Summary Records and Conclusions of the 7th Meeting of the IATF on Disaster Reduction, 10-11 April, 2003
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Inter- Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction
SEVENTH MEETING
Palais des Nations, Geneva, 10-11 April 2003
SUMMARY RECORDS and CONCLUSIONS
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Content:
Introduction 2
Briefing by the ISDR Secretariat 2
Reports by the Working Groups of IATF 3
Elements for IATF work programme 2004-2005 and for the review of the work of the IATF for the General Assembly 3
The advancement of disaster reduction in Europe 5
Summary of conclusions and decisions 5
Annexes: 6
I. Agenda
II. List of participants
III. Reports from the IATF Working Groups and comments by the Task Force
IV. Priority areas defined by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction
V. Europe networks relevant to ISDR
www.unisdr.org
Introduction
The Chair, Mr. Kenzo Oshima, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, welcomed members and observers to the Seventh Meeting of the Inter- Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction. He introduced the meeting by highlighting the need to continue focusing on disaster and risk reduction, addressing vulnerabilities, despite global conflicts and humanitarian crisis, such as the on-going conflict in Iraq. He reminded that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction is a policy body, expected to produce tangible results and added-value products to guide national governments and the global community in this regard.
Briefing by the ISDR Secretariat
The Director of the ISDR Secretariat, Mr. Sálvano Briceño, gave a comprehensive overview of the achievements and challenges of the Secretariat over the past six months, working in collaboration with a growing number of partners and institutions. He invited all members to study the documentation presented to the meeting.
Regarding the follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) the ISDR Secretariat is preparing for the 11th session of the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD, 28 April – 8 May 2003) to ensure that disaster reduction will be on the future agenda of the CSD.
Regarding the Yokohama review the preparatory work is proceeding. The review is building on the global review of disaster reduction initiatives Living with Risk (2002). It is expected to lead to a programme of action for disaster risk reduction 2005-2015, which would be adopted at the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR-2, Kobe, January 2005). The process includes preparation of national and regional reports and regional and thematic consultations.
The process also includes the development of a framework for guidance and monitoring of disaster risk reduction, which is evolving from the earlier ISDR framework for action and the global review of disaster reduction initiatives, several regional frameworks and models, in addition to UNDP’s risk index and draft World Vulnerability Report. This framework is expected to help:
o Identify categories/components of overall framework within the context of sustainable development for common understanding on the subject of disaster risk reduction;
o Define benchmarks and indicators to be developed and utilized;
o Guide governments, UN system, IATF/DR, field practitioners, project managers on disaster risk reduction; and
o Provide a comprehensive reporting mechanism through review and use of benchmarks.
An Internet consultation with experts and practitioners is scheduled for July 2003. Preparatory meetings with agencies and Governments are planned for the later part of 2003 and in 2004. The IATF is expected to provide guidance to the process.
The Task Force was briefed on the ISDR Support Group, an informal group, which provides support and articulate expectations from the donor community and other interested countries on ISDR, convened by Swiss Government. It recently met for the third time with participation of UNDP and the ProVention Consortium.
Task Force members and observers provided advice and recommendations as follows:
A generally positive perception was expressed on the progress of work and outputs prepared by the Secretariat. The elaboration of a number of tools and documents has proved useful for individual Task Force members and organizations in enhancing their own work. SOPAC noted that “what is being framed at global level is reaching the grass roots” in the Pacific, since they are circulated and used by all 16 member countries.
UNESCO and CRED appreciated that the Secretariat has increasingly facilitated partnerships and enhanced networking, to initiate or stimulate activities among researchers and thematic groups. It is important to recognize, in addition, that the broader work for the implementation of ISDR is progressing due to the involvement of a wider number of countries and institutions. OAS mentioned, as an example, the recent establishment of the Andean Committee for Disaster Prevention and Response (CAPRADE).
Recognition and encouragement for the current focus on Africa was raised in several occasions throughout the meeting. The regional ISDR outreach office in Nairobi was considered to be useful to foster more partnerships and awareness among sub-regional and national African authorities on risk reduction issues and early warning capabilities, among other things. The African Union, the Drought Monitoring Centre and UNEP expressed strong support for this outreach programme.
Task Force members stressed the need to increase engagement at national level and indicated their interest in supporting development of national mechanisms or platforms within the framework of ISDR. For the purpose of coherence, more guidance from the Secretariat would be expected. This will be a task to develop in close collaboration with UNDP for developing countries. Others expressed interest in collaborating as well (UNESCO, ADRC, SOPAC, AU, DMC and others). The World Bank stressed the need for increased advocacy with the financial and development sectors at national levels, and saw a particular added value of the ISDR framework for that advocacy purpose.
The need to focus on schools and education was highlighted by the Ibero-American Association of Civil Protection to build a culture of prevention. The ISDR could play a triggering and stimulating role in this area, engaging with relevant international, regional and national authorities.
The development of benchmarks and a monitoring framework for disaster risk reduction to guide and measure progress in risk reduction was encouraged. Caution was raised regarding the difficulties to measure the impact of disaster reduction, i.e. the losses that were avoided.
In addition, the IFRC informed about their International Conference, to be held in Geneva, December 2003, with the participation of almost 190 governments. It will have vulnerability and disaster risk reduction for the first time, and IFRC recommended an active participation of ISDR Secretariat and interested institutions in addition to governments.
The Chair thanked members for their encouraging responses and useful advice to the Secretariat.
Reports by the Working Groups of IATF
The conveners of the Working Groups and the Ad-Hoc discussion group on drought reported on their progress and achievements. The Chair joined many commentators by expressing satisfaction of the tangible results by all groups, demonstrated in the background reports made available in advance and the presentations[1].
The chair encouraged further thoughts on directions for how to proceed with the existing groups, including their time-limitation, and how their activities could evolve into international initiatives or networks, when appropriate.
Elements for IATF work programme 2004-2005 and for the review of the work of the IATF for the General Assembly
The ISDR Secretariat presented a background note on these two items. The list of priorities defined at the first Task Force meeting in 2000[2] was provided. Elements for the review and appraisal of the work will be reflected in the Secretary-General’s report to the UN General Assembly later in the year. The Chair invited to a frank discussions on how to improve the work of the Task Force.
The elaboration of a work programme of the Task Force for 2004-2005 was welcomed. It should take account of the Yokohama strategy review process.
UNESCO informed on the International Decade of Education on Sustainable Development 2005-2015, which was launched at the WSSD. He recommended to link disaster reduction to this Decade at an early stage. The start of the Decade would also present an opportunity to raise the relevance of education at the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Kobe, January 2005.
A delegate from the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) informed on the opportunity for ISDR to enhance disaster reduction in the information technology context in the up-coming World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS, Geneva, 2003). GRULAC has already submitted draft text on this subject for the plan of action expected as an outcome of the Summit.
Urban risk and vulnerability was identified as an increasingly relevant focus area and was introduced by UN-HABITAT. UNESCO, UNEP, the UN University, the UN Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), supported it. UN-HABITAT informed that the topic of risk in human settlements would be discussed at a special session during their upcoming Governing Council (5-9 May 2003).
The follow-up to the outcomes of WSSD was considered another key area of focus, to continue mainstreaming disaster and risk reduction in sustainable development and national planning. The IATF collective and individual commitment to this area was felt necessary. The ISDR Secretariat should continue to liase with the UN Department for Social and Economic Affairs in this regard. UNESCO and ICLEI noted that relevant to this context is the participation of Task Force members in “type 2 partnerships”, such as the one on Resilient Communities launched at the WSSD.
Linking climate change and disaster risk reduction is another growing area of demand, where the Task Force was considered well placed to provide a substantive contribution. The UN General Assembly decided in its 57th session[3] that the Secretary-General report on the implementation of ISDR to the 58th Session Assembly should include a section on “negative impacts of extreme weather events and associated natural disasters on vulnerable countries”. The ISDR Secretariat, with some of the IATF members, has already engaged in consultations with relevant organizations in the field of climate change namely the Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Netherlands Red Cross Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness, the ProVention Consortium, UNDP and others.
The representative of AU suggested more focus to identify policy gaps and to concentrate on Africa, as was already referred to in several topics during the meeting. It was suggested that the disaster reduction developments in Africa be a special agenda topic for a future Task Force meeting.
Regarding the elements for the review of the work of the IATF, the ISDR Director welcomed timely inputs from IATF members, to be used in the preparation of the appraisal in the Secretary- General’s report. In that context the UNESCO representative urged IATF member institutions to take stock of what they were themselves doing and accomplishing in the field. The current mandate and functions of the Task Force were generally considered appropriate. On the membership, ICLEI noted the lack of a local authority body as a member of the Task Force, which should be considered.
OAS raised the need to produce “client oriented” products to help decision-making and to guide disaster mitigation. The elaboration of global risk maps was cited as one example of such products. In that regard MunichRe informed about their recently published Mega City Risk Index, which will be made available to the Task Force. On the same subject UNDP informed that their forthcoming World Vulnerability Report includes a preliminary attempt to map risk, based on historical disaster impact and socio-economic parameters of vulnerability, recognizing both the growing demands and difficulties of citing authoritatively the social dimensions inherent in hazards and vulnerabilities.
On modalities for the future work, broad support was expressed for the proposals presented in the background paper, including the suggestion to name a deputy Chairperson, who could be identified on a rotational basis among the members of the IATF. Heads of Agencies should also be invited to occasionally address the IATF meetings to gradually raise the profile and visibility of the Task Force and promote a dialogue at policy level among the members and the heads of agencies.
On the subjects of working groups some members expressed concern to increase the number of groups to address new topics, due to limited resources. It was suggested that the groups could adopt different forms to allow for flexibility, and that they should be limited in time, responding to specific problems, to which the Task Force with additional expertise would bring added value. Modalities would include ad-hoc discussion groups, advisory expert groups, electronic discussion forums, regional networks, co-chairing, and possibility holding of meetings in disaster prone countries to involve local and national expertise. They should be complementary to working groups and arrangements of other institutions already in place, to seek synergy and avoid duplication.
The advancement of disaster reduction in Europe
The ISDR Secretariat explained that similarly to its initiatives in other regions, it had engaged in developing a regional outreach programme in Europe. The programme will entail the development of a multi-tiered network of disaster reduction specialists, public authorities, academia and regional stakeholders, entirely based on existing assets which can benefit from synergy and increased cooperation[4]. A key objective is to use European based experience to enhance North-South cooperation with developing countries and other regions.
The EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement of the Council of Europe and the European Commission Joint Research Centre made presentations on their activities. The Task Force took note of the recent resolution on ISDR adopted by the Ministerial Session of EUR-OPA, Bandol, France, October 2002. The delegate of Spain informed of the preparations for the Forum on disaster reduction in the Euro-Mediterranean region Madrid, 6-8 October 2003, organised by UN/ISDR and EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement of the Council of Europe. The organisers expressed high interest in associating the European Commission to this event and to the process leading to it.
Summary of conclusions and decisions
The Chair provided the following summary of conclusions and decisions, endorsed by the meeting.
The ISDR, with its two mechanisms, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF/DR) and the Secretariat (UN/ISDR), is increasingly recognized as a fruitful platform for coordination and policy advice, seeking synergies, producing concrete and tangible results. In particular, the presence and current work in Africa by the ISDR Secretariat outreach programme was recognized and further encouraged.