BAN CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION TO MINIMIZE DISASTER DAMAGE IN ASIA

With Asia being the world's most vulnerable place for natural disasters, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the need for boosting efforts across the continent to prepare for catastrophes before they occur.

"We know that prevention is better than the cure," Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=556">said at the opening of a new UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (<"http://www.unisdr.org/">ISDR) office in Incheon, Republic of Korea (ROK). "Yet too often, there is a tendency to defer action until after disasters occur."

Last year, nearly 140,000 people died in Myanmar's devastating Cyclone Nargis, while over 5 million homes collapsed in the Sichuan earthquake in China.

The Secretary-General underscored the importance of building risk reduction capacities as well as raising public awareness.

"People, poverty and disaster risk are increasingly concentrated in cities," he said, noting that urban centres that were well-planned 25 years ago are now the scenes of annual flooding.

More than half of the world's 10 most populous cities are in Asia, and most of them are threatened by earthquakes and devastating tsunami waves, Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4022">said in his remarks to International Conference on Building a Local Government Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction, also in Incheon.

Rising sea temperatures triggered by climate change, he said, are raising the spectre of ever-more destructive hurricane and cyclones.

"And yet," he said, "we also know the possibility. With concerted action, we can reduce by half the loss of lives from disasters by 2015," calling for an end to "business as usual."

The Secretary-General appealed for a "collective effort," urging local authorities to speed up their efforts to make their cities safer by conducting risk assessments and encouraging private sector investment.

"By joining forces, we can protect livelihoods, make our schools and hospitals and other buildings safe, and promote a greener, cleaner future."

The UN organized a session during the conference today on better utilizing information and communication technology (ICT) – which includes traditional media such as radio and television, as well as space-based technologies including satellite communications – to prepare for and deal with catastrophic natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2008, nearly 250,000 people died as a result of natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific, representing 97 per cent of fatalities worldwide, according to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/">ESCAP).

With climate change increasing both the frequency and severity of disasters, setting up disaster resilience strategies is an urgent matter, said Hyeun-Suk Rhee, Director of the UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for ICT for Development (APCICT), which organized today's session.

Climate change was the focus of another speech the Secretary-General gave today in Incheon to the Global Environment Forum.

The ROK has dedicated some 80 per cent of its $38 billion national stimulus package to 'green' growth, the highest percentage in the world, Mr. Ban pointed out.

The investments will create nearly 1 million green jobs in the next four years, making a "fundamental shift in Korea's approach to building national prosperity," he <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=4019">said.

"But Korea must do more," he said, calling on the East Asian nation to slash its greenhouse gas emissions.

Only four months remain until the start of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where countries are expected to 'seal the deal' on an ambitious pact on slashing emissions, the Secretary-General said.

"Any agreement must be fair, effective, equitable and comprehensive, and based on science," he said. "And it must help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change."

UN EXAMINES HOW TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO MINIMIZE DISASTER DAMAGE IN ASIA-PACIFIC

Better utilizing information and communication technology (ICT) to prepare for and deal with catastrophic natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific region is the focus of a United Nations meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, today.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and last year's Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar have caused massive human and economic losses, partly due to inadequate national warning and response mechanisms, as well as the inability to address underlying risks, according to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

In 2008, nearly 250,000 people died as a result of natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific, representing 97 per cent of fatalities worldwide.

With climate change increasing both the frequency and severity of disasters, setting up disaster resilience strategies is an urgent matter, said Hyeun-Suk Rhee, Director of the UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for ICT for Development (APCICT), which organized today's session.

ICT spans radio, television and other traditional media, as well as new media and space-based technologies including satellite communications.

It can "play a major role in disaster management, from mapping risks, developing early warning systems, raising awareness to preparing communities for disasters," Ms. Rhee said. "ICT is also indispensable in response and recovery operations."

The APCICT gathering is bringing together experts to discuss gaps in disaster management and how to boost the use of ICT in response, recovery and risk reduction efforts.

Today's meeting is part of the three-day International Conference on Building a Local Government Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction, set up by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the Incheon Metropolitan City of the Republic of Korea.
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MYANMAR: INTERNATIONAL HELP STILL URGENTLY NEEDED FOR POST-CYCLONE REBUILDING – UN

People in Myanmar affected by last year's devastating Cyclone Nargis need considerable help in restoring their lives, the United Nations-backed group assisting the reconstruction of the South-East Asian nation said today, appealing to the international community for continued support.

"Experience from natural disasters of similar scale of destruction has shown that recovery support will be required for years to come," said Bishow Parajuli, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar.

He added that recovery efforts in the wake of the massive 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami are only beginning to be phased out now.

International assistance, therefore, is urgently required for early- and medium-term recovery efforts outlined in the three-year Post-Nargis Response and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP), which was launched earlier this year by the Tripartite Core Group (TCG), comprising the Myanmar Government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the UN.

That plan, which has a price tag of nearly $700 million, provides the blueprint for the reconstruction of communities devastated by the cyclone, which battered the country last May, leaving around 140,000 dead or missing and displacing 800,000 from their homes.

The need for funds – particularly for the shelter and agriculture sectors – is especially acute since the monsoon season will begin in just four weeks.

Over 1,000 families are still taking shelter in vulnerable buildings that provide minimal protection from possibly severe weather conditions, while small, poultry and draught animals must be re-stocked to assist vulnerable and landless households.

Assistance to farmers is essential to jump-start the local economy and restore agriculture-based livelihoods. Other areas needing boosts include education, especially for girls, and health.

The UN is currently arranging for another donor meeting to discuss needs in Yangon this week.
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INFORMATION SAVES LIVES IN HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES, UN OFFICIAL STRESSES

When a crisis or disaster strikes, the victims not only need rapid assistance with food, water, shelter and safety, but fast and effective information describing the situation on the ground, a senior United Nations humanitarian official told a panel discussion in New York today.

"The right information is crucial to being able to make the right decisions, particularly when one's life has been turned upside down by events outside of one's control," stressed UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine Bragg in her opening remarks to participants at the meeting.

The discussion, under the banner "Left in the Dark: The Unmet Need for Communication in Humanitarian Response," focused on the information needs of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.

When Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in May last year, it was weeks before local humanitarian relief efforts were reinforced by an international response. However, in that time information outlets provided a life-saving service, according to the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Dedicated radio broadcasts helped many to survive in those first critical weeks, telling them how to purify water, treat minor ailments, identify serious medical problems and build basic shelters.

"For people in remote areas of developing countries who may be cut off from help for weeks at a time if a disaster strikes, information is literally a life-saving resource," said Ms. Bragg, who is also Assistant-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

Participants at the meeting shared examples of cases where crucial information has successfully reached people caught up in emergency humanitarian situations through the UN, Member States, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The meeting, hosted by OCHA with the BBC World Service Trust and Internews, is part of an ongoing process aiming to make effective two-way communication with affected populations common practice during crises.
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