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Vol. 9, No. 1 January-March 2003
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Recently-signed Memoranda of Understanding
MoU with the Disaster Management Bureau and Boy Scouts in Bangladesh
The MoU
essentially covers collaboration on training and capacity-building
activities to foster comprehensive disaster management and development, and
implementation of joint projects in areas related to community-based and
urban disaster management in
Bangladesh.
The MoU was signed by Mr Golam Mowla, Director General of DMB and Dr Suvit
Yodmani, Executive Director of ADPC.
On January 21,
2003, ADPC signed an MoU with the Chief Commissioner of Scouts and ADPC
where it was proposed that ADPC will train 3,000 boy scouts on
disaster-preparedness over three years. The MoU was signed by Dr Suvit
Yodmani and Mr Fazlur Rahman, Secretary, Ministry of Public Health and Chief
Commissioner of Scouts.
MoU with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Thailand According to the 2000 World Disaster Report, over 80% of the world’s climate-related disasters occurred in Asia. While acknowledging the lack of sufficient data to accurately assess trends and the need for enhanced details in models used to project changes in some phenomena, the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC TAR) provides some estimates of scientific confidence in observed and projected changes in extreme events (IPCC, 2001). Many of the conditions discussed, such as more intense precipitation events, increased summer continental drying with associated risk of drought and changes in tropical cyclone wind and precipitation intensities, have significant potential consequences for countries in the Asia-Pacific. In recent years, a number of research programs have emerged in the region, designed to enhance our understanding of the nature and consequences of climate-related events, and also to explore the application of climate information to support decision-making. However, no attempt has been made to synthesize the results of these individual programs for the development and application of useful and usable climate information in the region. To that end, the Pacific Science Association, the East-West Center and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center held a Symposium on Climate and Extreme Events in the Asia-Pacific: Enhancing Resilience and Improving Decision-Making as part of the 20th Pacific Science Congress. The symposium provided a platform for sharing individual experiences and discussion on integrating themes that will help develop a framework for comparing individual programs, identifying common problems and opportunities. The themes included:
The symposium is
part of a bigger initiative; it will provide an opportunity for
participants, managers and sponsors of various programs to collectively
review the insights being gained from their individual efforts and develop a
shared vision for the future. For details on the symposium visit
http://www.adpc.net/ece/News.html
or
http://www.20pscbangkok.com/Main.asp Visit of the Delegation of Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau A delegation of 6 officials from the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau and its sub-units visited ADPC between March 3-9, 2003, to survey the possibility of developing a collaborative training program between the two organizations. For a detailed report please visit http://www.adpc.net/technical/ch/14032003/default.htm
Seminar on Thailand Disaster
Mitigation Strategy, Bangkok
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February 14, 2003, marked a significant occasion for
ADPC when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Department
of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), the new Thai Government
agency. Present at the ceremony were Mr Kosin Ketthong, DDPM Director
General, Dr Krasae Chanawongse, Advisor to the Prime Minister and ADPC's
Chairman of Board of Trustees, Mr Pairote Promsarn, Permanent Secretary of
the Ministry of Interior, and Dr Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director, ADPC.
The MoU facilitates collaboration between ADPC and DDPM in strengthening
disaster management in Thailand, following the bureaucratic restructure in
October 2002. ADPC provides technical assistance in building capacity of
DDPM officials in respect to disaster management.
