International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) 2000

The theme for this year, "Disaster Prevention, Education and Youth" was promoting a shift from a culture of reaction to disasters to a culture of prevention. Global commemoration activities aimed to increase awareness of policy-makers and the public about the necessity for education programmes in disaster prevention and management.

ESCAP Forum on Disaster Reduction

The ESCAP Forum on Disaster Reduction was opened with a message by ESCAP Executive Secreatry Mr. Kim Hak-Su. and chaired by Mr. Cengiz Ertuna, Chief, Environment and Natural Resources Development Division.

In his message, Mr. Kim reminded the participants that that "a lot remains to be done" in the field of natural disaster reduction. Last year alone, the continued rise in frequency, severity and cost of disasters facing societies had underlined the importance of intensifying public and private commitments to hazard and risk reduction.

Last year in eighteen countries surveyed in Asia, there were 13,600 deaths reported and 41.4 million people severely affected by natural disasters. Floods, droughts, typhoons, cyclones, snowstorms and forest fires resulted in a staggering economic loss of 28.8 billion US$. It was estimated that nearly half of the world's major disasters occur in Asia and the Pacific. Since 1990, the total number of deaths due to natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific has exceeded 200,000. Thus, the message concluded that the most important task in the medium and long-term was to strengthen and broaden programmes which reduce the number and cost of disasters in the first place.

The Forum featured the following speakers and themes:

• Mr. Siri Akaakara, Director, Forest Fire Control Department Division of the Thai Royal Forestry Department, "Thailand's efforts to prevent large-scale forest fires"
• Mr. Ksemsan Suwarnarat, Deputy Director General, City Planning Department, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, "Bangkok flood protection works"
• Mr. Aloysius Rego, Director of Planning and Development of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, "Asian urban disaster mitigation project"
• Ms. Fainula Kurji-Rodriguez, Director, Corporate Planning and Program Development, Asia Pacific Disaster Management Center, "Globalization, information technology and disasters"

ESCAP Forum on Disaster Reduction (from left to right):
Mr. Rego, ADPC, Mr. Suwarnarat, BMA, Mr. Ertuna, ESCAP, Ms. Kurji-Rodriguez, APDMC, Mr. Akaakara, RFD

ESCAP exhibition "Disaster Reduction in the ESCAP Region"

The exhibition "Disaster Reduction in the ESCAP Region" was featured on a large and open space in the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok and included displays, videos and inter-active computer-based information on disaster prevention programmes from UN agencies, the Thai government, and regional non-governmental organizations working on disaster prevention.

"Disaster prevention is a long-term activity, but it is an urgent task in light of the recent devastating disasters in the region," said ESCAP expert Dr. Huub van Wees in the ESCAP press release. "The aim is to prevent disasters and their alarming impacts through the implementation of disaster prevention policies and techniques such as land-use planning, hazard mapping and vulnerability indicators."

Exhibit of Thai Royal Forestry Department

ESCAP has been facilitating information exchange on disaster management in the Asia and Pacific region since its inception. It is specifically focusing on flood disaster and geology-related hazard prevention. It has recently published "Regional Cooperation in the Twenty-first Century on Flood Control and Management in Asia and the Pacific". This is the first report that focuses on regional experiences in flood control and management processes at the basin, national and regional levels.

Moreover, ESCAP works with geological survey departments of member states to prevent geology-related hazards, such as earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and some types of flooding, from becoming disasters (see also ESCAP urban geology programme). The approach is to produce maps based on geological information, showing high-, medium- and low-level hazard zones that can be readily understood by planners and the public. Using such hazard maps in existing cities, the identified high-risk areas can help authorities to enhance preparedness and post-disaster relief efforts. In growing or future cities, disasters can be prevented through the avoidance of settlements in hazard-prone areas.

On the intergovernmental level, ESCAP has been supporting the ESCAP/WMO (World Meteorological Organization) Typhoon Committee and the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones since their inception in 1968 and 1972, respectively. The Typhoon Committee is currently composed of 14 members and the Panel on Tropical Cyclones of 7 members. The Committee and the Panel promote and coordinate governmental efforts to provide early warning and to minimize tropical cyclone damage in vulnerable areas of the ESCAP region.

For further information, please contact:
Chief, Water Resources Section, Fax: + 66 2 288 1059, Email: jezeph.unescap@un.org.

You may also visit the website of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (Geneva): www.unisdr.org