..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 24 July 2006
Press Release No: G/31/2006

UNESCAP CALLS FOR INCREASED EFFORTS TO DEVELOP ‘END-TO-END’ TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS IN REGION

Bangkok (United Nations Information Services) – In the aftermath of the recent Pangandaran tsunami, the UN’s regional commission in Bangkok is calling for increased regional and national efforts to ensure effective development of ‘end-to-end’ tsunami early warning systems in the Asia-Pacific region.

“After 19 months of national, regional and international efforts, the Pangandaran tsunami remind us of the challenge to ensure that all coastal communities are safe from tsunamis, not only those affected in 2004,” says Kim Hak-Su, UNESCAP Executive Secretary.

“National capacity building must be enhanced to meet this need, especially in terms of decision making on end-to-end tsunami warning systems.”

Just weeks before Java's southern coast was struck after an undersea quake, UNESCAP and its partner organizations had identified decision-making in issuing tsunami warnings and subsequent decisions for evacuation as the top priority issues.

At a Regional Workshop on Mitigation, Preparedness and Development of Tsunami Early Warning Systems in the Indian Ocean Region, held in June 2006 and jointly organized by the UN/ISDR Secretariat, UNESCAP, IOC-UNESCO and ISDR Asia Partnership, the UN bodies recognized the development of clear and appropriate standard operating procedures as the foundation of sound decision making for an effective and accountable tsunami early warning system.

144 experts representing 23 Indian Ocean countries and 22 international organizations working on tsunami early warning systems and disaster reduction called for more regional and international efforts to support the development and implementation of effective national-level standard operating procedures for tsunami early warning systems.

In late 2005, UNESCAP established the Voluntary Trust Fund on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. The Fund, currently open for the first round of funding, welcomes proposals by 31 August from eligible regional, sub-regional, and national organizations. It aims to support capacity building measures for the development of early warning system arrangements for tsunamis and other natural hazards in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia.

According to Executive Secretary Kim, the Voluntary Trust Fund aims “to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to resource mobilization for building and enhancing tsunami early warning capacities at various levels in accordance with the needs of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian countries.”

The effort is part of UNESCAP’s ongoing efforts to promote regional cooperation for natural disaster prevention and preparedness. Relevant details of the Fund, such as eligibility criteria, guidelines, and a grant application form, are available on the Trust Fund’s website: www.unescap.org/pmd/tsunami_index.asp.

Another tsunami-related UNESCAP effort focuses on the implementation of a community-based tsunami early warning pilot project in Sri Lanka with funding support from the Republic of Korea.

“The pilot project will include the construction of three early warning towers in three communities severely affected by the 2004-Tsunami with a pilot warning control system,” notes Mr. Kim.

“UNESCAP is also assisting the Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre and the Department of Meteorology to develop a system for tsunami and multi-hazard early warning, as well as formulate a strategy for integrating community-based disaster risk management into the process of developing multi-hazard early warning systems,” he adds.

It is expected that the early warning towers and control system would be put into operation on 26 December 2006 to commemorate the second anniversary of the tsunami in Sri Lanka.

Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is the largest of the UN's five Regional Commissions, in terms of population served and area covered. The only inter-governmental forum covering the entire Asia-Pacific region, it aims to promote economic development and social progress in the developing countries of the Asian and Pacific region. More information is available at www.unescap.org.

For further information, please contact.

LeHuu Ti
Economic Affairs Officer
Environment and Sustainable Development Division
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
UN Building, Bangkok 10200
Telephone: 66(0)2288-1450
Fax: 66(0)2288-1048
Email: ti.unescap@un.org

For media information, please contact:
Mr. David Lazarus
Chief
UN Information Services
Bangkok, Thailand
Telephone: 66(0)2288-1866
Fax: 66(0)2288-1052
Email: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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