ADRC Highlights
Asian Disaster Reduction Center Monthly News
● Promoting Cooperation with Affiliated Institutions
Vol. 376
July2024
TOPICS
Promoting Cooperation
with AffiliatedInstitutions¶ JICA Knowledge CoCreation Program:Comprehensive DisasterRisk Reduction for Centraland South AmericanCountries JFY2024¶ Update on the UNSPIDER RSO Meeting
Participation inInternational
Conferences
EPWG Workshop on
Strengthening Early
Warning Early Action for
the Vulnerable
Communities in APECJICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program: Comprehensive Disaster Risk
Reduction for Central and South American Countries JFY2024
Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) conducted the JICA Knowledge CoCreation Program course entitled “Comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction forCentral and South American Countries JFY2024,” from 20 May to 12 July 2024 incooperation with JICA Kansai.
It was attended by 14 participants from 12 Central and South Americancountries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.
The program consisted of 4 weeks of online and 4 weeks of face-to-facelectures and exercises to learn about Japanese experiences and technologies indisaster risk reduction. It also included site visits in Hyogo, Tokyo and Iwate
Prefectures to observe various countermeasures including sediment-related disastercountermeasures at the Nigawa Landslide Museum and flood control measures at
Kitakami River in Ichinoseki City. At the end of the course, the participants
developed a draft local plan for DRR in their own countries through an 8-stepworkshop. After returning to their respective countries, they are expected toactively engage in DRR measures to reduce humanitarian and economic losses due
to disasters.
ADRC would like to express its sincerest gratitude to all the organisations anduniversities that contributed to the success of this course.

Report from ADRC Intern
Mr Tatul Atalyan (EhimeUniversity)
Recent Disasters in Asia
Floods and OtherDisasters in MemberCountries

Asian DisasterReduction Center
Higashikan 5F, 1-5-2
Wakinohamakaigan-dori,Chuo-ku, Kobe
651-0073 Japan
Tel: 078-262-5540
Fax: 078-262-5546
editor@adrc.asia
https://www.adrc.asia© ADRC 2024

Study visit to the Nigawa Landslide Museum (catchment well) in Hyogo Prefecture

Update on the UN-SPIDER RSO Meeting
On 10 June 2024, an online meeting was held for the United Nations Platform forSpace-Based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER) Regional Support Office (RSO). UN-SPIDER is a multilateral platform
promoted by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to1

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Continued
facilitate the use of space-based technologies in disaster risk reduction and emergency response. UNOOSA isthe UN agency responsible for space-related policies, and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
(The RSO supports the UN-SPIDER program at a regional level. ADRC has been active as an RSO sincesigning a cooperation agreement with UNOOSA on 4 June 2009, at the 52nd session of the Committee on thePeaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).)At the 10 June meeting, ADRC Project Director SUZUKI Koji explained the progress of a project for useof the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) in disaster risk reduction. QZSS is a system that the National
Space Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office of Japan, is considering deploying in cooperation with ninecountries in the Asia-Pacific region. The project technology uses QZSS (known as Michibiki in Japan), aGlobal Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) developed and operated by the Japanese government, to transmitdisaster-related information. This advanced technology can provide disaster-related information even in areas
where regular communication infrastructure is lacking or is disrupted due to disaster. In Japan, partial
operation began in 2018. The feasibility for general implementation of the technology in the Asia-Pacificregion is being evaluated through surveys and by taking prototype receivers to the region to conduct
demonstrations.
At the start of the meeting, UN-SPIDER explained that, until now, efforts to utilise space-based
technologies for disaster risk reduction on the UN-SPIDER platform have been related to optical satellites
and SAR satellites, and therefore use of GNSS (QZSS) technology for disaster risk reduction is very unique.

● Participation in International Conferences
EPWG Workshop on Strengthening Early Warning Early Action for the VulnerableCommunities in APECThe EPWG Workshop on Strengthening Early Warning Early Action for the Vulnerable Communities inAPEC took place in Da Nang, Vietnam, on 24-25 June 2024. The workshop aimed to share professional andtechnical information in natural disaster risk management among APEC economies and was attended bysome thirty experts from the APEC region. It was organised by Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management
Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which is Vietnam’s focal point in the APEC
Emergency Preparedness Working Group (EPWG).
ADRC Research Director KODAMA Miki and Senior Researcher SHIOMI Yumi participated in theevent. In Session 3 (Best Practices and Lessons Learned), Ms SHIOMI made a presentation entitledUtilisation of State of Art Communication Technologies for CBDRM and Emergency Management.
Through the workshop, participants actively shared their lessons learned and views on Early Warning andEarly Action for the vulnerable communities.

EPWG Workshop participants

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ADRC Highlights

Vol. 376● Report from ADRC Intern
Mr Tatul Atalyan (Ehime University)
My name is Tatul Atalyan, and I am currently a PhD student
from Armenia specialising in Disaster Risk Management atEhime University. As a JICA SDG scholar, I have had theopportunity to intern at some of Japan’s leading organisations
with the support of JICA. I chose to intern at ADRC due to its
extensive experience and expertise in disaster risk management.
During my internship from 1 July to 19 July, I contributed tothe development of the Natural Disasters Databook 2023. Myrole involved analysing and comparing data on natural disasters
in 2023 and the past 30 years (1993-2022), focusing on
occurrences, deaths, affected populations, and economic losses.
Additionally, I analysed climate-related disasters during thesame periods and assessed the global and regional COVID-19
situation, with a focus on ADRC member countries.
Throughout this period, I gained valuable insights anddeveloped key skills. I adopted the discipline, time management,
and teamwork practices inherent in the Japanese work
environment, enhancing my understanding of Japanese workingculture. Additionally, I improved my ability to produce
insightful tables and graphs from complex datasets andstrengthened my analytical skills by interpreting and presenting
detailed information effectively.
I am grateful for the opportunity to intern at ADRC and for the skills and experiences I acquired. These
learnings will significantly contribute to my ongoing research and professional development in disaster riskmanagement.

● Recent Disasters in Asia
Floods and Other Disasters in Member Countries
In July, floods and other disasters were reported in a number of ADRC member countries.
Floods and landslides have been reported in Pakistan, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Viet Nam and China.
Sentinel Asia has been conducting emergency observations in Myanmar, Viet Nam, Nepal, India,Philippines, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic (as of 23 July 2024).
For more information, please visit the following websites.
- ADRC: https://www.adrc.asia/- Sentinel Asia: https://sentinel-asia.org/

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