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Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs, has established a task force for cooperative work on the prevention and mitigation of and preparedness for natural disasters related to the El Niño phenomenon. The task force meetings are being convened by the Secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR 1990-2000).

The task force, which held its first meeting in Geneva on 18 November 1997, is composed of organizations both within and outside the United Nations system that deal with the scientific aspects of natural hazards related to El Niño, as well as with socio-economic aspects of vulnerability and risk management for communities.

Scientific aspects of El Niño were discussed along with political, economic and social issues. While computer models are not yet able to fully predict the impact of El Niño, there are models which outline probabilities, from which it is possible to develop scenarios for national risk assessments, preparedness and mitigation measures. There was nonetheless general agreement on the present difficulty in translating scientific knowledge into prevention-oriented economic and social activities at the local level and into capacity-building. Participants also agreed that the gathering of historical data would be important in order to attempt to map the possible effects of El Niño in various regions and countries.

The task force focuses on cooperation through information exchange and policy formulation. The task force will: act as a forum for information exchange and coordination of follow-up actions through its meetings and an Internet discussion forum; produce joint press kits and a joint publications series; explore options for longer term research; identify joint actions including national and regional workshops.

For more information, please contact Natalie Domeisen, IDNDR Secretariat. Tel: (41) (22) 798 6894; E-mail: natalie.domeisen @dha.unicc.org