INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR NATURAL DISASTER REDUCTION

9 October 2002

Disaster Reduction for Sustainable Mountain Development

Sustainable Mountain Development

Mountains and Natural Disasters

Mountains provide most of the world's fresh water, harbour as much or more biodiversity than any other areas and are home to at least one in ten people.  Mountains are a barometer for climate change.  A change in temperature can disrupt a mountain system.  Mountain glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates.  Consequently, mountains will become more dangerous as soil erosion, landslides, rock fall, floods and avalanches increase in frequency and intensity.  Mountains are also very sensitive to environmental change, and environmental degradation becomes apparent earlier and quicker.  In general, changes in soil regime above the treeline are irreversible.  Mountain forests are crucial to the ecological health of the planet, as they protect the watersheds which supply freshwater.  Tropical mountain forests have been disappearing at an alarming pace in recent years.

Natural Disasters and Sustainable Development

The challenge of coping with disasters and the need to integrate disaster reduction into sustainable development planning must number among our major concerns.  Natural disasters result in loss of lives, serious economic damage and severe impacts on the social conditions.  However, natural disasters have received very little consideration in development policies, especially policies towards alleviating poverty.

 The UN Resolution on IDNDR (42^nd General Assembly, 1987) says, in particular, that the effect of natural disasters may severely damage the fragile economic infrastructure of developing countries, especially the least developed, landlocked and island countries, and thus hamper their development.  According to the World Commission on Environment and Development Report (Brundtland Report) in 1987, sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Natural disaster reduction in Asia and the Pacific

            In an UNESCAP survey carried out in 1999 (at the completion of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction), natural disasters that affected the countries included floods, cyclones, earthquakes, drought, tornado, debris flow including landslide and mudflow, hailstorms, surge, tsunami and regional haze.  The most common disaster experienced practically in all the responding countries was floods. 

            In another survey of UNESCAP in 2001 for the Typhoon Committee Area, floods were the most common disaster experienced practically by all the responding Members and rated to be the most severe in almost all responses. Efforts were made to quantify the average annual economic losses caused by typhoon-related disasters in monetary terms, which varied from US$5.5 million in Hong Kong, China to as high as US$1,960 million in Japan.

   In general, impacts of river floods were listed to be high by most of the Members, and the impacts of urban floods were estimated to be high by several Members, such as Japan and Malaysia.  Flash floods were found to be frequent in several countries while data on coastal floods, particularly storm surges, were not readily available in most responses.

Floods of 2002

While countries of the UNESCAP region have made some progress in the reduction of damage from natural and man-made disasters, recent disasters that struck a large number of countries in the region dictate the need for continued, concerted efforts towards assisting developing countries in enhancing their disaster prevention, preparedness and rehabilitation capabilities.  This year's catastrophic floods and landslides, for instance, have caused loss of lives and serious damages in many countries.  In China, 1,123 people were reported killed, 1.3 million left homeless and 140 million people have been affected in 2002.  Similarly, in India more than 600 people have been killed and at least 1.5 million homes destroyed.  In Nepal, at least 50 people are feared dead after landslides triggered by monsoon rains swept through two villages.  In 2002, the Philippines was severely hit by floods, which caused 142 casualties, affected nearly 500,000 families and over 2.2 million people.  Similarly, the heavy casualties of 2002 were mostly caused by flash floods and landslides: more than 600 people in China died during the months of July and August, as well as 48 people in Bangladesh and 38 people in India.  There were also reports of serious flood damage in several other countries, such as in Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam and most countries in Central Asia in 2002.

UNESCAP Activities on Disaster Reduction

In 2001, UNESCAP implemented a regional project aiming at "Strengthening Capacity in Participatory Planning and Management for Flood Mitigation and Preparedness in Large River Basins in Asia and the Pacific".  Under the project, four case studies were carried out in China, India, Indonesia and Viet Nam.  For China, the case study focused on the Huai He River Basin, including a detailed review of Chinese experiences in all the major river basins.  A national seminar was held in Nanjing, China in September 2001.  The case study for Viet Nam focused on the Red River Basin, and included recent experiences in dealing with the flood of 2001.  A national seminar was held in October 2001 in Hanoi to emphasize the need to improve public awareness and participation in dealing with extreme flood situations.  For Indonesia, the case study dealt with the experience and persisting serious problem of annual flooding in the Greater Jakarta Area.  A national seminar was held in November 2001 for the formulation of a national strategy on flood preparedness and mitigation, as part of the ongoing reform on water resources management in the country.  The case study for India focused on the Ganga-Brahmaputra and Meghna Basin, the area in which the majority of the poor live.  The national seminar on Participatory Flood Management Strategy for Flood Mitigation in East and North-East Region of India was held in Kolkata in November 2001.

 A regional workshop on Participatory Planning and Management for Flood Mitigation and Preparedness in Large River Basins in Asia and the Pacific was held in Bangkok in November 2001.  The Workshop was attended by 24 participants from eight members of UNESCAP, comprising Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.  It was also attended by five experts from the Regional Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRCS), the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) and the private sector, together with two consultants from the Netherlands and the United States of America.  Based on the experiences covered in the case studies and inputs from studies undertaken by the resource persons, a new participatory approach derived from the review prepared by the consultant was adopted at the Workshop.  This ensured more effective exchange of experiences, and maximum involvement of all participants, in the formulation of guidelines by UNESCAP, to prepare outputs and follow-up action plans.  Important outputs and recommendations of the workshop included (1) preparation of a set of guidelines on participatory planning and management for flood mitigation and preparedness (in place of an overall review of experiences and trends - already completed) and (2) priority needs and opportunities in capacity-building on participatory planning and management for flood mitigation and preparedness. Preparation of the guidelines along the outline proposed by the workshop is currently in progress and expected to be completed in October 2002.

             At the request of the Typhoon Committee, and in cooperation with WMO and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) of Japan, UNESCAP assisted the Typhoon Committee in carrying out a comprehensive review aiming at strengthening regional cooperation in flood forecasting and disaster prevention and preparedness in 2001.  The comprehensive review included a regional survey, which was completed in June 2001, a regional workshop on "Evaluation and Improvement of Operational Flood Forecasting Models in the Typhoon Committee Area" held in Bangkok in August 2001, and an expert review mission that visited eight member countries of the Typhoon Committee to discuss the findings and recommendations of the survey and the workshop in September and October 2001.  The Workshop was attended by 57 participants from 12 Typhoon Committee Members, comprising Cambodia; China; People's Democratic Republic of Korea; Japan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; Philippines; Republic of Korea; Singapore; Thailand and Viet Nam.  It was also attended by six experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Mekong River Secretariat (MRCS), the Typhoon Committee Secretariat (TCS), the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC).  The outputs of the comprehensive review included a programme of priority actions aiming at strengthening regional cooperation on flood mitigation and preparedness, that was subsequently endorsed by the Typhoon Committee at its 34^th session held in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States from 28 November to 4 December 2001.

             As a follow-up to the above-mentioned comprehensive review, UNESCAP, in cooperation with TCS, WMO and MLIT, assisted in the implementation of the recommended programme of priority actions in 2002.  The activities included (1) participation in a two-day meeting of the TC Working Group on Hydrological Component in February 2002, in Tokyo, to prepare a detailed implementation programme, (2) assistance in the organization of a regional workshop on "Integration of Risk Analysis and Management of Water-related Disasters into the Development Process in the Typhoon Committee Area" to be held in Manila in July 2002, and (3) mobilizing TC members in the implementation of the priority activities, particularly for hazard risk mapping and forecasting of flash floods and sediment disasters. 

The Panel on Tropical Cyclones for the Gulf of Bengal and Arabian Sea, at its 29^th session held in Yangon from 12 to 18 March 2002, in consultation with WMO and TSU, requested UNESCAP to launch a regional survey as part of a comprehensive review with a priority focus aiming to strengthen the Panel's activities on water-related disaster.  The regional survey is scheduled for completion in the latter part of 2002 to enable WMO to mobilize resources and to undertake review missions in consultation with UNESCAP and other partners, to selected member countries to discuss implementation of the survey's recommendations.  

In cooperation with the Third World Water Forum (WWF-3) Secretariat, UNESCAP has conducted an ongoing session on the Virtual Forum of WWF-3 on "Regional Cooperation in Flood Preparedness and Reduction" since 10 October 2001.  The main objective of the session is "to intensify cooperation to reduce the number and effects of natural and man-made disasters" as mentioned in the Millennium Declaration.  As part of this common effort, discussion has being initiated with other partners, including MLIT, WMO, Typhoon Committee and Panel on Tropical Cyclones, to jointly hold a parallel session on regional cooperation on flood preparedness and mitigation for Asia during the Third World Water Forum scheduled to be held in Japan in March 2003. 

            Since its inception, UNESCAP has been undertaking various activities including capacity-building and information exchange in the Asia and the Pacific region focusing specifically on disasters related to hydro-meteorological phenomena.  UNESCAP has continued to jointly support, with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the activities of the Typhoon Committee and the Panel on Tropical Cyclones, the two intergovernmental subregional bodies set up by the countries affected by typhoons and cyclones, respectively.  The Committee and the Panel promote and coordinate governmental efforts to provide early warning and to minimize typhoon and tropical cyclone damage in vulnerable areas of the UNESCAP region. 

            Continued and strengthened cooperation on a multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary basis is considered essential to accomplish commonly-agreed objectives and priorities.  The need to improve regional, sub-regional, national and local capabilities and coordination is urgent.  The strengthening of people's capacity to respond rapidly at the local level is of the utmost importance.

For More Information

For further information on the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, please visit the ISDR web site: www.unisdr.org.

 For Information on UNESCAP activities in the area of disaster prevention, please contact:

Environment and Development Division (EDD)

United Nations ESCAP

Rajadamnern Avenue, Bangkok 10200

Fax: +66 2 288-1059

Email: escap-esdd@un.org

Website: www.unescap.org/esd/water/

Related Links

• The Secretary General's Message for the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction

• Tentative Programme

• Previous years' activities