This meeting was held from 10 to 12 July 2012 in Kathmandu, jointly with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), Nepal as a follow-up activity to the Expert Group Meeting on Geo-reference Disaster Risk Management System in Asia-Pacific Region held from 15 to 17 February 2012 in Bangkok , and also an activity of the project entitled “ Improving disaster risk preparedness in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) region ” which ESCAP is currently implementing . This project has the overall goal of strengthening government capacities in the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) through the use of geo-referenced information tools for effective disaster risk preparedness, and timely early recovery efforts in the Asia-Pacific region with focus on countries with special needs (CSN).

The workshop discussed the importance of standardized geo-referenced information, and necessity of having a strong institutional mechanism and coordination for data/information sharing among the relevant national agencies, and networking and community of practices for an effective disaster risk management, among others. The workshop also included study visit to ICIMOD.

The workshop was attended by 13 country representatives/senior level decision/policy makers and international/regional/sub-regional and inter-governmental organizations) in the region, particularly from South and South-West Asia (SSWA), and North and Central Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). Representatives of international/regional organizations such as UNDP, UNISDR, UNOCHA, WFP, World Bank and ICIMOD also participated in the workshop. There was also participation from USAID/Nepal.

For more information, please write at escap-sas@un.org.

Related Documents:

• Participants' Information Note
• Report
• Presentations:

Session: 1- Improving Disaster Risk Management through Geo-referenced Information System in the ESCAP region

• Geo spatial information in support of strengthening HFA implementation by Mr. Sanjay Srivastava, IDD, ESCAP
• Objectives needs and expected outcomes of the UNDA project by Mr. Ram Tiwaree, IDD, ESCAP
• Concepts of Geo-referenced information for DRM system in Asia-Pacific region by Mr. Nitin Tripathi, ESCAP Consultant

Session: 2- Overview of Geo-referenced Disaster Risk Management ( Geo-DRM ) Information System

• Geospatial database for the GeoDRM system by Mr. Nitin Tripathi, ESCAP Consultant

Session: 3- Regional Geo-DRM Systems for Disaster Risk Management

• Geo-information and DRR by Mr. Deo Raj Gurung, ICIMOD
• Use of Geo-referenced data for DRM in Central Asia by Mr. Akylbek Chymyrov, KCGIS, Kyrgyzstan
• UNDP experience in Geo-DRM in Nepal by Mr. Man Thapa, UNDP/Nepal

Session: 4- Country Presentations

• Responses and challenges in Nepal by Mr. Shankar Prasad Koirala
• Geo-referenced Risk Management System in Bangladesh by Mr. Asit Kumar Mukutmoni
• Disaster Management in Bhutan by Mr. Tshering Wangchuk
• Geo-Referenced DRM in Georgia by Mr. Archil Kavtaradze
• National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) of Afghanistan by Mr. Mohammad Ajmal Karimi
• National Disaster Management information of Iran by Mr. Majid Iranmanesh
• Disaster Risk Management Systems in Kazakhstan by Mr. Ospanov Bakhtiyar
• Kyrgyzstan country paper by Mr. Akylbek Chymyrov
• Maldives Geo-reference in Disaster Management by Ms. Fathimath Thasneem
• Geological Survey of Pakistan's Role in DRRM Mr. Muhammad Naseer Mughal
• Disaster Management in Sri Lanka by Mrs. Wasantha Samaraweera
• Country Presentation of Tajikistan by Mr. Tohir Habibov
• Disaster Risk information in Uzbekistan by Mr. Shiraz Sherzodovich Abdullaev
• RESAP Capacity Development by Mr. Timothy Loh, ESCAP

Session: 5- Institutional and Policy issues and Networking

• Mainstreaming DRR into National Plan: policies and programmes in Nepal by Mr. Purushottam Ghimire, National Planning Commission, Nepal
• Policy landscape for information sharing in the context of HFA by Mrs. Madhavi Ariyabandu, ISDR
• Building a community of practices for information sharing in DRR and Disaster Management by Mr. Rajindra Ariyabandu, ESCAP Consultant

Session: 6- Demonstration of Proposed System

• National Geoportal options for DRM in target countries by Mr. Nitin Tripathi and Mr. Hamid Mehmood, ESCAP Consultants
• Capacity development to use and manage geoportal for DRM by Mr. Nitin Tripathi, ESCAP Consultant

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