3. Collection and Distribution of Disaster
Information
3-1. ADRC Steering Committee
Steering Committee for the fiscal year 2010 of Asian Disaster Reduction Center was heldon August 13 in Incheon City, Republic of Korea. Representatives of 19 member countries
attended.
Mr.Tomoya Nagai, the new Director for Disaster Preparedness, Public Relations andInternational Cooperation, Cabinet Office of Japan, chaired the steering committee meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, he expressed sympathy to victims of recent disasters inPakistan, China, and India and also expressed strong support to the affected governments onbehalf of ADRC. The chair formally announced the Republic of Maldives as the 29th member
country of ADRC, which officially joined in May 2010.
After the presentation of ADRC activities for fiscal year 2010, the member countries
discussed on how to further promote ADRC activities.

3-1-1. Summary of Key Points DiscussedA)

The Steering Committee recognized the need for ADRC to further enhancecapability building activities, especially those that could benefit most member countries.
In this regard, key recommendations to ADRC Secretariat are the following:·····B)

to explore developing or coordinating capability building programs on “Urban Searchand Rescue” for member countries, and strengthen the capacity building program modelwith Singapore
to further enhance the Visiting Researcher program by promoting comprehensive study
on comparative disaster management structures and frameworks, and analyzing thestrengths and weaknesses of disaster management frameworks and structures of member
countries
to examine the prospects of training on satellite usage for disaster risk reduction andmanagement among member countries
to explore possibility of pre-arranged agreement with JICA on delivering asingle-country training course relating to disaster management upon request of member
country
to examine prospects of extending technical support based on member country’s specificneeds, such as drought and water-related issues, urban planning, climate change
adaptation, and other practical needs that require technical assistance
The Steering Committee agreed to further diversify the sources of funds for ADRC
activities. In this connection, key recommendations to ADRC Secretariat are thefollowing:83. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information··to remind member countries of their annual dues
to strengthen partnership and explore funding support from international organizations
such as JICA and UNESCAP, and relevant organizations/ companies in Japan such asJAXAC)

The Steering Committee also outlined the following recommendations/strategies toADRC Secretariat to move priority activities forward:·······

D)

to explore the establishment of ADRC Visiting Researchers Network
to refocus training activities from “knowledge-based” to “practical needs-based” training
to further enhance visibility of ADRC activities in member countries
to serve as coordinating body to facilitate country-to-country sharing of information andtechnologies
to examine the existing Incident Command Systems (ICS) of member countries, andstudy the impact of introducing a new ICS
to further enhance information sharing activities, particularly in the area of early warning
systems
to coordinate and link up with organizations that deliver DRR-related capability building
activities
The Steering Committee also noted the following announcements during and after themeeting:·····

The Republic of Maldives was formally welcomed as the 29th member country of ADRC
The ACDR 2011 will be hosted by Sri Lanka in June
Member countries were invited to submit entries to the first Asian Film Festival on
Disaster Risk Reduction, which will be organized by GFDR at the 4th AMCDRR
scheduled on 25-28 October 2010
The next Steering Committee meeting will be organized back to back with ACDR 2011
in Sri Lanka
A note from Myanmar was received after the meeting, stating the following
recommendations to further improve ADRC activities: (a) to initiate regular conduct ofADRC Peer Meetings to further promote coordination, and (b) to explore possibility ofproviding training on DRR at the community level

Fig. 3-1-1-1 Steering Committee meeting9