September 2006 Issue No 24

Community Self -Reliance and Flood Risk Reduction, Cambodia (21-31 Aug)
Under this ADB funded Technical Assistance on Community Self Reliance and Flood Risk Reduction, ADPC, through its Disaster Management System (DMS) team, have conducted the following activities:

Consultative Workshop for discussing the Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) Strategy and its various components (21 August)-A consultative Workshop was organized to receive feedback from various agencies working on disaster risk reduction at the community level on the Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy developed under the ADB TA on Community Self Reliance and Flood Risk Reduction. The workshop was attended by various stakeholders, including representatives from Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, National Committee for Disaster Management, and various NGOs. The components of the strategy document were presented separately, with working group sessions for receiving feedback. The CBDRR Strategy in English language was distributed, along with key sections translated into Khmer language. The CBDRR Strategy comprises the following:

- Community Hazard Vulnerability and needs in the context of disasters
- Proposed shared approach for ensuring community participation in Disaster Risk Reduction (including ensuring full engagement with and participation of women)
- Menu of Options for community based disaster risk reduction (including activities addressing women’s needs in disasters)
- Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction into Commune Development Planning processes
CBDRR Training Program (29-31 Aug) – A three day training program was conducted for the staff of the Church World Service (CWS) and Chamroen Chiet Khmer (CCK). These two NGOs have been identified to carry out the implementation of the TA pilot project. The training also included participants from Provincial Department of Water Resources of four provinces, as well as participants from the Provincial and District Disaster Management committees from the places where the CWS and CCK would be implementing the pilot projects. Following the training received from ADPC on the CBDRR, the two NGOs, CWS and CCK would be starting their implementation of the pilot project.

Workshop on Disaster Risk Management and GIS, Pakistan (4-8 Sep)
Under the Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE), ADPC in collaboration with the Aga Khan Planning and Business Services, Pakistan (AKPBSP) organized a 5-day workshop on disaster management using geographic information systems (GIS) for mapping vulnerability and hazard assessment. The workshop participants were staff members of AKPBSP. This is part of the capability building activity for PROMISE project partners.

Needs Assessment workshop, Bangladesh (5-8 Sep)
ADPC through its Urban Disaster Risk Management (UDRM) team coordinated a needs assessment workshop for relevant stakeholders of the Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE) Bangladesh project. An ADPC senior technical expert also held consultative meeting between the Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center (BDPC) and CARE Bangladesh on collaborative activities in Chittagong, the PROMISE demonstration city.

Use of GIS and Remote Sensing in Disaster Management, Pakistan (5-9 Sep)
ADPC through its Training Resources Group (TRG), conducted a one week training course on the “Use of GIS and Remote Sensing in Disaster Management” in Karachi. The course was conducted for the Aga Khan Public Building Services Program (AKPBSP), a recent UN HABITAT award recipient, under the ADPC Urban Disaster Risk Management (UDRM) Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE) project.

Climate Risk Management: Stakeholder training workshop in Quang Tri province, Vietnam (11-22 Sep)
A senior technical expert from ADPC working in the Climate Risk Management (CRM) team and a consultant will be on mission to Hanoi and Quang Tri province to carry out activities under the Climate Forecast Applications for Disaster Mitigation in Vietnam (CFA) project. They will conduct assessment of local institutional structures, climate vulnerability, decision cycles, and training needs assessment for climate forecast applications in Quang Tri.

A two day- stakeholder training workshop on “Climate Forecast Applications for Disaster Preparedness” will also be organized in Quang Tri on 18-19 September. The workshop will be attended by representatives from various technical departments at Quang Tri including scientific management, science and technology, agriculture, hydro-meteorology, storm mitigation and dike management, marine affairs, and environment. The CFA project in Vietnam aims at strengthening the national and local level disaster management committees. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with Vietnam’s National Hydro-meteorological Services, Science and Technology Department, and relevant District Storm and Flood Control Committees.

Regional Early Warning Program: ADPC to lead national workshops on Coastal Community Resilience, Indonesia and Sri Lanka (Sep-Oct)
As the Program Integrator for the US Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS), ADPC, through the Climate Risk Management (CRM) team will lead national workshops on coastal community resilience (CCR) in Jakarta, Indonesia and Colombo, Sri Lanka on 12-13 September, and in the second week of October, respectively. The national workshops will be carried out to develop CCR guidelines and to provide a platform for constant consultation and dialogue amongst national partners for building resilience to coastal hazards, including tsunamis. During the workshops, the draft CCR handbook will be shared with national partners for feedback. A senior social scientist from ADPC will facilitate the national level CCR workshops in these countries. The development of national platforms for CCR in various parts of Indonesia and Sri Lanka is one of the key objectives of the ongoing CCR initiative.

Flood Emergency Management Strengthening (FEMS) under the MRC’s Flood Management and Mitigation Program, Cambodia and Vietnam (Sep-Oct)
Under the Flood Emergency Management Strengthening project implemented by Disaster Management Systems (DMS) team of ADPC in collaboration with Mekong River Commission and GTZ, will assist in organizing the following activities:

• District level workshops in Cambodia-Two workshops titled "Orientation Workshop for Teachers" (in the 3 week of September) targeting at teachers and educators for dissemination of information on flood risk reduction at the community level would be conducted in Cambodia. The workshops are to be organized in collaboration with district Department of Education and Department of Health as well as provincial and district committees on disaster management.
• Provincial level workshops in Cambodia-Two workshops titled "Development of district action plan to meet the special needs of Women-headed Households" (on 13 and 15 September) would be conducted for the provincial and district Department of Women's Affairs in four target districts (Lovea Em, Leuk Dek districts of Kandal province and SIthor Kandal and Peam Chor districts of Prey Veng)
• Provincial workshops in Vietnam-Two workshops on “Review of Flood Risk Reduction Activities in FEMS” in An Giang and Dong Thap Provinces will be conducted on 21 and 22 September respectively to present the status and lessons learnt of the FEMS priority activities in the country. The workshop will also review and identify the linkages between such priority activities and the existing storm and flood control plans at the provincial and district levels as well as the future activities for the coming months, which include trans-boundary province to province flood emergency management and the regional and national lessons learnt workshops to be organized in the early 2007.
• National experience sharing workshops are scheduled to be held in Cambodia and Vietnam in mid October 2006.

Coastal Risk Analysis of Tsunamis and Environmental Remediation (CRATER), Thailand
(18-21 Sep)
Under the Coastal Risk Analysis of Tsunamis and Environmental Remediation project implemented by the ADPC Disaster Management Systems (DMS) team in collaboration with and supported by the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory are scheduled to organize two workshops, in Bangkok and the southern province of Phuket:
• CRATER Workshop in Bangkok-to present the final outputs (numerical models, vulnerability and risk, evacuation plan, guidelines for reconstruction) of the project to officials from the government, academic institutions and NGOs. The workshop is scheduled for 18- 19 September.
• CRATER workshop in Phuket-to present outputs of the project to local authorities and NGOs. The workshop is scheduled for 21 September.

Regional Early Warning Program: National stakeholder workshop on Communicating Disaster Risks, Colombo (21-22 Sep)
A delegation from ADPC, led by A.R. Subbiah, Director of ADPC's Climate Risk Management (CRM) team will be in Colombo, Sri Lanka to facilitate a national workshop on risk communication. With the broad goal of improving community response to warning, this workshop is being organized by the Department of Meteorology in collaboration with ADPC and with funding support from the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). It will bring together key stakeholders involved in communicating disaster risks. The workshop will work towards 1) describing the status of communicating risks for enhancing disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness, and 2) identifying constraints and needs of institutions involved in communicating risks and recommend a set of actions, including a risk communication strategy.

ADPC announces the first International Training workshop on Health Care Facility Emergency Preparedness and Response to Epidemics (HCF-HEPREP-1), Bangkok, Thailand (26–29 Sep)
ADPC in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), who is also providing the funding support, is organizing the first International Training Course on Health Care Facility Emergency Preparedness and Response to Epidemics (HCF-HEPREP-1). The aim of the training workshop being organized by ADPC’s Public Health in Emergencies (PHE) team is to enhance emergency preparedness planning capacity of health care facilities to effectively prepare and respond to communicable disease emergencies using the model of pandemic influenza. The participants in the workshop are senior level medical doctors and managers of health care facilities and public health managers from the national Ministry of Public Health and sub-national health authorities. Besides the resource people from WHO and ADPC, more than 30 participants from Bhutan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam will be involved in the workshop.

Through this workshop the participants will be able to use the emergency planning process to develop comprehensive HCF emergency plan; apply the planning process and adopt plans for other communicable diseases; and identify the concrete next steps to be implemented in their HCF.

PROMISE Regional Course on Governance and Disaster Risk Reduction, Manila, Philippines (25-30 Sep)
ADPC’s program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE), being implemented by the Urban Disaster Risk Management (UDRM) team, will hold a regional course in Manila. This international course is designed to develop local government professionals sensitive to issues presented by recurrent hydro-meteorological hazards. The course will cover such topics as urban governance and risk management, vulnerability reduction, and mainstreaming risk reduction as a component of governance. There are five country partners and five demonstration cities and in this program: Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, Pakistan (AKPBS,P) with Hyderabad City Government in Pakistan; Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center (BDPC) with Chittagong City Corporation in Bangladesh; Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement (Sarvodaya) with the Kalutara Municipal Council in Sri Lanka; Center for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) with Da Nang City Government in Viet Nam; and Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) with Dagupan City Government in the Philippines. Other invited guests come from organizations that are targeted to adopt the courses developed in this regional course, for integration into their existing training programs on local governance. PROMISE is funded and supported by the US Agency for International Development - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID-OFDA).

Training on Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM), Tajikistan
(2- 8 Oct)
ADPC, through its Training Resources Group (TRG) will conduct a one week course on Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) in Tajikstan to respond to the country’s needs. A senior technical expert from the TRG will be responsible for running the CBDRM course.