July 2005-Issue 10

Dear Readers,

We are happy to announce that India has become the ninth country to join ADPC as a founding member. H.E. Mr. Vivek Katju, Ambassador of India to Thailand signed the New ADPC Charter in a ceremony held on 7 July at ADPC. This month we also have the great pleasure of welcoming the new President of AIT, Professor Said Irandoust to ADPC.

On a sad note we at ADPC mourn the untimely demise of Col Elma Aldea on 30 June. Col. Aldea was the Administrator, Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), the Philippines and was truly committed to the important field of disaster management not only in the Philippines but also regionally. She was a true and highly valued friend and partner to ADPC and supported many of our projects and programs. We shall all sorely miss her, both professionally and personally.

Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center 

ACTIVITIES 

Disaster Mitigation Public Awareness Programs (July 7-September), Thailand
A second series of public awareness programs on hazards, disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation went on air on 7 July. The series focus on floods and landslides and will be aired twice a week on Thailand’s popular TV Channel 3 until the end of September. After evaluation of this program ADPC will encourage other countries, especially those affected by the December 26, 2004 Tsunami, to organize such a program. 

Early Warning Systems Assessment in Sri Lanka (July 6-14) 
ADPC’s Climate Risk Management team is in Sri Lanka on the last leg of assessment of the national multi-hazard early warning system. The assessment is being done in order to identify existing gaps in the end-to-end multi-hazard early warning system, recommend action plans for its improvement and to develop a program for capacity building. The project is being carried out with UNDPC support and in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka. 

Institutional Landscape Analysis in Indonesia (July 7-17) 
An Institutional landscape analysis is currently underway, under the ADPC’s Climate Risk Management Team’s initiative to look at the various institutions and policies currently in place that are relevant to climate risk management. The study will specifically look at identifying agencies and organizations connected with climate problems, individual institution roles, key decisions made, coping strategies for responding to climate variability and challenges for the use of climate information.

EVENTS

ACDM Regional Workshop on Bilateral and Multilateral Arrangements for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (June 28-29), Myanmar
ADPC participated in the regional workshop of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management held in Yangon on 28-29 June. Around 40 representatives from the ASEAN member countries, regional organizations, UN Agencies and ASEAN Secretariat took part in the workshop. Key bilateral and multilateral arrangements were discussed and initiated.

India joins ADPC as a founding member (July 7)
India is the ninth country to join ADPC as the founding member of the Center. In an official signing ceremony held at ADPC last week, H.E. Mr. Vivek Katju, Ambassador of India to Thailand signed the New ADPC Charter. Earlier this year the Thai Royal Government granted ADPC the Inter-governmental status when 8 countries in the region endorsed their support by signing the New ADPC Charter.

New AIT President Visits ADPC (July 20)
Professor Said Irandoust officially took up the Presidency of the Asian Institute of Technology this month. The meeting is scheduled to welcome the President to AIT and ADPC, and to brief him on ADPC activities and the various collaborations between the two organizations since ADPC’s inception in 1986.

Thirtieth Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop (July 10-13), Boulder, USA
ADPC was invited to speak at the plenary session on Asian Tsunami: Impacts and Sustainable Recovery, at the Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop organized by the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, University of Colorado. The Deputy Executive Director represented ADPC at this international workshop.

WORKSHOPS/TRAININGS

Disaster Risk Management Course for AIT Students (June 6-July 11) Thailand
The institute-wide course on Disaster Risk Management for the AIT students, which started last month, is concluding on 11 July 2005. Around 100 students took the course, which had two credits and ran for a total duration of the course is 30 hours. ADPC hopes to conduct similar courses for AIT students in the future too. 

Thirteenth Community-based Disaster Risk Management Course (July 4-15), Thailand
The 13th CBDRM training course commenced early this month. The course is being attended by 36 participants representing a variety of NGOs, Local and Government Agencies from over 17 countries. CBDRM is a flagship course of ADPC, run annually with the aim of providing an opportunity for learners to acquire tools and obtain knowledge on how to design and implement programs for reducing disaster risks and vulnerability and building community capacity and resilience.

Fifth Inter-Regional Training Course on Public Health & Emergency Management in Asia and the Pacific (July 4-15), Thailand
The fifth Inter-regional Training Course on Public Health in Emergency Management in Asia and the Pacific (PHEMAP-5) jointly organized by the ADPC, WHO-SEARO/WPRO and with special participation from WHO-Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO-EMRO) started on July 4. The course aims at helping countries of the region to develop more effective policy, procedures, plans, guidelines and standards of best practice for health sector emergency management. Around 28 participants coming from over 15 countries from Central, South, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and North African regions are presently attending the course. 

Regional Training Workshop on Disaster Risk Management Database Management (July 7-8), Thailand
A two-day regional training workshop was organized by ADPC’s PDRSEA-3 project to train project partners in the different countries on the input and management of the web-based database. These databases will contain country-specific information on disaster risk management with a particular focus on community based risk management. It will also contain information on best practices/tools, experts/specialists, CBDRM project inventories, mitigation activities, trainings, disaster management institutions, early warning systems, CBDRM experiences and hazard profiles. This will serve as a tool for decision makers in governments, NGOs, and donor sectors to facilitate and help them develop appropriate interventions. The program is funded by the European Union. 

Climate Forecast Application Consultation Workshop (July 18-21), Thailand
The workshop brings together implementing partners of the climate forecast applications program from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, in collaboration with the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction (IRI), to share progress of program implementation and develop next year's action plan. The program is funded by USAID/OFDA and US NOAA. 

UPCOMING EVENTS IN AUGUST

• First Course on Teamwork for Integrated Emergency Management, Bangkok, Thailand

• Hospital Emergency Preparedness and Response (22-26 August)