The Water Resources Section of the Environment and Development Division is the focal point for the coordination
of natural disaster reduction activities of the United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Natural disaster
reduction activities of UNESCAP started 50 years ago, when the Bureau
for Flood Control (now the Water Resources Section) was established in
1949 to advise and assist member governments with regard to flood control
and related river problems. 1999 thus marked the fiftieth year of UNESCAP's
contributions to flood control and management in the region in particular,
and to water resources management in general.
1999 was also the final year of the International
Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR 1989-1999), and the launching
year of the new International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction.
Every year, UNESCAP, together with United
Nations agencies, governments and non-governmental organization in the
Asia and Pacific region, commemorated the International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) with a forum of
experts, entitled and an exhibition.
In its Geology for Planning programme, ESCAP
has been working to encourage decision- makers to take geological factors
into account, to improve the quality of land-use planning and reduce the
effect of natural hazards posed by earthquakes, volcanoes, ground subsidence
and flooding. This is particularly urgent for coastal lowlands of the
region, habitat to an estimated 1.7 billion people, and even more so for
the urban centres, most of which are located in the coastal zone. The
programme strives to guide geologists to present their data in a user-friendly
manner, (such as thematic maps including hazard zoning) readily understandable
to decision- makers.
ESCAP has also played major roles in strengthening
subregional networks in this area, such as the Typhoon Committee, the
Panel on Tropical Cyclones and the Mekong River Commission.
What's New?
Activities:
2006 |
 Building community resilience
to natural disasters through partnership:
Sharing experience and expertise in the region
|
2005 |
Partnership for Disaster Reduction
in South-East Asia (PDR SEA)
|
2004 |
ADPC/UNESCAP Annual Journalists' Award for
Outstanding Reporting on
Emergencies and Disasters: 2004
All nominations should reach the following address on
or before
September
15, 2004. Only completed nomination forms will be
accepted.
Thirty-first Session of
the Panel on Tropical Cyclones for the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea
Colombo, 1-6 March, 2004 |
2003 |
Participatory
Project Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation for Community-based Disaster
Risk Management
Manila, 13-18 October, 2003 |
Information
Management for Disaster Reduction Training Workshop
Bangkok, 8-9 October, 2003 |
International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
Bangkok, 8 October, 2003 |
Thirtieth Session of WMO/UNESCAP
Panel on Tropical Cyclones
4-10 March, 2003 |
2002 |
Regional
Workshop on Management: Strengthening Capacity-Building in National
Meteorological Services of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
16-18 October, 2002 |
International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
Bangkok, 9 October, 2002 |
| 2001 |
34th
Session of Typhoon Committee, Honolulu
December, 2001 |
Flood
Mitigation & Preparedness: Technical Reference Material
20-23 November, 2001 |
Training
Workshop on Flood Mitigation
26-29 March, 2001 |
| 2000 |
International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
Bangkok, 11 October, 2000 |
| 1999 |
IDNDR-ESCAP
Regional Meeting for Asia: Risk Reduction and Society in the 21st Century
Bangkok, 23-16 February, 1999 |
| 1998 |
Workshop
on Regional Cooperation in Flood Control and Management for Improvement of
the Urban Environment in Asia and the Pacific
Bangkok, 26-30 October,
1998 |
|
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