Newsletter. Addressing the challenges of natural & humaninduced environmental hazards

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1 Addressing the challenges of natural & humaninduced environmental hazards Newsletter Vol. 5 No. 2, April 2014 The 2 nd IRDR Conference will bring together leading experts in the field of disaster risk reduction from all academic and professional specialities to help create a global IRDR community, and bring continued worldwide attention to the IRDR Programme. This will be accomplished through a series of plenaries and breakout sessions dealing with the challenges of implementing integrated disaster risk research, inter-organisational collaboration and policy, as well as the interaction with sustainable development activities. The full Conference programme is now available on the IRDR website. Check out the Conference Programme (at-aglance) in this issue for details on keynote speakers, plenaries and breakout sessions. For more information about the Conference, or contact: connect@irdrinternational.org. Conference Registration Rates All participants, including presenters, are required to register for the Conference via the online registration form here: p?cnfid=1521. The form will close on 30 May 2014 at 24:00 (BJT). Registration Rates (RMB) Regular Registration (16 March 30 May 2014) Regular participants: 2500 RMB Students: 1000 RMB IN THIS ISSUE: IRDR Conference 2014 o Programme At-a-Glance o Profiles of Keynote Speakers o Conference registration rates Research Activities Network Building Highlights o New IRDR ICoE & NC Logos o UNISDR s Visit to RADI Announcements

2 Page 2 IRDR Newsletter 2 nd IRDR Conference Programme At-a-Glance Friday, 6 June 08:30 17:30 Registration Saturday, 7 June 09:00 10:15 Opening Ceremony (Chair: Prof David M. JOHNSTON) Prof Yuan Tseh LEE, President, International Council for Science (ICSU) Prof Li HANLIN, Director General, National Institute of Social Development, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for the International Social Science Council (ISSC) Ms Margareta WAHLSTRÖM, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) Prof Zhang QIN, Vice President and Executive Secretary, China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) Prof Huadong GUO, Director General, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) 10:15 10:45 Coffee and Tea Break 10:45 12:00 Plenary I: (Chair: Prof David M. JOHNSTON) Keynote Address: Senator Loren LEGARDA, Philippines Legislator and UN Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific (Title TBA) 12:00 13:30 Lunch Break 13:30 15:15 (Breakout Sessions) Assessing Risk Community Disaster Reduction Risk Interpretation and Action (RIA) Empowering Local Officials 15:15 15:45 Coffee and Tea Break 15:45-17:30 (Breakout Sessions) Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development Integrated Risk Sciences Forensic Investigations of Disasters (FORIN) Risk Reduction Planning 19:00 Welcome Banquet Register for the 2 nd IRDR Conference today!

3 Vol. 5 No. 2, April 2014 Page 3 2 nd IRDR Conference Programme At-a-Glance (cont d) Sunday, 8 June 09:00 10:30 P l e n a r y II: Role of Science in the 2015 Agenda (Chair: Prof Mark PELLING) Keynote Addresses: Prof Virginia MURRAY, Consultant in Global Disaster Risk Reduction, Public Health England (PHE), United Kingdom The Road to HFA2: Can Science Impact on Policy and Practice? TBA 10:30 11:00 Coffee and Tea Break 11:00 12:15 Plenary III: Water (Chair: Mr Sálvano BRICEŇO) Keynote Address: Mr Nathaniel FORBES, Director, Forbes Calamity Prevention Pte Ltd, Singapore Water and Emergencies: The Impact of Thirst 12:15 13:30 Lunch Break 13:30 15:15 (Breakout Sessions) Water and Disaster Science and National Politics Indigenous and Vulnerable Populations Capacity Building 15:15 15:45 Coffee and Tea Break 15:45 17:30 (Breakout Sessions Science and the Post-2015 Natural Hazard Agenda Risk Indexing The Gap Between Disaster Knowledge, Policy and Practice (Society for Applied Anthropology (SFA) Topical Interest Group on Disasters) Data and Technology Register for the 2 nd IRDR Conference today!

4 Page 4 IRDR Newsletter 2 nd IRDR Conference Programme At-a-Glance (cont d) Monday, 9 June 09:00 10:30 P l e n a r y IV: Science and the Media (Panel Discussion) Members of the Panel: Ms Kathleen KOCH, USA-based freelance journalist, author and former CNN correspondent (Moderator) Mr Miles O BRIEN, USA-based veteran, independent journalist who focuses on science, technology and aerospace Prof David M. JOHNSTON, Chair, IRDR Science Committee, Director, Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University, New Zealand TBA TBA 10:30 11:00 Coffee and Tea Break 11:00 12:30 Plenary V: Resiliency and Reconstruction (Chair: Prof Kuniyoshi TAKEUCHI) Keynote Addresses: Mr Makoto MIZUTANI, Counsellor, Reconstruction Agency, the Government of Japan (GoJ) For Accelerating the Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake Mr Bill NICOL, Management Strategist and former Australian Government s consultant and senior adviser to the Indonesian Government s 2004 tsunami reconstruction efforts. The Politics of Disaster Recovery 12:30 13:30 Lunch 13:30 15:15 (Breakout Sessions) Communications and the Media Meteorological Issues The Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) Panel CAS-TWAS Special Session on Earth Observations for Disaster Risk Reduction in Developing Countries 15:15 15:45 Coffee and Tea Break 16:00 16:10 Introducing the International Study Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (Tokyo, Japan, January 2015) Prof Toshio KOIKE, Chairman, IRDR National Committee Japan 16:10 17:10 PLENARY VI: Conference Summary, Outcomes and Way Forward Conference Chair: Prof David M. JOHNSTON Register for the 2 nd IRDR Conference today!

5 Vol. 5 No. 2, April Page 5 Profiles of Keynote Speakers Prof Virginia Murray The Road to HFA2: Can Science Impact on Policy and Practice? Professor Virginia Murray was appointed Consultant in Global Disaster Risk Reduction for Public Health England (PHE) in April 2014, to focus on her continuing support for PHE s international work where she is vicechair of the UNISDR Scientific and Technical Group and as a member of the UNISDR Advisory Group for the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Prior to this, she was Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection, PHE from January 2011 to March With the Extreme Events team, she developed evidence based information and advice on flooding, heat, cold, volcanic ash, and other extreme weather and natural hazards events. Before this, she worked for the Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards for PHE, formerly known as the Health Protection Agency and has also had extensive experience in chemical incident training, preparedness and response. Appointed as Visiting Professor in Health Protection, MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College and King s College, London (2004), she has also published widely. Nathaniel Forbes Water and Emergencies: The Impact of Thirst Nathaniel L. Forbes is the Director of Forbes Calamity Prevention Pte Ltd, which has provided business continuity, crisis and emergency management planning for multinational companies in Asia and Europe for 18 years. Nathaniel is certified as a Member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI) and as Certified Business Continuity Planner (CBCP) by the DRII He was President of the Asia Council of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). He has lived and worked in Singapore since January, Bill Nicol The Politics of Disaster Recovery Bill Nicol is an independent management strategist and former senior adviser to the Indonesian Government s 2004 tsunami reconstruction efforts. His contributions included writing the overarching recovery strategy, designing key elements of the coordinating architecture, and supporting the Indonesian Government in managing its international relationships. Register for the 2 nd IRDR Conference today!

6 Page 6 IRDR Newsletter Profiles of Keynote Speakers (cont d) Bill Nicol (cont d) He is author of Tsunami Chronicles: Adventures in Disaster Management (2013), a six-volume study of Aceh s recovery and subsequent lessons. His earlier books include an investigation of the man-made humanitarian disaster that followed East Timor s rushed decolonisation Timor: The Stillborn Nation(1978), which was later updated and republished as Timor: A Nation Reborn (2002); and an exposé of scientific fraud and mismanagement, McBride: Behind the Myth (1989). Research Activities IRDR DATA Project Publishes Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary The IRDR programme has recently published its Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary, which summarises the agreement on peril classifications and hazard definitions by members of the IRDR Disaster Loss Data (DATA) Project Working Group. This new and revised framework is implementable by loss databases with either a high level of hazard aggregation (only includes categories such as meteorological or geophysical) that do not distinguish specific perils, as well as databases that use perils (hurricane, tsunami, earthquake) rather than the more general categories. In this way, the classification serves the needs of multiple types of loss databases often managed for very different purposes. Understanding and documenting impacts from natural hazards is the foundation for decisionmaking and policy-setting in disaster risk effects such as displacement, homelessness and fatalities, to environmental (wetland loss, desertification) and economic losses (damage to property and crops). Documenting impacts in a standardised and comprehensive way is challenging largely due to the lack of common terminologies for perils, measurement methodologies, and human loss Click here to download the report [PDF 4 MB] indicators. The inability to compare losses across hazards, space and time hampers the assessment of the burden of disasters at global to local levels. To overcome these challenges, the IRDR programme established the DATA project to study issues related to the collection, storage, and dissemination of disaster loss data. Register for the 2 nd IRDR Conference today!

7 Vol. 5 No. 2, April 2014 Page 7 Research Activities (cont d) FORIN Methodology Review In March 2014, the review of the FORIN methodology began with the hiring of a Post-Doctoral Research Associate to work alongside Prof Mark Pelling, lecturer in the Department of Geography at King s College London (KCL) and IRDR Science Committee (SC) Member, on an EU FP7 funded research project, PEARL (Preparing for extreme and rare events in coastal regions). One of the objectives of this project includes reviewing the methods and outcomes of existing FORIN studies. The results of this review will form the basis for a three-day workshop to develop an advanced version of FORIN. Updates on the review will be provided in the next issue. Network Building New Logos for IRDR International Centres of Excellence (ICoEs) and National Committees (NCs) As decided at the 10 th Science Committee (SC) meeting held in Sanya, China from November 2013, the IPO was tasked with designing ICoE and NC specific logos by including the respective acronyms within the IRDR logo design. In April, the IRDR SC Executive approved the designs for these new IRDR ICoE and NC logos. The logos must not be altered in any way so as to maintain a consistent IRDR brand identity. High-resolution copies are available from the IPO upon request.

8 Page 8 IRDR Newsletter Network Building (cont d) UNISDR s Margareta Wahlström Visits RADI On Saturday, 15 March 2014, Ms Margareta Wahlström, Head of the UNISDR office, accompanied by Dr Feng Min Kan, the UNISDR's Senior Coordinator, visited the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI) and met with Prof Huadong Guo, RADI's Director General, and select members of his team. The IRDR was invited to attend the meeting to discuss the upcoming 2 nd IRDR Conference and other important IRDR-related matters. Dr David Johnston, Chair of the IRDR Science Committee (SC) joined the meeting via Skype, and the IPO was represented by Ms Kerry-Ann Morris, the Junior Science Officer. During the tour of the IPO, Ms Wahlström expressed particular interest in FORIN and is looking forward to the case studies coming out of the project. She invited the IRDR to showcase FORIN at the 3 rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in 2015 in Japan. Ms Wahlström (r) examines the FORIN Report No. 1 during her tour of the IRDR IPO. Prof David Johnston, Chair of the IRDR SC, joined the meeting via Skype. Ms Wahlström will provide a welcome address on behalf of UNISDR during the opening ceremony for the 2 nd IRDR Conference on Saturday, 7 June. Upcoming Events 3 rd World Landslide Forum: 2-6 June 2014 (Beijing, China) CAS-TWAS Workshop on Space Technology for Disaster Mitigation: 3-13 June 2014 (Beijing, China) 11 th IRDR Science Committee (SC) meeting: 6 and June 2014 (Beijing, China) 2 nd IRDR Conference: 7-9 June 2014 (Beijing, China) CODATA Workshop on Big Data for International Scientific Programmes: Challenges and Opportunities: 8-9 June th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (6 th AMCDRR): June 2014 (Bangkok, Thailand) World Social Science Fellows Seminar - Global Social Governance: July 28, 2014 (London, U.K.)

9 Vol. 5 No. 2, April 2014 Page 9 Announcements ISSC Announces New Transformations to Sustainability Programme and Call for Seed Funding On 31 March 2014, the ISSC launched a new global research funding programme called Transformations to Sustainability. The Transformations to Sustainability programme aims to build scientific understanding of transformative social change in the face of global change and sustainability. More specifically, the programme seeks to: Increase the social science contributions necessary to craft more effective, durable and equitable solutions to the problems of global change and sustainability. Increase the use of such knowledge by policy makers, practitioners, the private sector, citizens and activists. This initiative is intended as a major contribution to the work of Future Earth, a global research platform that provides knowledge and support to accelerate transformations to a sustainable world. Future Earth is co-sponsored by the members of the International Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability. First Call for Seed Funding Seed funding will be provided to prepare researchers from all parts of the world to respond meaningfully to the call for Transformative Knowledge Network proposals that will be launched in October The seed funding is intended to allow social scientists to build necessary partnerships with colleagues in other disciplines and fields and other countries, to identify and establish contact with relevant societal stakeholders, and to engage them as knowledge partners in the co-design of proposals to develop Transformative Knowledge Networks. Submission deadline: Saturday, 31 May :00 CET. For more detailed information please see: Transformations to Sustainability programme description and call for proposals. IRDR Bids Farewell to Tracy Zhao, Executive Assistant The IPO bade farewell to Tracy Zhao on Monday, 21 April Her last day with the IPO was 24 April. Tracy joined the IPO in June 2012 as the Executive Assistant. She has been actively involved in liaising with the IRDR s key partners, and played a major role in organising the SC s meetings for the past two years. The IRDR is grateful for her hard work during her tenure with the IPO. The IPO staff wished more success to Tracy during the send-off lunch on 21 April 2014.

10 Page 10 IRDR Newsletter Announcements (cont d) The IPO Welcomes Two Interns On 10 April 2014, Yijie Zhao and Min Fang joined the IRDR IPO as interns. Yijie is from Hohai University and Min is from Harbin University. As part of the IPO team, they will assist in coordinating bookings and other logistical arrangements in preparation for the upcoming IRDR Conference until 30 June Yijie Zhao (left) and Min Fang (right) are the IPO s new interns. IPO Closes for May Day Holiday Period The IPO will be closed from 1 to 3 May for the Chinese May Day holiday period (Labour Day). We will re-open on 4 May for regular business hours, 08:30 5:00 p.m. (BJT). Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) IPO c/o RADI/CAS Room B713, No 9 Dengzhuang South Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China Tel: Fax: connect@irdrinternational.org LinkedIn: IRDR April 2014