June 2005-Issue 9

Dear Readers,

This month marks the first death anniversary of Col Brian Ward the founder of the ADPC. As a mark of respect and homage to Col Brian, who nurtured ADPC from the beginning, a commemorative ceremony will be held on Monday 13 June 2005 at ADPC.

With this issue we are happy to announce the launch of a new project on Coastal Risk Analysis of Tsunamis and Environmental Remediation (CRATER) with funding support from the Italian Ministry for Environment and Territory (IMET); strengthening partnerships with CARE; reporting on the status of the end-to-end early warning system and other activities and events. We are indeed encouraged by the number of responses we have been receiving, and I would like to thank all those who have been writing back to us with your comments, questions and other inputs.

Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center 

ACTIVITIES 

Coastal Risk Analysis of Tsunamis and Environmental Remediation (CRATER) Thailand
The CRATER Project, which was officially launched last month, is being implemented in partnership with the Ministers of Interior and Natural Resources and Environment. It uses approaches to develop tools for managing emergencies following tsunami events by analyzing the coastal risks to tsunami impacts. The year long project is being implemented with funding support from the Italian Ministry for Environment and Territory (IMET).

Regional Study on the Socio-Economic Impacts of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in Asia 
A regional study to analyze the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the 26 December 2004 earthquake and tsunami is currently underway. The study is being implemented by ADPC under the umbrella of the ProVention Consortium, with support from individual international consultants, ECLAC and the World Bank’s Hazard Management Unit, in the affected countries – Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Maldives and India. The study will also identify actions undertaken jointly by the countries and is expected to result in significant economies of scale, particularly in relation to financial risk transfer.

MoU Signed between ADPC & CARE, Thailand
On May 13 ADPC and CARE signed a memorandum of understanding to consolidate & intensify mutual support and collaboration to advance community-based disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, and emergency preparedness planning. Some of the activities will include, skill building efforts for staff including establishment of relief competencies, development of learning strategies/training tools and staff certification process; knowledge sharing on good practices in disaster risk reduction community based preparedness etc.

End-to-end Multi-Hazard Warning System Indian Ocean & Southeast Asia Initiated
As a follow-up to the assessments and number of consultation workshops, the end-to-end multi-hazard warning system for tsunamis and other natural hazards in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia started its implementation, with initial focus on tsunami warning. Some of the actions taken are: preparation of terms of reference for hiring required personnel, agreements between IOC/GLOSS to install 2 sea level stations in Thailand (at Koh Miang, Koh Taprao Noi) by June end; and 3 others (at Yung Tao, Vietnam; Myanmar; Philippines) by end of August; and finalization of arrangement for the training of ADPC personnel at Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC).

EVENTS

CARE International Disaster Risk Reduction Workshop (May 30 – June 1), The Netherlands
ADPC was invited to participate in a workshop organized by CARE International, to institutionalize disaster risk reduction into the program activities of CARE. 

Scientific Tsunami Forum (June 6-7), Thailand
A scientific tsunami forum, organized by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Royal Thai Government, ADPC and UNEP, at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, aimed at strengthening the technical knowledge of the national and international authorities as well as vulnerable people in the region in order to increase their capacity to prevent, manage and recover from the impact of a large-scale tsunami disaster. 

Visit of the Regional Director for WHO Southeast Asia Region (June 9), Thailand
ADPC was honored to welcome Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia Region, Dr Luis Jorge Perez the Regional Advisor of Emergency Humanitarian Action and Coordinator of the Tsunami Emergency Task Force of WHO and Dr Brian Doberstyn, WHO consultant. ADPC has MOUs with different WHO Offices – SEARO, WPRO and Bangkok and are partners in delivering health related courses for medical doctors, nurses and administrators from member countries in Asia and the Pacific Regions.

WORKSHOPS/TRAININGS

Workshop on Options for Urban Risk Management (May 28), Bangladesh
A workshop was organized by Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) of GOB/UNDP in collaboration with Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center and ADPC in Dhaka. The objective of the workshop was to develop a long-term strategy for urban risk reduction in Bangladesh, and explore ways to link disaster risk management with urban development and governance. The workshop was attended by representatives from the relevant Ministries and agencies dealing with disaster management.

Disaster Risk Management Course for AIT Students (June 6-July 11) Thailand
As another concrete project in partnership with AIT, ADPC is conducting an institute-wide course on Disaster Risk Management for the AIT students. The total duration of the course is 30 hours and is being delivered in order to integrate DRM into the course curriculum of higher education. Currently, there are over 100 registered students for the course.

National Consultation Workshops under PDR-SEA Project Phase 3 (June 9-17), Cambodia, East Timor & Vietnam
The workshops, under the phase 3 of the Partnership for Disaster Reduction Southeast Asia (PDR-SEA) Project, will formulate strategies to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new ones amongst all the relevant agencies in disaster risk management and will also discuss the need for and role of regional networking and partnerships. With the inputs of multiple stakeholders, a framework will also be developed on institutionalizing Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) in each country. 

Provincial Level Training on Disaster Management under the Second Phase of the TCB Project, (June 11- July 7), Kunduz, Afghanistan
In the second round of trainings provided under the Training and Capacity Building Project being implemented in Afghanistan in collaboration with InWent Germany and United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, provincial level courses will be conducted in Kunduz Province in Afghanistan, on various areas such as CBDRM, ERM, EVRC and FDDRM.

First National Training Course on Management of Public Health Risks in Disasters & Complex Emergencies (June 14-26), Jordan
ADPC in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO-EMRO) will be delivering a comprehensive training course on management of public health risk in disasters and complex emergencies for Iraqi participants. The training is being conducted in Amman, Jordan and is expected to fill a gap that is not met, by currently available international training courses in Eastern Mediterranean Region.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN JULY

• 5th Inter-Regional Training Course on Public Health & Emergency Management in Asia and the Pacific. (July 4-5)

• National Strategic Collaborative Planning Workshops in Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Lao PDR and Vietnam, PDR-SEA 3 Project (July 14-19)

• National Training Workshop on Mitigation of Damage in Health Facilities (date to be announced