February 2006 Issue No 17

Dear Readers,

The month of February will be another very full month for ADPC with many on-going as well as new activities. With this issue we are happy to announce the launch of a new project on Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters in Southeast Asia covering Cambodian and Vietnamese costal communities with funding support from the Government of Denmark. This work is part of ADPC’s End-to-End Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (TEWS) designed to protect 5 countries of Southeast Asia; namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
 

ACTIVITIES

Welcome for delegates from SIDA and UNESCAP, Bangkok (January 18)

ADPC welcomed Mr. Johan Brisman, Special Adviser, Asia Department, SIDA, Mr. Christer Holtsberg, Counsellor, Director of Swedish Environmental Secretariat for Asia (SENSA), Embassy of Sweden, Mr. Khalid Husain, Programme Officer, UNESCAP, and Mr Charles Davies, Programme Management Officer, UNESCAP and briefed them on ADPC activities with particular focus on ADPC’s implementation of the End-to-End Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System designed by ADPC for 5 countries in Southeast Asia, in partnership with AIT, University of Columbia, University of Hawaii, IOC and GLOSS, and supported by UNDP, ITU, USAID, Denmark, and others.

Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters in Southeast Asia (February 1)

Mr. Albert Welinder from Ministry of Forein Affairs, Denmark visited ADPC to discuss the implementation of the programme “Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters in Southeast Asia”. ADPC in partnership DANIDA is implementing the project within the framework of the end-to-end early warning system for tsunamis and other natural hazards in Southeast Asia. The proposed programme aims to build resilience in selected communities in Cambodia and Vietnam. Besides explaining the ADPC design, ADPC underlined the necessity of accessing and using the UN Voluntary Trust Fund as soon as possible in order to set up and operate the TEWS to help protect the most vulnerable countries with very limited resources which would serve as models for other costal communities. The major objective of the TEWS is to help protect the at-risk communities by minimising the risks of disaster, while simultaneously preparing the relevant communities for tsunamis and other hazards.

Localised Evacuation Drill in Kamala School, Phuket (February 3)

Led by Dr. Bhichit Rattakul, Senior Advisor to ADPC and former Thai Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, ADPC, in partnership with the Thai DDPM, conducted an evacuation drill in Kamala School in Phuket, Thailand on 3 February 2006. The drill involved 410 school children and about 20 teachers. School children and local communities need to be prepared so they can act appropriately to a warning. ADPC invited officials from UNDP, Tambon Administration Office, and Community Committee to participate in the drill. School children were being educated and made aware of the potential dangers of natural disasters so they can be well-prepared and know how to respond to dangers through evacuation drills. This is part of the ADPC End-to-End TEWS for 5 countries of Southeast Asia.

MOU between ADPC and GISTDA (February 7)

On 7 February, ADPC and Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding for planning, development, implementation and collaboration on training and capacity building activities related to GIS applications for disaster prevention, reduction and mitigation in MRC countries; exchange of personnel to complement each other’s activities; and mutual exchange and sharing of information, materials and publications. GIDTDA and ADPC will work together in preparing comprehensive hazard maps of Asian countries

Tripartite meeting of the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, Cambodia, ADB and ADPC on Community Self Reliance and Flood Risk Reduction Project, Cambodia (February 13)

Under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded Technical Assistance (TA) on Community Self Reliance and Flood Risk Reduction in Cambodia, a Tripartite meeting of the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (Royal Government of Cambodia), ADB and ADPC will be held in Phnom Penh on the 13th February. The meeting will review the Inception report submitted by ADPC under the TA. The report includes an analysis of types of approaches to community based flood risk reduction used by various NGOs within their projects over the past years in Cambodia.

AusAID Midterm Review of the Development of a Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management in Asia Project (February 14-23)

Ms. Sutthana Vichitrananda, Project Manager, AusAID, Bangkok and Mr. Bernard Broughton, Team Leader, is scheduled to visit ADPC to continue with the mid-term review and field study related with AusAID support to ADPC. The review team plans to complete the review after 23 February 2006.

Joint Meeting of the Regional Committees, Bangkok, (February 16-17)

ADPC is organising a Joint Meeting of the Regional Committees in Bangkok from 16-17 February with funding support from DIPECHO. The meeting will be attended by the Chairpersons of the four regional committees; namely, Haze Technical Task Force (HTTF), ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), Typhoon Committee, and the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to explore areas of possible bilateral and multilateral collaboration as identified from their respective programmes in relation to specific hazards. They will present the components of their respective programmes that are related to CBDRM, gaps identified and areas for possible collaboration with technical support to be provided by ADPC/UNESCAP.

ADPC’s Assistance to Government of Sri Lanka, Colombo, (February 20-23)

An ADPC expert will be on mission to Sri Lanka from 20-23 February 2006 to provide technical assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka for developing the National Disaster Management Plan (NDM Plan) in collaboration with UNDP Sri Lanka.

Field work in Timor Leste for the HABITAT III Paper on Disaster Response Shelter Kits, Timor Leste (February 26 – March 3)

ADPC in partnership with Habitat for Humanity will carry out field work in Timor Leste for the HABITAT III Paper on Disaster Response Shelter Kits. UNHCR and other agencies initiated a programme to address the emergency shelter needs of the displaced people of Timor Leste. The programme was centered on facilitating return of displaced families to their homes. The programme provided shelter kits comprising basic material to construct shelters.
 

Events 

ProVention Consortium Forum 2006, Bangkok (February 2)

The second ProVention Consortium Forum, the first one to be organised outside Washington D.C., and Geneva, was hosted by IFRC in Bangkok, Thailand and jointly organised by the World Bank ProVention Consortium, ADPC, and all ProVention Consortium partners participated. The Executive Director of ADPC provided the opening remarks. The ProVention Consortium Forum held in Bangkok from 2-3 February 2006 provided a unique opportunity for ProVention partners and invited participants to meet and dialogue on risk issues, address critical priorities in disaster risk management and initiate new ideas and collaborative initiatives to help drive the global agenda on disaster reduction. Participants of the forum included ADPC, ADB, World Bank, UN agencies, Red Cross societies, USAID, DFID, NGOs, INGOs and national government representatives.

Presentation on Avian Influenza: Public Health Implications, Bangkok (February 7)

ADPC and Thammasat University’s School of Public Heath organised a half-day workshop on “Avian Influenza: Public Health Implications” at Thammasat University on February 7, 2006. The workshop featured a presentation on the issue by WHO’s representative in Bangkok, Dr. William Aldis, followed by active discussions and exchange of ideas and experiences, with the view to developing active collaboration among the three partner agencies – Thammasat University, WHO and ADPC. ADPC is offering its expertise in Community-based Disaster Risk Communication to tackle the avian flu in the region.

Visit of the Royal Nepalese Ambassador to Thailand to ADPC (February 14)

ADPC has invited H.E. Major General Tara Bahadur Thapa, Royal Nepalese Ambassador to Thailand to visit ADPC on 14 February 2006. The meeting will provide an opportunity to brief the Ambassador on ADPC’s activities and involvement in the region and to further enhance the on-going partnership and collaboration between Royal Nepalese Government and ADPC. Nepal is one of nine founding members of the ADPC as an International Intergovernmental Organisation.

Expert Consultation on Emergency Preparedness for the Health Sector and Communities: Challenges and Way Forward, Geneva (February 15-17)

An ADPC expert is attending a meeting in Geneva from 15-17 February on Emergency Preparedness for the Health Sector and Communities: Challenges and Way Forward. The meeting will be attended by Temporary Advisers; Consultants; WHO Staff from Humanitarian Action Crises (HAC); other WHO departments and Regional Offices and experts with extensive experience in the area of emergency preparedness and mitigation. The meeting is organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva.

UNDP Thailand Team to visit ADPC, (February 17)

Mrs. Sirisupa Kulthanon, Assistant Resident Representative, UNDP Thailand, Mr. Justin Shone, Mr. Daniel Kirkwood and Mrs. Wimolrat Kreingsontikul of UNDP will visit ADPC to find out more about ADPC activities in Thailand and in other countries in the region. The meeting will provide opportunity to brief the team on the ADPC Regional Early Warning System for 5 Southeast Asian countries and the progress made so far. UNDP Thailand is one of the major partners with ADPC in building the TEWS in Thailand.

Visit to Thailand for the Chinese delegation from National Disaster Reduction Center, Ministry of Civil Affairs (February 19-25)

ADPC will be welcoming an important Chinese delegation led by the Deputy Director-General of the National Disaster Reduction Center, Ministry of Civil Affairs, China from 19-25 February this month. The purpose of the visit is to meet and discuss enhancement of partnership between National Disaster Reduction Center, China and ADPC. The delegation will also visit the Thai Red Cross and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) while in Thailand.

Workshops/Training

Workshop on Graduate Program in Disaster Management, Chiang Mai, (January 27)

ADPC experts together with those from the Thai Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) participated in the workshop to help develop curriculum for a Master’s Programme in Disaster Management organised by Chiang Mai University, Thailand on 27th January. The Disaster Management degree programme will be the first of its kind offered by a Thai university.

International Workshop on Disaster Preparedness, Dhaka, (February 13- 15)

ADPC is participating in the International Workshop on Disaster Preparedness from 13-15 February in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The workshop is organised by ActionAid International Tsunami Response Centre. ADPC experts will take a session where four case studies would be presented which was developed under ADPC’s Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Programme (AUDMP). ADPC experts will also present the follow-up on the progress made after Kobe Framework – World conference on Disaster Preparedness held in January 2005.

Training on Planning and Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programme, Vietnam (13-16 February)

ADPC under the MRC-ADPC-ECHO Phase II project is organising a four-day training course on Planning and Implementation of Flood Preparedness Programme at Province and District Levels at My Tho city, Tien Giang Province of Vietnam. The main focus of the training is to enhance the capacity of the members of Provincial and District Committee for Flood and Storm Control in Tien Giang to plan and implement flood preparedness programmes. About 45 officials from the Tien Giang province will participate and about 10 resource persons from national agencies in Vietnam will deliver the presentation and conduct field exercises.

5th Crisis Management Course at Satun, (14-16 February)

6th Crisis Management Course at Ranong (6-8 March)

ADPC’s is organising two training courses on Crisis Management with the funding support from UNDP in Satun and Ranong provinces of Thailand. The aim of the training course is to reduce the likelihood of crisis, minimise the harm caused by a crisis event and continuously improve crisis management ability of those responsible. These are the final two courses from the six training courses being offered to government officials from DDPM in different provinces affected by Tsunami.

UNDP/ISDR Global Future Search Meeting on Rethinking Capacity Development for Disaster risk reduction: Action 2005-2015, Chavannes-de-Bogis (February 13-15)

ADPC’s Deputy Executive Director will attend the UNDP/ISDR Global Future Search Meeting on Rethinking Capacity Development for Disaster risk reduction: Action 2005-2015, in Chavannes-de-Bogis, Switzerland from 13-15 February 2006. The meeting will bring together participants from disaster risk management community from around the world. The meeting will provide an opportunity to engage in extensive dialogue addressing disaster risk challenges and strengthening national risk management capacities.

National Workshop on CBDRM Standards – Phnom Penh (February 27-28)

ADPC is organising a three-day national workshop in Phnom Penh for developing criteria on CBDRM good practice and impact indicators for CBDRM projects with the funding support from DIPECHO. Criteria and indicators for assessment of vulnerability at family and community levels will also be developed in the workshop. The outputs of this activity should lead towards improvements in the practice of Community Based Disaster Risk Management in Cambodia.

2nd Damage and Needs Assessment Course, Pathumthani, (27-28 February)

ADPC is organising a training course on 2nd Damage and Needs Assessment with the funding support from UNDP at DDPM Pathumthani, Thailand. The aim of the training course is to map out improved methodologies for post-disaster damage and needs assessment and reporting, appropriate to the needs of disaster managers. The training course is being offered to government officials from DDPM.

The Fourth (4th) Disaster Management Practitioners (DMP) for Southeast Asia Workshop, Bangkok, (March 8-10)

The 4th DMP SEA Workshop will be held from 8-10 March in Bangkok in the aftermath of the great Asian tsunami and other large scale disasters in the region and worldwide. Theme for this year’s workshop “Learning from community based practices: Strengthening policy and partnerships” emphasises the need for continued learning about community based approaches to disaster risk reduction and underlines the importance of formulating policy and strengthening partnerships for wider integration of CBDRM into the social and economic development processes.

SOME UPCOMING EVENTS IN MARCH 2006

• Workshop/Training on “Earthquake Vulnerability and Multi- Hazard Risk Assessment: Geospatial Tools for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Efforts”, - Pakistan 13-31 March 2006

• Disaster Management Course – Karachi, Pakistan, 13-17 March 2006

• Disaster Management Course – Afghanistan, Late March 2006

• Training on Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis –

  • Abbottabad, Pakistan 21-22 March

  • Mansehra, Pakistan 23-24 March

  • Muzaffarabad, Pakistan 28-29 March