an-r&r 25 9 04...the flood disaster in uttarakhand was introduced to the children. the children...

southasiadisasters.net November 20132

RECOVERY

Rebuilding Uttarakhand: Challenges Ahead

Rebuilding Uttarakhand is not aneasy task. The process has started

off well and is moving ahead.However, it is useful to anticipate thechallenges that will be faced inrebuilding Uttarakhand.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB)will provide $200 million to help theIndian state of Uttarakhand in orderto recover from the unprecedentedlosses suffered after the June 2013floods and landslides that haveaffected close to a million people.

But how will this money be used?

In mid-June 2013, major cloudbursts,heavy rainfall, and floods washedaway several fast growing hillsettlements in Uttarakhand. Thedistricts of Bageshwar, Chamoli,Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, andUttarkashi were the worst affected.Almost 600 people lost their lives andmore than 5,400 people are stillmissing. A joint damage and needsassessment by the government ofUttarakhand, ADB, and World Bankestimated the preliminary cost ofrehabilitation to be close to $700million. However, the final cost couldrise to more than $1 billion.

ADB's loan will be used to rebuild2,400 kilometers of state roads andrepair or reconstruct 16 damagedbridges.

In 8 to 10 towns, the funds will beused to repair 20 kilometers of urbanroads and rehabilitate water supplyfacilities, including water treatmentplants and 56 km of water pipelines.This rebuilt infrastructure willimprove access to services, markets,and jobs, benefitting people andcompanies. The design has attractedwide spread interest.

On top of the $200 million loan, ADBwill also provide $15 million to repairdamaged energy sector facilitiesunder an already approved $300million ADB financing facility thathas been earmarked for theUttaranchal power sector. This hasgiven rise to certain questions suchas: Who needs the energy the most?And what is the capacity to use it?The rehabilitation works, due to becompleted by the end of 2016, will bedesigned to better withstand futuredisaster hazards. But what are thesefuture hazards? What risks do theypose and to whom? And who shouldtake what measures to better designrehabilitation? Civil society in Indiais increasingly seeking answers tothese questions.

The State Disaster ManagementAuthority of the state of Uttarakhandwill execute this project. But does theauthority have the team capacity toexecute this project? What sort ofskills are missing in its capacity? Whatgaps can be anticipated in its skillsand how can these be strengthened?These are some of the challenges thatcan be encountered in the long roadto recovery and rehabilitation inUttarakhand.

– Kshitij Gupta

Sour

ce: h

yd-n

ews.b

logsp

ot.co

m

Sour

ce: w

ww.in

diatim

es.co

m

southasiadisasters.netNovember 2013 3

RISK REDUCTION

How Do Partnerships Reduce Risks?

Risks cannot be reduced inisolation; effective risk

reduction requires collaborativeefforts. Sustainable, creative andinvigorating partnerships are a keyto effectively reduce risks. The HyogoFramework for Actions (HFA) hasput emphasis on building andmaintaining partnerships to reducerisks. But what is the new wisdomgained from the HFA process so farthat helps us to plan ahead?

The study titled Missed Opportunities:The Case for Strengthening National andLocal Partnership-Based HumanitarianResponses1 looks at the current andfuture potential of partnership withnational non-governmentalorganisation and their humanitarianresponse, based on the lessons fromacross the commissioning agencies infour major emergency settings:Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)conflict 2009-2012, Haiti earthquake2010, Kenya food crisis 2010 andPakistan floods 2010. Though thefocus is not exclusively on disasterrisk reduction but the findings areuseful and can be generalised forHFA2.

International agencies tend to buildcapacity of national and local NGOsto implement their aid programs.However, this is easier said thandone. It is found that the partnershipsbetween international humanitarianactors, national and local actors areunder-used as a strategy forstrengthening humanitarianperformance. This is because theapproach taken to build partnershipsfor humanitarian responses tends tobe reactive, unsystematic and drivenby emergency. Nor are these

partnerships build on parity. Inaddition, the humanitarian agenciesfunded by international agencieshave a fixed approach towardsresilience as they focus on theacademic methods and past successfulexperiences. But resilience is manythings to many people in manycontexts. Resilience is a dynamicconcept that evolves with time andexperience.

The contribution of the partnershipslooked at in the study to improvehumanitarian aid effectiveness werein five specific areas: relevance/appropriateness, effectiveness,connectedness, efficiency andcoverage. The first three areasstrongly contribute to humanitarianperformance. Developing on thesespecific areas will ensure thatprogram designs are contextuallyappropriate, culturally sensitive andresponsive to the needs of the people.

Moreover, it will contribute to thespeed, accountability and communityengagement. Lastly, local partnerscan link the different silos ofresilience, preparedness, response,recovery and development if given avoice by inviting them to makedecisions.

The study is an excellent first step toopen up discussion on partnerships.However, more work is needed on:impact of global economic crunch orhumanitarian partnership; emergingagenda for investing in localpartnerships; transparency inhumanitarian partnerships andemerging agenda for Development,Research and Training (DRT) onpartnerships. AIDMI is requesting theInternational Strategy for DisasterReduction (ISDR) to consolidateglobal knowledge on howpartnerships reduce disaster risks.

– Vandana Chauhan andMihir R. Bhatt

1 Commissioned by ActionAid, Cafod, Christian Aid, Oxfam GB and Tearfund.

Photo

: AID

MI.


SOUTH-SOUTH

Drinking Water: Triangular Cooperationbetween Dhaka, Delhi, and Islamabad?

Delhi, Islamabad, and Dhaka facedrinking water challenge.

Nothing new. The challenge is acutefor its poor who live in slums.Nothing new. And yet a cooperativeregional effort is yet not conceivedto reduced the thirst of the citizens inthese three cities.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB)has mobilized a $250 million loan toexpand the coverage and quality ofwater supplies to nearly 11 millionpeople in Dhaka, Bangladesh'svibrant and fast-growing capital city.And here is an opportunity for atriangular south-south cooperativeeffort.

Not only the amount is large but whatit will do to the drinking water systemin Dhaka is far reaching. What canDhaka learn from Delhi orIslamabad? Let us draw from All IndiaDisaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI)work on Climate Smart Disaster RiskManagement (CSDRM) in India tosuggest a few challenges.

Though the context and challenges aredifferent in Delhi and Islamabad,

what is common with Dhaka is theway of thinking ahead about citizens.

Dhaka has been drawing heavily ongroundwater but the current rate ofextraction is no longer sustainablewith the water table falling by 2-3meters a year. In addition, theSitalakhya River — the city's mainsource of surface water — isbecoming increasingly polluted.Same is true for Jamuna in Delhi, andmany more cities in India.

The Dhaka EnvironmentallySustainable Water Supply Project willdevelop a new raw water intake atthe Meghna River, about 30kilometers east of the city, with apumping station that has the capacityto provide 2 billion liters of water aday. It will also fund a treatment plantat Gandharbpur capable of handling500 million liters a day, and installraw and treated water transmissionpipelines. These initiatives areexpected to reduce groundwaterextraction by 150 million liters a dayand help the city water authority raiseits overall surface water supplies to1.9 billion liters a day by 2021. The

cost of pumping and treatment plantsas well as delivering water is hugeand will have issues of financialsustainability as well as large carbonfootprint. This is one challengecommon to Dhaka, Delhi, andIslamabad. Second challenge is howto turn this one time project inputinto rapid as well as environmentallysustainable growth in water sector?The third challenge is how will thisproject pay direct and visibleattention to the needs of the poor andalso of women in the city? Thesequestions are being asked among thestakeholders. These are the realchallenges.

Most people living in informalsettlements rely on supplies fromillegal water lines for which they payhigh charges. Community-basedorganizations will be set up to helppoor households obtain waterthrough legal metered connections ata lower price. The groups will beresponsible for paying water bills andmaintaining supply points whilepublic awareness programs willimprove community knowledge onwater quality and public hygiene.

Large water projects aim atparticipatory ways of working buthow to make the growth of watersector in Dhaka, and Bangladeshmore participatory?

How the access to better quality andquantity of water supply will lead toimproved living condition of womenin Dhaka? Again, these questions arebeing asked among the stakeholders.These are the challenges.

The above challenges are beingshared as key lesson for Dhaka fromDelhi. Triangular Delhi-Dhaka-Islamabad cooperation is never moreneeded. – Jyoti Agrawal

Slum dwellers collect drinking water from a mobile water tanker in New Delhi.

Sour

ce: I

ndia

Wat

er P

orta

l.


REPORT


RISK REDUCTION FOR CHILDREN

New Generation of Risk Reducers

Who will reduce the risks ofdisasters in 2020 or say 2050?

The Children in the Indian state ofBihar offer an answer.

The Bihar State Disaster ManagementAuthority and UNICEF India with thesupport of Save the Children, PlanIndia, Aide et Action, Caritas Indiaand Bihar Inter Agency Group (BIAG)organised a round table with childrenon reviewing the progress ofChildren's Platform for Disaster RiskReduction (DRR) on November 13,2013 at Patna. The event was organisedto consolidate the activities ofChildren's Platform which waslaunched on December 5, 2012 inPatna, Bihar. A total of 70 childrenfrom 8 districts of Bihar participatedin the event with enthusiasmand energy. They presentedtheir risk reduction workdone during last year forincreasing their safety. Theyalso made plans for the year2014 on how to spread themessage of safety amongmore children and schools inBihar.

Shri Anil K. Sinha, HonorableVice President of Bihar StateDisaster Management

Authority chaired the round table. Hesaid that the way in which theinvolvement of children in DisasterRisk Reduction is governed is veryimportant. There should besomething like state level businessplans to reduce risk as suggested bythe team from the All India DisasterMitigation Institute (AIDMI).Financing children's involvementmust focus on results and notexpenditure, he said. Shri Nisha Jha,Former Chairman SCPCR, ShriSnigdha Kanth, Chair of ParentsTeachers Association of NotredameSchool, Ms. Shaina Khan, Presidentof Parents Teachers Association ofNotredame School and Shri BellaDas, State Expert on Gender alsojoined the round table. Dr. Nisha Jha

suggested that a greater focus on Dalitgirls was needed in the process.

The discussion touched upon issuesof involvement of tribal children inthis process in the coming months byorganizing such events in districtswith substantial tribal population.

Issues of energy security also cameup in the discussion. The children saidthat if there is no electricity, then thereis no education, as it is not possibleto read or write after darkness. Brieflythe flood disaster in Uttarakhand wasintroduced to the children. Thechildren asked about the nature andextent of loss suffered by children inUttarakhand. The children alsodemanded district level discussions

on energy security and waysto look at loss and damageto children after disasters.

The children demanded theinclusion of Children'sCharter into SchoolCurriculum, integration ofschool level mitigationmeasures into District DisasterManagement Plans (DDMPs)in all districts and Right tohave a Safe Education.

– Vandana Chauhan

Photo

: AID

MI.


CAPACITY BUILDING

Disaster Preparedness in Jammu andKashmir Schools

A two-day training programmeon School Disaster

Preparedness at Jammu datedNovember 15-16, 2013 was organizedby the Jammu DivisionalCommissioner Office, the NationalDisaster Management Authority(NDMA), the University of Jammu,and the All India Disaster MitigationInstitute (AIDMI).

Educators across Jammu participatedin this training programme with theintention of building a safereducation in Jammu.

Team of organisers and resource persons with the Chief GuestMr. Ajaz Ahmed Khan, Honorable Minister of State for Revenue,Relief and Rehabilitation and Guest of Honor Dr. Muzzafar Ahmed,Honorable Member, National Disaster Management Authority.

Ms. Vandana Chauhan of AIDMI with Sh.Shantmanu, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu,developing a Road Map for safer schools inJammu.

Shri Ajaz Ahmed Khan, Hon'bleMinister for Revenue and DisasterManagement addressed the partici-pants of the training programme.

The minister welcomed thisinitiative. He suggested a detailedreview of needs at the district level.The needs assessment should be donefrom primary school level touniversity level. The ministeremphasised that disaster riskreduction programmes such as thistraining programme also demand areview of governance, greater focus

on early planning, direct links withschool inspectors and educationaldepartment officers, integration withSarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and inclusionof Disaster Risk Reduction lessons inschool curriculum.

AIDMI demanded a major change inNational School Safety Programmefrom its experiences in Bihar, Assam,Tamil Nadu, and Jammu andKashmir. AIDMI demanded themaking of district level SchoolDisaster Management Plan in eachdistrict. – Vishal Pathak

Photo

: AID

MI.


GLOBAL EXPO

Reducing Risk in the South

Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) into development must take

place at many levels, from villagesto global meets. And that is exactlywhat the All India Disaster MitigationInstitute (AIDMI) strives to do withits very limited resources and smallteam.

The Global South-SouthDevelopment (GSSD) Expo, 2013 washosted by the United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP) atits headquarters in Nairobi, Kenyafrom 28 October to 1 November 2013,and AIDMI was invited to be a part ofthis expo.

A Partnership Forum titled as GlobalCentre of Excellence for South-SouthCitizenry-Based DevelopmentAcademies (SSCBDA) and South-Southcooperation for improving pollutionmanagement and environmentalhealth in low-and middle-incomecountries was organised on October31, 2013 by AIDMI with the UN Officefor South-South Cooperation(UNOSSC) and the World Bank.

Distinguished participants from Asia,Africa and other continents attendedthe forum. This included donorsinterested in partnership, NGOsinterested in hosting and think tankspromoting South-South cooperationin various capacities.

The partnership forum focused onSouth-South Cooperation at the locallevel in two areas:

First, the overwhelming demandexpressed by participants in ongoingSSCBDAs for a similar event to beheld in their countries. There weretwo prime objectives of thispartnership forum. The first was tobring the concept of the SSCBDA toother regions and the second objective

was to bring in potential fundingpartners to participate in the SSCBDA.Thus, the overall focus was on scalingup and mobilization of financialresources and operational links.

Second, South-South cooperationprogram on pollution managementand environmental health beingdeveloped by the World Bank in closecooperation with China, prospectivedonors and World Bank clientcountries. The overall focus was onobtaining perspectives and views ofgovernment and other client countrystakeholders for collaboration infurther developing and implementingthis pollution management andenvironmental health program in thelight of reducing risk.

The forum was divided into three keyparts; a) introduction of the South-South Development Academy, itsobjectives and achievements so far,future outlook; b) UN Office forSouth-South Cooperation vision forthe Citizenry-Based DevelopmentAcademy and; c) South-Southcooperation for improving pollutionmanagement and environmentalhealth in low-and middle-incomecountries.

The discussion on SSCBDA wasorganised bearing in mind thegrowing demand for similaracademies across Asia and betweenAsia and Africa. The expectedoutcome was scaling up of activitiesfor the global centre, mobilisation ofresources and engaging partners.

The first presentation of the sessionwas made by Denis Nkala, RegionalCoordinator, South-South Cooperation(Asia Pacific, UNOSSC) on UN Officefor South-South Cooperation visionfor the Citizenry-Based DevelopmentAcademy. He presented how theseacademies were making a differencein both, the concept of reducing riskas well as on the details of activitiesin Asia over the years. The concept ofuse of cash transfer in relief andrecovery and Child's Rights to Safetyin Schools was well received by theparticipants from several Asian countries.

The second presentation of the forumwas made by Mihir R. Bhatt,Founding Director, AIDMI on theintroduction of the South-SouthDevelopment Academy, its objectivesand achievements so far along withits future outlook. Mr. Bhattintroduced the Global Center for

Photo

: UNO

SSC:

Jess

umra

UN Recognition of AIDMI Work in Nairobi, GSSD Expo 2013.


Excellence in organising the SSCBDAhosted by AIDMI in India by explainingthat the main role of the Centre is tospearhead the implementation of thesub-academies in the Global South withsupport and inputs from a regionaladvisory group. He pointed out thecontributions made in this process byZenaida Delica; Asian DisasterPreparedness Centre in Thailand;Centre for Disaster Preparedness inPhilippines; and Tsunami & DisasterMitigation Research Center in Aceh,Indonesia.

He stated that in line with theobjective of the UNOSSC, the Centercontributes to the enhancement of thecapacity of government, civil societyand communities, including UNagencies in the Global South throughthe SSCBDA for achieving theMillennium Development Goals(MDG); the goals of the HyogoFramework of Action (HFA) and;climate risk adaptation priorities ofthe developing countries in theGlobal South.

Launched since 2010—a Southernlearning platform for sharingknowledge, skills and practices—theSSCBDAs brings togetherrepresentatives from communities,civil society organisations, local

government, Universities, the localprivate sector and UN Agencies in anenabling and empowering learningenvironment for a suitable period oftime to deliberate on a specific issueconcerning the global South, heexplained.

Mr. Bhatt shared the keyachievements of the SSCBDAs andstated that these academies haveimproved South-South networkingacross 200 organisations from Southand Southeast Asia and enhancedunderstanding of Southern issues ondisaster risk reduction and climatechange adaptation, including 'Green'recovery and safer development.

These academies (see the table) haveidentified, discussed and captured anumber of relevant developmentapproaches currently being practicedin the Global South such as climatesmart disaster risk managementapproach, small and micro-businessesfocused approach, micro-insuranceand cash transfers approaches, rightsand risk reduction approach, datatransparency approach and sanitationand water security approach.

He mentioned that the SSCBDA hastremendous potential for replicationand scaling up keeping in view theconstantly growing demand. Heexplained that it is a sustainablemechanism under the UNOSSC andis now institutionalized as part of theGSSD Academy platform. Mr. Bhatt,in the end stated that the stage is nowset for SSCBDA to move fromacademy based support toinstitutional support and demanded3 year institutional support forexpanding the activities of the GlobalCenter for Excellence in organisingthe SSCBDA from donors andUNOSSC.

The demand for AIDMI's active rolein integrating DRR withdevelopment is tremendous, fromCambodia, Brazil, China, Thailand,and Nepal. Ways are being found toaddress this demand.

– Mihir R. Bhatt and Denis Nkala

Youth and Disaster Risk Reduction

Mr. Mihir R. Bhatt was lucky to meet young professionals from Kenyain Nairobi arourd the meeting on Global South-South Development

Expo 2013, October 28 to November 1, 2013.

From the various discussions and comments the following five came out asstriking action points for reshaping the Hyogo Framework for Action 2 (HFA 2).1. Crop diversification as a risk reduction measure needs more attention.2. Skills for sustainable growth that are risk resilient need to be defined.3. Financing existing drinking water and sanitation systems to make them

more resilient.4. Environmental monitoring and reporting of the impact of disasters.

The youth want to be more directly involved in disaster risk reductionactivities in their respective governments. However, most authorities seekout involvement of experts and not youth. The youth also want to findfuture careers in disaster risk reduction but there are not many opportunitiesat national or local level. The wide spread interest of the youth in DRR activitiesshould be channelised to achieve better outcomes in the HFA2 process.

– Jyoti Agrawal

2010-2013 Theme Location Participants Countries

First Earthquake Recovery Bhuj, Gujarat, India 62 9

Second Tsunami Recovery Banda Aceh, 60 4Indonesia

Third Harmonizing DRR and Camarines Sur, 134 8CCA for Preparedness Philippines

Forth Child Rights New Delhi, India 66 11

Fifth CCA, DRR and RMKupang, NTT, 174 5Ecosystem Indonesia

Sixth Application of Cash Odisha, India 31 5Transfers for DRRand CCA

Seventh Integrating DRR and Philippines 50 7CCA


CLIMATE CHANGE

Still Time at Warsaw

How can the impact of the Warsawtalks be improved? The

Climate Change Conference whichstarted on November 11, 2013 andwould end on November 22 atWarsaw is a landmark for taking upissues that are transforming oureconomies to be greener and cleaner.The welcome statement byChristiana Figueres, ExecutiveSecretary of United NationsFramework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC) set the tone anddirection towards sustainabledevelopment. So far difficultquestions have been asked aboutcarbon emission rise, and areas thatwere not directly addressedadequately such as enhanced businesse n g a g e m e n t — i n c l u d i n gengagement with the coal industry—are now being discussed at Warsaw.Concerted efforts are being made tobuild cooperative spirit among thedeveloped and developing countrieswith the result that the poorestcountries have finalized and sharedcomprehensive set of plans to dealwith wide range of impacts of climatechange. But what is still demandingattention before the conference endson November 22, 2013 to transformour economies? The following fourtop the list if we look at localdemand:1. The Delta areas of the world

require direct attention. The Niledelta in Egypt, Mahanadi delta inIndia, or for exampleBrahmaputra delta in India andBangladesh are home to some ofthe most fragile economies. Notonly will they suffer from possiblesea level rise but also from moresalinity ingress, cyclones, floods,and droughts. And these will leadto loss of lives as well as large scaleloss of livelihoods of the poor and

farm labour. At the same time thecommunities in delta areas aretaking measures with their ownresources, ingenuity, and hard toilto survive and move out ofpoverty. Climate andDevelopment KnowledgeNetwork (CDKN) supportedinitiative in the Mahanadi deltahighlights this struggle. Suchefforts and their vulnerabilitydemand global attention so thatthese communities take up climatesmart jobs and livelihoods morefitting to the new economy that weaspire to build. Without focus onlivelihoods our economies cannotbe transformed to be green andclean.

2. Even more focus is needed onindividuals who will be affected byclimate change. They are citizens.They have a voice. And their voicemust be heard in global events. Thenew NAMA Handbook is one suchstep by United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP)and United Nations EnvironmentRecovery Programme (UNEP) tobring all such voices to the globalforum. But how to move frompublished voices to direct voicesin the discussions and decisionmaking? The citizens mostvulnerable to climate risk still don'ta have substantial and systematicsay in such debates anddiscussions. Warsaw must decide tofind a way to do so. The inclusion ofthe victims in the decision makingwill lead to effective, open andaccountable institutions to addressglobal transformation of economyat local level. The Global Facilityfor Disaster Risk Reduction(GFDRR) with its clout of moneyand expertise has a role to playhere.

3. A greater focus on water and foodsecurity is needed in coming twodays at Warsaw. Right to Fresh Air,Right to Food, and Right to Waterhave never been under more threatthan now because of the directionin which our economies aregrowing. And this threat is notinevitable. There are other climatesmart and sustainable ways foreconomies to grow. TheInternational Strategy for DisasterReduction's (ISDR) efforts to shapethe Hyogo Framework for Action2 (HFA 2) is narrowing down onbuilding food and water securityas one of the best ways to protectthe poor who are vulnerable toclimate change. Discussions inWarsaw strengthen these efforts.

4. The role of BASIC countries—Brazil, South Africa, India, andChina—is becoming crucial. Whatcan they do to accelerate thetransformation of global andregional economies? One idea thatcomes up again and again is theirrole to make sure that no countryis left behind in these discussionsand debates on transformingeconomies. Their regional spread,growing markets, and upwardpush offer such an opportunity.May be an agency such as SwissAgency for DevelopmentCoopration have a role to play asan independent but sympatheticthird party to work with BASICcountries in developing suchinclusive processes.

Time is always in short supply. But itis what we can achieve in the giventime that is important. And there isstill time at Warsaw to move closerto transforming our economies to beclimate smart. This opportunityshould not be missed.

– Mihir R. Bhatt


RISK RESILIENCE

Building Resilience in Asia and the Pacific

Asia-Pacific is the most disaster-prone region of the world. It has

faced a series of multiple, exogenousshocks in recent years whichtranscend geographical boundariesand endanger our communities.Building resilience to multiplesshocks is therefore one of the mostpressing challenges for policymakersin the region.

The flagship publication of UNEconomic and Social Commission forAsia and the Pacific (ESCAP),'Building Resilience to NaturalDisasters and Major EconomicCrises', finds that overlapping andinterlinked nature of these shockscalls for a more comprehensive andsystemic approach to buildingresilience. It presented a roadmap forthe region at the 69th Commission ofESCAP in May 2013, the highest inter-governmental body in the Asia-Pacificregion.

ESCAP has taken many steps toaddress the challenge of buildingresilience in multi-dimensional ways.ESCAP's long standing SpaceApplication Programme is a case inpoint. It has made concerted effortsto promote the application of spacetechnology for supporting disasterrisk reduction (DRR) and sustainabledevelopment. Space-basedinformation can help to map outhazards and vulnerabilities forevidence-based policymaking andplanning, provide accurate warningsof impending disasters, and helpdisaster impact assessments–thussignificantly mitigating the adverseimpacts of disasters. Despite thesignificant progress in the region onspace technology, the spread of itsapplication has been uneven andunderutilized, because of the lack of

capacity in terms of human, scientific,technological, and institutionalresources.

ESCAP's Space ApplicationProgramme gives high priority tocapacity building in developingcountries to effectively use space andGIS applications for DRR/M. Just inthe last two years, it providedtraining for around 400 policymakersand practitioners from 38 memberStates, UN entities, academicinstitutes and NGOs. The programmealso provides valuable products andservices such near-real- time satellite

imagery for effective disasterresponse, relief and impactassessments through ESCAP'sRegional Space ApplicationsProgram for SustainableDevelopment. ESCAP has also takenthe lead in promoting theestablishment and use of geo-referenced information system forevidence based policymaking foreffective DRR/M.

Under its flagship product, RegionalCooperative Mechanism for DroughtMonitoring and Early Warning,ESCAP will be soon bringing spaceand GIS applications to buildingresilience of agrarian communitiesthat are perennially affected bydrought.

At the 69th Commission, Asia Pacificcountries adopted a historic 5-yearagreement, The Asia-Pacific Plan ofAction for Applications of SpaceTechnology and GIS for DRR andSustainable Development and taskedESCAP to take the lead inimplementing it by harmonizing andpromoting regional cooperationmechanisms.

Building resilience requires urgentattention. It is imperative thatpolicymakers, communities, andprivate sector work together to weaveresilience into economic, social andenvironmental policies. As theregional arm of the United Nations,ESCAP provides a multilateralplatform for sharing knowledge,engaging in policy dialogue andbuilding consensus towards ourcommon goal of achieving inclusive,sustainable and resilientdevelopment in Asia and thePacific.– Dr. Shamika Sirimanne, UNESCAP

Dr. Shamika Sirimanne, Director of ICTand Disaster Risk Reduction Divisionof UNESCAP.

ESCAP's SpaceApplication Programmegives high priority tocapacity building indeveloping countries toeffectively use space andGIS applications fordisaster risk reduction.


ALL INDIA DISASTER MITIGATION INSTITUTE411 Sakar Five, Near Natraj Cinema, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad–380 009 IndiaTele/Fax: +91-79-2658 2962E-mail: [email protected], Website: http://www.aidmi.org, www.southasiadisasters.net

PRINTED MATTERBook-Post

Ms./Mr.

Do you wish to receive this publication regularly? Write to AIDMI ([email protected]). The publication will be sent byE-mail. Your comments help southasiadisasters.net remain an effective and informative resource for regional issues of disasterrisk management. Please contribute comments, features, reports, discussion points, and essays about your work. Today!

TITLEWAY AHEAD

Coordinators from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) discussed All India Disaster Mitigation Institute's (AIDMI)work in the light of Hyogo Framework for Action 2 (HFA 2). The AIDMI way of relief and rehabilitation with

ownership of local leaders and community participation were recognised during the discussion. Participantsdiscussed AIDMI's work on institutionalising Climate Smart Disaster Risk Management (CSDRM) and inclusiveDistrict Disaster Management Plan (DDMP). The need for School Safety campaign and 2nd generation DDMP inJ&K were realised. Evaluation of long term recovery program in Tamil Nadu and Pilot SDMP were also recognisedas innovative approaches to understanding risks in humanitarian sector. Such approaches needs wider applicationin Jammu and Kashmir on one hand and high altitude regions in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Nepal,Sikkim, and Myanmar on the other hand. The HFA2 agenda most support such upscaling of good pilots.

– Gautam Bhut

Shaping HFA-2 Agenda

Photo

: AID

MI.

an-r&r 25 9 04...the flood disaster in uttarakhand was introduced to the children. the children...

Documents