August 2006 Issue No 23

Skills for effective Trainers (3-7 July), Mae Hon Song, Bangkok
ADPC provided a series of training to Community-Based Organizations (CBO), that are assisting internationally displaced persons in northern Thailand. The training was to enhance the CBO’s institutional capacities by strengthening their organizational, operational and financial knowledge and skills. ADPC’s Public Health in Emergencies and the Office of the Executice Director's teams facilitated the training sessions in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Bangkok.

Flood Emergency Management Strengthening (FEMS),
Cambodia & Vietnam (4-27 July)
Under the FEMS, activities include training in Damage and Needs Assessment (DANA) and the Community Based Flood Management (CBFM) in partnership with National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM)-Cambodia. DANA trainings are to strengthen the capacity of disaster management authorities at commune, district and provincial level in collecting and managing flood loss and damage data and information in an accurate and reliable manner, to improve the capacity in making rapid analysis/assessment information for emergency response/relief operation during flood and for recovery and rehabilitation after floods and to raise awareness of the importance of preparedness activity for loss and damage assessment, particularly during a pre-flood period. Expected outcomes are capable in accurately and reliably collecting, analyzing and assessing loss and damage data for emergency response/relief operation during flood and for recovery and rehabilitation after floods.

The CBFM trainings aims to strengthen the preparedness planning capacity of disaster management authorities at district and commune level in coping with floods through training on CBFM with an expected outcome to enhance knowledge on flood management is improved and their capacity in flood preparedness. The training is in partnership with National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM)-Cambodia, Provincial Red Cross Chapters and Department of Hydrology and River Works.

1.       The training schedules in Cambodia are as follows:
4-5 July: DANA, Lovea Em district, Kandal Province
6-7 July: DANA, Peam Chor district, Prey Veng Province
12-14 July: CBFM, Sithor Kandal district, Prey Veng Province
18-20 July: CBFM, Leuk Dek district, Kandal Province
24-25 July: DANA, Sithor Kandal district, Prey Veng Province
27-28 July: DANA, Leuk Dek district, Kandal Province

2.       The training schedules in Vietnam are as follows:
10-12 July: Emergency Kindergarten Management Training in Tan Hong district of Dong Thap province
12-14 July: Search & Rescue Training in Chau Thanh district of An Giang province
24-27 July: Search & Rescue Training in Thanh Binh district of Dong Thap province

Distance Education Course (10-14 July)
Under the Capacity building in Asia using Information Technology Application (CASITA II) project, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS)-India is conducting the distance education course on Awareness on Geoinformatics for Disaster Management at country level with support from National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), ADPC and ITC-The Netherlands. A video conference with ADPC faculty is scheduled on 14 July.

The CASITA II project in collaboration with International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation-ITC, The Netherlands and Bonn University, Germany, promotes research and develop a postgraduate program in the field of GIS/RS applications in natural hazard and risk assessment in several universities in Asia. The project will also develop a distance education course at ADPC to help practitioners aspiring to advance the knowledge and skills in application of modern disaster mitigation tools and also advocate increased collaboration between European and Asian academic institutions for joint academic programs, courses and distance education using modern IT&C techniques.

Earthquake Vulnerability Reduction for Cities (EVRC), Pakistan (10-12 July)
ADPC’s Training Resources Group and the Urban Disaster Risk Management team are facilitating the EVRC course with funding support from Citizen Foundation, Pakistan.

Financial Management Planning course
ADPC’s Training Resources Group is organizing the Financial Management Planning course for Myanmar Migrant Workers with funding support from International Rescue Committee (IRC) on the following dates & locations:
? 12-14 July in Mae Sai
? 19-21 July in Mae Hong Son

Mason Training course (13-15 July)
ADPC’s Training Resources Group and the Urban Disaster Risk Management team are facilitating the Mason Training course in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan in partnership with the Citizen Foundation, Karachi.

CBDRM curriculum adaptation workshop, Vietnam (16-17 July)
Canadian Center for International Studies & Cooperation (CECI), Vietnam is organizing a CBDRM curriculum adaptation workshop. The workshop is an activity under the Urban Disaster Risk Management project, “Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE)”.

Course on Community Based Disaster Risk Management, Bangkok (17-28 July)
ADPC’s Training Resources Group is conducting the 14th Regional Course on Community Based Disaster Risk Management.

Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System: Workshop on improving community response to warning, Yangon (17-18 July)
Mr. A.R. Subbiah, Director, Climate Risk Management (CRM) team with senior technical experts from ADPC’s CRM, Disaster Management Systems (DMS) team and Community-based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) team will be in Yangon, Myanmar 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 and Hydrology in collaboration with ADPC and with funding support from the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). It will bring together 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.

Mine Risk Education, Mae Hong Son, Thailand (19-21 July)
ADPC is organizing a training programme to disseminate the warning information related to dangers of land mines located near the Thailand-Burma border in Mae Hong Sin for students living in risk areas. The programme in partnership with UNICEF is planned for approximately 130 participants from 11 schools at Namtok Mae Surin National Park, Mae Hong Son, north of Thailand.

Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System: ADPC facilitate Second Tsunami Alert Rapid Notification System (TARNS) workshop, Hua Hin, Thailand (25-27 July)
Senior technical expert from ADPC’s Climate Risk Management (CRM) team will represent ADPC in facilitating the Second Tsunami Alert Rapid Notification (TARNS) workshop in Hua Hin, Thailand under the US Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) program. While the first TARNS workshop in May 2006 focused on system design, the upcoming workshop will focus on communications technology and methodology. The upcoming workshop is designed to be a venue for the US and Thailand to share experiences and lessons learned in setting up and making communications systems operational for warning dissemination and in collaborating with the media for effective warning dissemination. A collaborative undertaking amongst the US Forest Service (USFS), US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Thailand National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), the workshop expects to produce preliminary action plan for TARNS enhancement in Thailand and a media toolkit for disaster management.

Report Writing Course (27-28 July)
ADPC’s Training Resources Group is organizing and facilitating the Report Writing course for Myanmar Migrant Workers that was funded by International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Mae Sot.

Forthcoming Activities

Workshop on Damage and Loss Estimation for Recovery Planning (9-11 August)
Under the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV)-The SNV project, a workshop on Damage and Loss Estimation for Recovery Planning is planned in collaboration with the State Government of Tamil Nadu, India.

Community workshop Philippines
(9-13 August)
Mr. NMSI Arambepola, Director of ADPC’s Urban Disaster Risk Management team is scheduled to participate in the community workshop in Dagupan city, Philippines. Discussion on course development and Training on Governance and DRM is also planned.

Meeting with partners Dr. Gonzales University of Philippines, National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) and National Disaster Coordinating Council, Office of Civil Defence (NDCC/OCD) under the Asian Program for Regional Capacity Enhancement for Landslide Impact Mitigation (RECLAIM) project is also planned.