with vulnerable groups such as migrants or refugees, it is important to take into account the contexts, needs and priorities of these groups. For groups characterized by insecurity and poverty, AHI is often far from an immediate priority – projects should therefore address AHI within the context of more immediate livelihood and security concerns. Lesson 2: There are challenges specific to working with groups such as migrants or refugees in Thailand. For instance, many migrants in Thailand are unregistered and have no legitimate access to mainstream health and education services; language, cultural, social and political barriers also exist to the integration of migrant groups in national emergency preparedness plans. These factors need to be taken into account and a pragmatic attitude to emergency planning often needs to be adopted (e.g. to access migrant communities, it is often necessary to work through informal channels for communication and service provision).   The study tour was an activity under the ‘Strengthening Community- Based Approaches to Management of Avian and Human Influenza (AHI) in Asia’, an AHI-NGO-RC/RC Asia Partnership, comprising of ADPC, CARE, IFRC and the IRC. For more information on this ADB-funded project, please visit  http://www.adpc.net/communityAHI-Asia/.  Workshop on strengthening and sustaining capacity to manage psychosocial aspects of disasters and complex emergencies in Asia, 31 Jul-1 Aug, Bangkok, Thailand The workshop strengthened the regional, national and community capacities to manage the mental health and psychosocial aspects of disasters, complex emergencies and epidemics on communities in Asia in collaboration with USAID. The workshop reviewed and presented the output developed from an initial scoping workshop and field studies conducted in four countries, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.  The workshop finalized a set of recommendations and a plan for developing a regional program for strengthening and sustaining regional, national and community capacities for reducing the impact of disasters, complex emergencies and epidemics on communities in Asia.   Public Health in Complex Emergencies training program (PHCE-7), 11-23 Aug, Bangkok, Thailand The seventh international training course on Public Health in Complex Emergencies (PHCE) course is underway and focuses on critical public health issues faced by NGO/PVO personnel working in complex emergencies. The goal of the course is to enhance the capacity of humanitarian assistance workers and their organizations to respond to the health needs of refugees and internally displaced persons affected by these emergencies. Participants will master key competencies in the sectors: Context of Emergencies, Reproductive Health, Epidemiology,  Weapons, Violence and Trauma, Communicable Disease, Protection and Security, Psychosocial Issues, Environmental Health Nutrition. ADPC Website Resources Disaster Mitigation in Asia, Issue 61 Promise Quarterly Report  PROMISE has published a new ‘safer cities’ case study, #21- Community Empowerment and Disaster Risk Reduction in Chittagong City.  The case study on Chittagong City highlights how to build up community ownership in responding to the existing hydro-meteorological hazards in the most vulnerable wards.  It features topics such as: Hydro-meteorological hazards in Chittagong; CBDRM efforts in Chittagong City; City-level actions; and Lesson learned.  To download the case study, please click here. Forthcoming Activities August-October 2008 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. Regional training course on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction in Local Governance (MDRRG-3), 1-5 Sep 2008, Manila, Philippines Download brochure here ADPC will offer the course building on past and the continued mandate of ADPC facilitated Regional Consultative Committee (RCC), prioritizing mainstreaming of DRR in sectoral and national development planning processes. The RCC significantly focuses and advocates capacity building of local governance for mainstreaming DRR. Importance of mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction is also recognized by the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) adopted at the World Congress of Disaster Reduction (WCDR), where integration of disaster risk reduction in the development progress is a priority. All national policies on disaster management advocate streamlining Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the development process. The proposed course meets the objectives of the RCC and HFA in facilitating and enhancing awareness building of the local governance in the area of DRR. The primary objective of MDRRG is to develop a cadre of local government professionals and development practitioners sensitive to issues posed by the recurrent hazards. The course will  enhance knowledge and capacities of local urban authorities, associated NGOs and other stakeholders in streamlining disaster risk reduction in urban development. It will create opportunities for mainstreaming risk reduction as a component of urban governance. It will also help communities at risk and NGOs to support the governance and participate in creating safer urban communities and sustainable development through DRR. The course is targeting representatives of local government ministries/departments, urban emergency services and planning functions related to risk reduction from cities and local government training institutions, NGOs involved in urban community development initiatives, existing city networks and private sectors. Participation to the course is open to all countries; however priorities will be reserved for the Asia-Pacific region. Regional Training Course on End-to-End Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, 15-26 Sept 2008, Bangkok, Thailand  Download brochure here The course will build the capacities of professionals to design, manage, evaluate and undertake improvements in people centered end-to-end early warning systems for hydro-meteorological & geological hazards and extreme events associated with climate change and variability. It builds upon 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. It extends to institutionalizing weather and climate information applications for disaster mitigation and recently, in the implementation of Indian Ocean and South East Asia end-to-end early warning system for tsunami and hydro-meteorological hazards.   The course will be delivered by technical professionals at ADPC who have vast knowledge & experience working in the field of Early Warning Systems (EWS) and, through an extensive alumni league comprising of international experienced practitioners and experts from different organizations and government institutions, globally.   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 network of partner organizations. Participants interested to attend the course are requested to fill up 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.