Activity Report： Themes & Issues >> Community-based DRM

The ADRC joined the JICA Follow-Up Seminar "Comprehensive Disaster Management" held at the Center of Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction (CESDRR) in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 14-15 August 2013. This seminar was held to follow up the efforts of JICA training course "Comprehensive Disaster Management for Central Asia and the Caucasus" that ADRC has been conducting together with JICA Kansai. In addition, for further transferring Japan's experience and expertise regarding disaster risk management, it focused on a few themes, namely "Seismic Safety of Buildings," "Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM)" and "Operation of regional disaster management center," which Kazakh Government is interested in. Approximately 40 participants including the Vice Mayor of Almaty City, national and local government officials of Ministry of Emergency Situations and Almaty City, and researchers from KazNIISA (Agency for Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Republic of Kazakhstan) and other institutions.

In the seminar, the ADRC introduced the efforts for CBDRM taken place in Japan, including voluntary organizations for disaster prevention, disaster education and awareness raising activities. Furthermore, the ADRC shared the information on its activities since its establishment in 1998, as well as the management of a regional center as a humble guide for operating the new CESDRR which was agreed with the establishment between the governments of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in May 2013.

Seminar participants might have a difficulty to understand Japanese disaster management system, however we believe that they understand well the importance of retrofitting of buildings, as well as the concept of "Self Help," "Mutual Help" and "Public Help." The ADRC also learnt a lot from the Kazakh experiences on DRR through this seminar. We are looking forward to further working with JICA and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, as well as CESDRR in the near future.

(2013/09/05 16:50)

1-4 March 2011 (Islamabad, Pakistan)

The objective of this Workshop, which is organized jointly by UNESCAP, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) at SUPARCO, Islamabad, Pakistan, is to develop the capacity to build better resilience to water related disasters as well as for more effective adaptation to climate change through the applications of space technology and flood risk management in Pakistan.

 Space-based technologies increasingly play an important role in disaster risk management as demonstrated by floods in Pakistan and in Thailand. ADRC was invited as an expert by the organizers and made two presentations on "Enhancing　the use of space-based technologies for disaster risk management" focusing on Sentinel Asia and "Community-based disaster risk management" respectively. Participants especially from Pakistan showed great interest in Sentinel Asia and other space-technology related programmes. Also, some participants underscored the importance of community-based disaster risk reduction activities in Pakistan. Space-technologies have been becoming more relevant to and useful for disaster risk management.

ADRC as a focal point for emergency observations of Sentinel Asia and a regional support office of UNSPIDER will continue to contribute to this objective.

(2011/03/04 13:10)

28 September - 2 October (Padang, Indonesia)

Large-scale inter-plate earthquakes have occurred recurrently in Indonesia, particularly around Sumatra Island, but it has been reported by many experts that such an earthquake is likely to happen off Padang in West Sumatra within thirty years or so.

To prepare for such large-scale earthquakes, it is of urgent need to establish early-warning and transmission system, development of practical technologies for reduction of building vulnerability and community-based disaster risk management. Hence, two day workshop on 29 and 30 September was organised which coincided with one-year commemoration of the Padang Earthquake on 30 September 2009.

The National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), the National Research Institute for Earthquake Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) from Japan, and the Metrological, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), the Institute Technology Bandung (ITB) and Andalas University (UNAND) from Indonesia, among others, jointed the workshop.

As a result of discussion, it reached a consensus that future collaboration should focus on three substantive areas, namely early warning for earthquakes, practical technologies for reduction of building vulnerability and community-based disaster risk management.                                                                                         (2010/10/4 13:10)

21-23 September 2010 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

For three days starting from 21 October 2010, Malaysia's National Security Council (NSC) and Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) conducted a workshop in Kuala Lumpur as part of a community-based disaster risk management project. Nearly 50 people participated from various organizations including NSC, other disaster-related institutions, and municipalities

The workshop started with the opening remarks by NSC Secretary Hon. Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul and Mr. Ogu Salim bin Omar, Under Secretary of Disaster Management Division, NSC, in which were stated great expectation toward strengthening disaster resilience of communities in the country through this training. Then experts from ADRC, NSC, other relevant agencies and a local NGO gave lectures such as Total Disaster Risk Management, policy and mechanism on Malaysia's disaster management, various disaster risk reduction activities. Followed by the lectures, participants visited Malaysian Meteorological Department and Department of Irrigation and Drainage to learn weather and river monitoring systems and practices.

The participants showed great interests in the lectures with active discussion during the workshop. From now on, municipal and community-level training is scheduled in the country where the participants of this workshop will then give lectures as trainers.

Since 2009 NSC and ADRC have been implementing a project for capacity building of local government officials in Malaysia, which could have synergy effects on this CBDRM activity.

 (2010/10/15 17:40)

Brunei's National Disaster Management Center (NDMC) and ADRC had been prepar ing for training of local government officials in the country since May 2009.

The workshop on 7-8 June, extending its target to community level, was attended by some 100 people composed of government officials and residents including community leaders and school children from a water village, Kampong Ayer in Bander Seri Begawan.

On the first day, the participants took lectures such as disaster risks in the village and contingency planning followed by town watching. After developing hazard maps on the second day, the results were reported to be shared among residents. Emergency aid and fire & rescue exercise also participated in the workshop.

As Kampong Ayer is a disaster-prone area such as storms, floods and fires, the residents were so ardent and even asked for further workshops along thie line in the future.

Under the project of capacity building of local government officials in ASEAN members, similar activities are now scheduled in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

 (2010/06/18 17:40)

(2009/03/10 10:40)