Opening programme of the Climate field school for farmers, 26 Jun, Philippines

School for Farmers in Dumangas, Iloilo Province, Philippines

The Climate Field School enhances the capacity of extension workers and farmers to understand and apply climate information to mitigate flood and drought risks in agriculture. It is being facilitated by ADPC in partnership with the Philippine Astronomical Geophysical Services Administration (PAGASA), Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Office and Dumangas Municipal Agriculture Office, with support from the United States Agency for International Development Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.

Disaster simulation exercise, 27 Jun, Sri Lanka

The Incident Command System (ICS) team in Galle District, Sri Lanka prepares for a briefing before the disaster simulation exercise.  Since 2006, ADPC has been facilitating a series of ICS capacity building activities in Sri Lanka in cooperation with US agencies under the US Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System Program.                 

School-based disaster risk management project, Jul-Aug, Sri Lanka
In close consultation with GTZ, MEEPE, NIE and district Disaster Risk Management coordinators, ADPC as a consultant will assist to develop an emergency management plan for schools. A planning workshop for school principals will be organized to develop a manual on emergency management and safety in schools in association with the Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka. The implementation of the school-based disaster risk management project in Sri Lanka is funded by GTZ. 

Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System: Assessment of meteorological instrumentations, 6-17 Jul, Cambodia
ADPC will be on a mission to Cambodia from 6-17 July to assess the status of meteorological instrumentations in the country vis-à-vis standards set by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The assessment will focus on surface observation networks operated by the Department of Meteorology. Under the Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters in Southeast Asia (ECR-SEA) project, ADPC will provide the necessary technical and training support in calibrating and upgrading these networks with funding support from the Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA).  

Workshop on Development of the Regional Disaster Health Information Network, 10-11 Jul, Thailand
ADPC in partnership with World Health Organization Regional Office for South East Asia (WHO-SEARO) and US National Library of Medicine organised a workshop on the development of a South East Asian Disaster Health Information Management Network (SEADHIN). Participants in the workshop included representatives from the US National Library of Medicine, Center for Public Service Communications, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), SEARO, Thammasat University, Ministry of Health-Sri Lanka, and ADPC. Participants from Indian Library of Medicine and the University of Indonesia were also invited to attend the workshop. The meeting discussed and clarified the concept of SEADHIN and possible mechanisms for collaboration among the organizations represented at the workshop.  

Climate Risk Management: Climate Change Adaptation Targets (CCAT) project initiation, 17-24 Jul, Mongolia 
ADPC is launching a new project titled Climate Change Adaptation Targets (CCAT) in Mongolia. The project aims to explore the applicability of climate change adaptation targets as a means to mainstream climate change adaptation measures into development planning. The two project components are 1) assessment of rural livelihood system’s current resilience to climate-related risk and 2) formulation of climate change adaptation targets. In order to lay the groundwork for project implementation, ADPC will be on mission to Mongolia from 17-24 July 2007. Activities during the mission include discussion with national stakeholders, data collection, and field work. The CCAT project is undertaken within the framework of a project carried out by ETC International entitled “Netherlands Climate Assistance Program,” which is executed on behalf of The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.    

Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System: National Disaster Management Authority steering committee meeting on Science and Technology for Disaster Management and International Monsoon Conference, 19-29 Jul, India
ADPC will participate in the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) Steering Committee Meeting on Science and Technology for Disaster Management from 19-23 July. ADPC and NDMA will discuss potential areas of cooperation in applying science and technology for enhancing disaster management. ADPC will also participate in the International Monsoon Conference from 24-28 July 2007 in Bangalore. The conference will assess the status of monsoon physics and prediction.   

Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System: Tsunami science and preparedness training program, 21 Jul-1 Aug, USA
ADPC will be on a mission to Seattle, USA to participate and provide inputs to the First Tsunami Science and Preparedness Certificate Program organized by US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University of Washington Extension and Program Integrator of US Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) Program.  ADPC will discuss and share ideas about the ongoing Coastal Community Resilience initiative in the Indian Ocean Region. This will be part of the overall development of materials on end-to-end early warning and preparedness lessons. ADPC will also collaborate with the program organizers to oversee the transfer of knowledge and curriculum to Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok for the next round of offering of the said certificate program in Asia.  

Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System: Meeting with China Meteorological Administration, 22-25 Jul, China
ADPC will meet the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) to discuss potential areas of collaboration in providing and utilizing seasonal climate forecasts for disaster mitigation in Southeast Asia. ADPC will also hold follow up discussions with select government agencies on climate forecast applications for disaster mitigation project in Jiang Xi Province, which is currently being developed by ADPC and government agencies in Jiang Xi Province.            

ADPC to attend International symposium on the civil defense development strategy in the 21st Century, 25-28 Jul, China
Dr. Luis Jorge Perez-Calderon, Deputy Executive Director, ADPC is invited to attend the "International Symposium on the Civil Defense Development Strategy in the 21st Century" in Shanghai, China. The workshop is organized by China National Civil Defense Office and undertaken by Shanghai Municipal Civil Defense Office. Dr. Perez will make a presentation on the role of public health emergency preparedness training activities in the civil defense organizations in Asian countries.

PROMISE coordinator’s meeting, 31 Jul, Thailand
ADPC’s Program for Hydro-Meteorological Disaster Mitigation in Secondary Cities in Asia (PROMISE) will have a PROMISE country coordinator's meeting to discuss programmatic reporting (project financial reporting, project management and administrative procedures) and monitoring and evaluating in Thailand.  Representatives of all program partners from five program countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam) will attend the meeting. PROMISE, funded by the office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), USAID, is being implemented by ADPC. 

Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into education sector, Jul, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Philippines
In partnership with UNDP and DIPECHO, a 2nd Project Working Group meeting (PWG) in Cambodia, Lao and Philippines will be conducted to assist PWG members in reviewing their existing lower secondary curriculum and to support the integration of a DRM module in selected grade levels by providing a sample of DRM curriculum. Furthermore, a Training of Trainers (TOT) will be organized according to each country's project time line.

ADPC’s 7th Inter-regional training course on Public Health and Emergency Management in Asia and the Pacific (PHEMAP- 7) concludes, 18-29 June 2007, Bangkok

The PHEMAP Program is a partnership between WHO Regional Offices for South East Asia (SEARO) and Western Pacific (WPRO) and ADPC, and supported by the Royal Government of Norway.

The 7th Inter-regional training course on Public Health and Emergency Management in Asia and the Pacific concluded on the 29 June 2007. The two-week training course was conducted from 18-29 June 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand. The inter-regional course is specifically designed for people who play critical health emergency management and coordination roles in managing the health risks of emergencies. 31 participants from 13 different countries namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Vietnam representing Ministries of Health, Red Cross and International Organization for Migration attended the course. 

CBDRM national strategic planning workshop 20 Jun, Philippines
In collaboration with UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and DIPECHO, ADPC facilitated a CBDRM national strategic planning workshop in Manila as part of ADPC’s commitment to strengthen and institutionalize Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) into the national government system.  

The Strategic Planning Workshop for CBDRM in the Philippines is one of the essential activities of the project, Partnerships for Disaster Reduction Southeast Asia Phase 4 (PDRSEA 4) to advocate ownership in national programs and local entities, enhancing the capabilities of CBDRM practitioners, and the expansion existing partnerships. The main thrust of this activity is to strengthen the role of NDMOs on disaster risk reduction and promote the adoption of CBDRM by multiple development stakeholders.  

Regional Multi-Hazard Early Warning System: Coastal community resilience and community based disaster risk management training, Jul-Aug, Vietnam & Cambodia 
ADPC will be on mission to Quang Tri Province, Vietnam from 2-10 August to discuss the work plan of the Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters to Southeast Asia Project (ECR-SEA) with the local working group. ADPC will also be conducting a training on Coastal Community Resilience and Community Based Disaster Risk Management. A similar training will be also conducted in Sihanoukville Province, Cambodia from 30 July to 3 August. The trainings, which will be attended by members of the local working groups, are intended to build the capacity of project partners to carry out participatory risk assessments in pilot locations and conduct similar trainings in the future. These activities will be carried out in close collaboration with the National Hydrometeorological Service in Vietnam and the Department of Meteorology in Cambodia. The ECR-SEA project is funded by the Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA). 

Community emergency management course, 16-20 July, Philippines
ADPC will hold an emergency management course in Dagupan, Philippines.  The planned schedule is to coincide with Dagupan City's Disaster Preparedness Day.  The course will include advanced skills for community emergency response and management of emergency operations centers.  This course is an activity under PROMISE Philippines.  PROMISE is funded and supported by the US Agency for International Development - Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID-OFDA).     

Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM-16) 16-27 Jul, Thailand
The ADPC regional CBDRM training will be conducted at the AIT Conference Center, Bangkok, Thailand. The participants for this course consist of experienced practitioners from a range of national governments, regional and international organizations as well as a university. To date, there are 34 participants from the following organizations: ActionAid International Cambodia, Aga Khan Planning and Building Service (AKPBS) – Pakistan, Concern Afghanistan, Concern Worldwide, Department of Hygiene and Prevention-Lao PDR, Educational Development Center-Maldives, Emst & Young Advisory Services, Fida International, Local Government Unit-the Philippines, Ministry of Atolls Development, Ministry of Health- Lao PDR, National Disaster Management Office- Lao PDR, Save the Children, Stanford University, SurfAid International, Tearfund, UNDP the Philippines, UNICEF, the Thai Red Cross, World Vision Indonesia, World Vision International, World Vision North Sudan.  

Workshop on the improvement of building permit process, 22-25 Jul, Iran
ADPC is collaborating with UNDP Iran in organizing a workshop on Improvement of building permit process.  The workshop will be held in Kerman, Iran and will provide training and guidance on city-level institutional arrangements required for enforcing building codes.  The activity is organized under a joint five-year program between the Government of Iran and UNDP-Iran.  ADPC is providing specific consulting services for the workshop. 

Community Basic Emergency Response Course (C-BERC), 23-27 Jul, Pakistan
ADPC will hold a Community Level Basic Emergency Response Course (C-BERC) in Hyderabad, Pakistan.  C-BERC is a training program designed to enhance the capacity of the community to respond to emergencies and disasters. The program educates the community to be aware of the different hazards and trains them in lifesaving skills so that they are better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities.  The purpose of C-BERC is to provide citizens with the basic skills required to handle virtually all their own needs and then to be able to respond to the needs of the community in the aftermath of a disaster.  The main subjects include:  managing utilities and putting out small fires; basic medical aid, search-and-rescue safely, and others.  This course is an activity under PROMISE Pakistan.