March 2005-Issue 6

Dear Readers,

This month marks an important milestone in the history of ADPC, that of being granted an Inter-governmental organization status by the Royal Thai Government. The official signing of the charter with signatory states Thailand, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines took place at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand on February 28, 2005. A few more countries such as China and Sri Lanka have shown interest in signing the charter by April 5, 2005, when the ADPC Board of Trustees shall be meeting. I wish to share this happy moment with all our friends and well wishers and also to thank and congratulate all the ADPC staff who worked so hard to make this possible.

Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

ACTIVITIES

Start-up of the Second Phase of Capacity Building Project in the Mekong River Basin (Feb)
The Capacity Building for Planning and Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programs at Provincial and District Levels in the Lower Mekong Basin (Phase II) Project, a 14-month project, which officially started in February 2005, is being implemented in collaboration with the Mekong River Commission (MRC), with funding support from ECHO. The focus countries are Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. The objective of the project is to enhance the capacity for undertaking planning and implementation of flood preparedness programs at the provincial and district level in selected provinces of the Lower Mekong Basin.

Disaster Mitigation Public Awareness Programs Broadcasted through Television (5-Mar)
ADPC in collaboration with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Thailand has started a of pilot public awareness project – series of programs on disasters and disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation. The first of the series, on earthquakes and tsunamis started telecast on March 5, 2005 on Thailand’s Channel 11 and will be broadcasted every Saturday and Sunday. A number of hazards will be covered in the upcoming series.

Announcing the Second ProVention Applied Grants for Disaster Reduction (Phase II) (March)
Call for applications with proposals for the second phase of the ProVention Consortium Applied Research Grants Program for Disaster Risk Reduction to support innovative action research by young professionals from developing countries is open. The program is managed regionally by the ADPC, Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (DiMP), University of Capetown and the University of Wisconsin – Disaster Management Center. ADPC is responsible for the grants awarded to grantees from South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. The last date for submission of applications and proposals is May 1, 2005. For more details check the ADPC website at www.adpc.net 

EVENTS

International Coordination Meeting for the Development of Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean within a Global Framework (3-8 Mar), UNESCO Headquarters, France
The objective of the IOC meeting in Paris was to take a step forward towards the establishment of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean within a global tsunami warning and mitigation system framework. A draft comprehensive plan and design for setting up the multi-hazard early warning center in the region was prepared and presented by ADPC during the meeting.

First Meeting of the RCC-MDRD Regional Advisory Panel (23-24 Mar), Bangkok, Thailand
In order to guide the implementation of the RCC program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation (MDRD), 11 RCC Members have been invited to serve on the MDRD Advisory Panel. The 1st meeting of the MDRD Advisory Panel will convene in Bangkok on the 23-24 March and will be attended by special invitees from partner and donor organizations, development banks and UN Agencies.

WORKSHOPS/TRAININGS

Community-Based Disaster Risk Management Training, (10-11 Mar), Chiang Rai, Thailand 
A CBDRM Training will be conducted under the Thailand Urban Disaster Mitigation Project (TUDMP) in the landslide prone areas of Maekorn and its sub-districts in the north of Thailand, as part of a series of CBDRM trainings.

Disaster Management Course, (19-30 Mar), Kabul, Afghanistan
Part of a one-year project - Training and Capacity Building Project being implemented in Afghanistan in collaboration with InWent Germany and United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, ADPC is conducting a ten days course on disaster management for senior managers at the Afghan Department of Disaster Preparedness in Kabul.

Workshop on Tsunami Wave Modeling & Multi-temporal Satellite Image Processing and Analysis of the Impact of the December 26th Event (28 Mar-1 Apr), Bangkok, Thailand
ADPC in collaboration with the Asian Institute of Technology, the Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), the Netherlands, and Department of Geophysics & Meteorology of the Institute of Technology (ITB), Bandung, Indonesia, will conduct a week long workshop in Bangkok under the CASITA-II project. The objective of the workshop is to provide the participants in five days time the opportunity to acquire skills in the field of earth observation, and flood zoning of the tsunami damaged shore zones of the Indian Ocean. During the workshop demonstration on how to process and interpret some of the available high and medium resolution satellite images of pre- and post tsunami dates will be made. Also Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) elevation models will be used in combination with the satellite imagery. An attempt will be made to make a tsunami flood zoning to be used for strategic shore zone management for reconstruction.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN APRIL

• Emergency Recovery Management 2-7 April, Kabul, Afghanistan

• ADPC Board of Trustees Meeting, Bangkok, Thailand, 5 April

• Community-Based Disaster Risk Management 9-15 April, Kabul, Afghanistan

• The First Regional Training Course on Skills for Effective Trainers (SET-1), 18-29 April, Bangkok, Thailand

• Flood Disaster Risk Management 28 April-5 May, Kabul, Afghanistan