4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

4-2. Collaboration with International Organizations
With support from the Cabinet Office of Japan, the ADRC has been promoting
cooperation and collaboration with various UN organizations such as, among others, theUN/ISDR, the UN/OCHA, UNESCO, the UNU, the UN/ESCAP, and the WMO.

4-2-1. Collaboration with UN/ISDR
The ADRC is working in close collaboration with the United Nations Inter-Agency
Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) in promoting
disaster reduction activities worldwide.
4-2-1-1. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)
With a strong recognition of the need for international and regional collaboration indisaster reduction efforts, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1987,
designating the 1990's as the “International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)”
to promote disaster reduction activities in order to drastically reduce the negative impacts ofnatural disasters. The activities of the INDNR were supported by national committees of morethan 140 countries. The Decade, however, was completed in 1999.
Following the Decade, the United Nations General Assembly put forward a proposal on
November 1, 1999, prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to launch a newprogram “International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)” to carry on with the efforts
made by the IDNDR. The proposal included the establishment of an Inter-Agency Task Forceand an Inter-Agency Secretariat for the implementation of the ISDR as well as thecontinuation and reinforcement of the national committees established through the IDNDR.
The main objectives of the ISDR are 1) to increase the capacity of societies andcommunities to cope with natural disasters, and 2) to make a shift from post-disaster
responses to disaster reduction and risk management.
In addition, activities to 1) increase public awareness of disaster risks, 2) encourage
active participation of public authorities in disaster reduction, 3) stimulate inter-disciplinary
and intersectoral partnership and networking at all levels, as well as to 4) improve further thescientific knowledge of natural hazards and disasters were proposed as the four core activitiesof the ISDR.
The resolution was adopted at the UN GA in December 1999, and the Inter-Agency
Secretariat of the ISDR was established in January 2000 as the principal mechanism of the UN
to implement the strategy under the supervision of the Under-Secretary General (USG) for
Humanitarian Affairs.
The main roles assigned to the ISDR Secretariat are to: 1) act as the center of various
international disaster reduction activities implemented by the UN, 2) provide support to theInter-Agency Task Force, 3) promote a culture of prevention worldwide, 4) serve as aninternational hub for the dissemination and exchange of information and knowledge on
disaster reduction strategies, and 5) to provide assistance to the national committee of eachcountry.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Disaster Reduction consists of members fromUN agencies, civil society and regional representatives, with the USG for Humanitarian
Affairs of the UN as the Chairman and the Director of the ISDR secretariat as the Secretary.
The roles assigned to the IATF include: 1) preparing proposals concerning disaster reduction
strategies and policies of the UN, 2) presiding over the results of each policy, 3) ensuring
inter-agency coordination of policies, implemented by different agencies, 4) providing
guidance to the ISDR Secretariat on the policies and 5) making arrangements for meetings ofdisaster reduction professionals. The ADRC became a member of the IATF as a regional
representative in April 2002, and has been attending the Meetings held in Geneva twice a year,in spring and fall.
In addition to the promotion of the four core activities of the ISDR Secretariat
mentioned above, the IATF members are encouraged to participate in working groups. Fourworking groups were established in 2000: WG1 on Climate and Disasters, WG2 on Early
Warning, WG3 on Risk, Vulnerability and Impact Assessments, and WG4 on Wildland Fires,to assess the relationships between these factors and disasters. The ADRC has actively

4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

participated in the activities of two groups, WG2 and WG3. Three of the four working groups,
WG1, WG2, and WG4, were dissolved, while the WG3 continued its operation until the endof 2004. Instead, four new working groups were launched as follows: WG1 on World
Conference on Disaster Reduction; WG2 on Reducing Urban Risk and Vulnerability; WG3 on
Reducing Risk for Adapting to Climate Change; and WG4 on Disaster Reduction in Africa.
The ADRC has been participating in the activities of the WG1 (World Conference on Disaster
Reduction) and WG2 (Reducing Urban Risk and Vulnerability).

Fig. 4-2-1-1 9th Meeting of the IATF
In 2004, the 9th and 10th Meeting of the IATF were held in Geneva in May and October,
respectively. Being organized back to back with the preparatory meetings for the United
Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR), these meetings also discussed
and pointed out the importance of strengthening the collaboration with, as well as enhancing
the cooperation among the UN agencies and other international organizations. The ADRC
reported on its efforts for promotion of disaster reduction cooperation including the ADRC
events to be undertaken during the WCDR, and on the method of generating GLIDE numbers.

4-2-1-2. International Conference on Disaster Reduction in Beijing,
China
Beijing, China
The ADRC participated in the International Conference on Disaster Reduction heldon May 25-27, 2004 in Beijing, China, organized by the Chinese Government, in close
cooperation with the UN/ISDR. This conference aimed to promote regional cooperationand collaboration in disaster reduction, and integration of disaster reduction into theplanning, policies and implementation of development plans. Based on the results of theconferences recently organized by the ADRC in Cambodia and the Asian Disaster
Preparedness Center (ADPC) in Bangladesh, the conference focused on sharing
information on successful stories in disaster reduction and brainstorming on regional
priorities to be included in the international Plan of Action. The ADRC delivered akeynote speech on the outcomes of “Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 2004” held
in Cambodia, followed by a presentation on Total Disaster Risk Management (TDRM) on
the second day.

Fig. 4-2-1-2-1 International Conference on
Disaster Reduction in Beijing, China

4-2-2. Collaboration with UN/OCHA Kobe
With the support from the Cabinet Office of Japan and Hyogo prefecture, the ADRC has

4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

been promoting cooperation and collaboration with the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA) since February 2000. The OCHA Asian
Disaster Response Unit (OCHA Kobe since 2001) was established to jointly implement
disaster management programs and enhance capacity building for disaster reduction in Asia.
From June 28 to July 8, 2004, the ADRC was invited to participate in a series of“Training Course on Flood Hazard Mapping”, which was co-organized by the UNDP/DMU(Disaster Management Unit) and the USAID (see Chapter 3-1-1), as well as in an international
Seminar held in Iran, co-organized by the UN/OCHA, the UNDP and the UN/ISDR and theGovernment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

4-2-2-1. International Seminar in Iran
The ADRC dispatched a lecturer to the international seminar on “Policies and Practices
for Earthquake Management in Urban Areas” held in Tehran on November 16-18, 2004. The
seminar was organized by the UN/OCHA, the UNDP, the UN/ISDR and the Government of
the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the participation of over 150 participants, including
authorities in charge of disaster risk management, practitioners, experts and representatives ofinternational organizations from 20 countries.
Dr. Kurita, Senior Researcher of the ADRC participated in the seminar as an expert andmade a presentation entitled “Japan's experience of the 1995 Kobe Earthquake andadvancement of design standard.”
As the outcome of the seminar, the “Tehran Message on Earthquake Risk Reduction for
the WCDR and beyond” was compiled in order to emphasize on the importance of a variety ofsubjects to be taken up at the WCDR to be held on January 18-22, 2005, Kobe, Japan.
Included among such subjects were the general earthquake countermeasures in urban areas,building codes, seismic retrofitting, women's role in disaster reduction, local capacity building,and cost benefit analysis.

Fig. 4-2-2-1 Presentation by Dr. Kurita

Fig. 4-2-2-2 International Seminar in Iran

4-2-3. Collaboration with UNU
The ADRC has been working closely with the United Nations University (UNU) and has
strengthened the partnership through, for example, the joint organization of a public forum4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

and a workshop in the fiscal year 2004.

4-2-3-1 Public Forum on Catastrophic Flood Disaster Reduction
The Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) co-organized a Public Forum titled“Recovery from Catastrophic Disasters - towards a safer world for all-” with the Cabinet
Office of Japan, the United Nations University (UNU), and the UN ISDR Secretariat and theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the UNU, Tokyo, Japan on August 24,
2004. In cooperation with the USAID, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and Hyogo
Prefectural Government, the forum gathered over 250 participants. (See Chapter 2-1-2)
4-2-3-2. UNU-EHS & ADRC International Workshop: Measuring
Vulnerability and Coping Capacity
The ADRC jointly organized the international workshop on “Measuring Vulnerability
and Coping Capacity” with the Institute for Environment & Human Security, United
Nations University (UNU-EHS) on January 23 and 24, 2005, at the meeting room of the
ADRC in Kobe, Japan. This workshop aimed to develop vulnerability indicators, and topromote analysis and assessment of vulnerability by sharing information on activities andresearches conducted by various organizations. The workshop was held under thefollowing three themes:(1) Framework: Theoretical Basis and Principles of Indicator Development(2) Current Approaches: State of the Art, and(3) Future: Scope and Mandate of the Expert Group

Fig. 4-2-3-2-1 UNU-EHS & ADRC International Workshop
There are many kinds of methods for measuring disaster vulnerability using
past disaster events, measuring methods by typify the cities in the workshop. In
this workshop, the ADRC presented the mechanism of natural disaster reduction
using the TDRM concept, and some examples of methods for measuring
vulnerability in Japan, and proposed a new method for measuring disaster
vulnerability by 3 dimensional matrices.

4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

Mechanism of Natural Disaster
Reduction
HazardExposure
Disaster Risk

Vulnerability

Fig. 4-2-3-2-2 Mechanism of Natural Disaster Reduction

4-2-4. Collaboration with UNESCO
The ADRC exchanged the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which aims “tocontribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education,science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and forthe human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world”,
in order to promote effective and efficient disaster reduction activities through further
enhancement of collaboration and utilization of knowledge, resources and human networks of
UNESCO and the ADRC. The ADRC participated in the UNESCO-hosted disaster risk
reduction education program held in the Philippines in 2001 as a partner, and Dr. Badoui
Rouhban actively joined the Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction and the TDRM
Conference as a resource person in the fiscal year 2003. It is hoped that the exchange of the
MoU will contribute to form close ties with UNESCO.
In addition, UNESCO was assigned to play the leading role in the establishment of atsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean. The ADRC will support UNESCO byproviding a training program for government officials, creating tsunami pamphlets, andconducting a survey on disaster awareness in tsunami-prone areas, in order to enhanceknowledge and awareness of tsunami disaster reduction among government officials and local
people.
4-2-4-1. Exchange of MoU with UNESCO
The ADRC exchanged the MoU with the UNESCO for the purposes of: 1) exchange of
information, experiences, expertise, and research achievements, 2) exchange of education andtraining materials, 3) study of possible cooperation and collaboration, 4) exchange of views,
and 5) development of relationship.
The ADRC-UNESCO MoU was signed and exchanged by Mr. Koichiro Matsuura,
Director-General of UNESCO and Prof. Shigeru Ito, Chairman of the ADRC, for establishinglong-standing cooperative ties in the area of natural disaster reduction. Mr. Matsuura
expressed his intention to promote the exchange of information, experiences, theorical andpractical expertise related to natural disaster reduction between the two organizations. Mr. Ito
indicated that ADRC moves onto the second stage through the partnership with UNESCO.

4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

Fig. 4-2-4-1-1 Exchange of MoU with UNESCO

4-2-4-2. UNESCO International Meeting for Tsunami
The "International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning
and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean" within a global framework was held at the
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, on March 3-8, 2005, gathering 300 participants from 48
member countries, 24 related international organizations and observers.
The meeting started with an opening address by Mr. Matsuura, Director-General of
UNESCO, and followed by presentations. An ADRC Senior Researcher, Mr. Teranishi,delivered a presentation titled Awareness Building and Public Information. He reported on thetsunami awareness project in Papua New Guinea, tsunami seminars for affected countries, andan interview survey in Sri Lanka.
In the the second half of the meeting, the participants were divided into groups toprepare draft plans. The outcomes are; (1) Draft work plan and timetable for the Tsunami
Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean, (2) Draft Design Plan for tsunami
warning systems for global, regional and national levels, and (3) Indian Ocean Member States
fully informed at the technical level on the tsunami warning and mitigation program.
In addition, the meeting stressed the importance of adequate and appropriate measuresfor dissemination of tsunami early warning for each community and the message to be easily
understood by the whole community.
A Communique and the Terms of Reference were adopted. It was agreed that the next
meeting was to be held in Mauritius on April 14-16, 2005.
4-2-5. Collaboration with UN/ESCAPThe ADRC has been working closely with the United Nations Economic and Social
Council for Asia and the Pacific (UN/ESCAP) in the pursuit of reducing disasters in Asia, inparticular, climate and water related disasters. The ADRC participated actively in theactivities of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee in the fiscal year 2004, in collaboration
with the Government of Japan, to promote hazard mapping in member countries as acommunication tool for disaster risk reduction.
4-2-5-1. UN/ESCAP Regional Workshop"The Regional Workshop on Methodologies of Social-Economic Impacts ofDisasters in Asia and their Application for Poverty Eradication and Economic
Development" was organized by the UN/ESCAP in Bangkok, Thailand on May
18-20, 2004. The workshop aimed to develop and apply a methodology for natural
disaster impact assessment. the ADRC presented the activities and GLIDE.
4-2-5-2. ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee
The 37th Session of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee Workshop was held from
November 16 to 18, 2004, in Shanghai, China.
The ADRC was invited to the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee Workshop, titled
Living with Risk - Dealing with Typhoon-Related Disasters as Part of Integrated Water

4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

Resources Management”, held on September 20 to 24, 2004, in Seoul, South Korea. The
workshop aimed to prepare flood hazard maps of member countries, and to develop early
warning technologies for reducing the impacts of landslides and flash floods. The ADRC, inclose cooperation with Infrastructure Development Institute (IDI, Japan) and the Korea Water
Resources Corps. (KOWACO), hosted an on-site training program for trainers on thecommunity-based flood hazard mapping technique.

4-2-6. Collaboration with WMO
The collaborative ties between the ADRC and the World Meteorological Organization(WMO) have been strengthened through the promotion of the GLIDE initiative (GLobal
unique disaster IDEntifier number) as well as through the activities of the WMO/ESCAP
Panel on Tropical Cyclones and the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee.
4-2-6-1. Collaboration in the GLIDE initiative
The WMO has been actively involved in the GLIDE initiative, which the ADRC had
developed in cooperation with the CRED and the ReliefWeb, as a tool to enhance disaster
information sharing, in particular, sharing of information of meteorological disasters such as
typhoons, hurricanes and cyclones. The WMO agreed to apply the GLIDE system to new
tropical cyclones (including typhoons, hurricanes and cyclones) and proposed a hazard code
system for hydro-meteorological disasters for the application of GLIDE. For further details
regarding the GLIDE initiative, see Chapter 2-6-3.
4-2-6-2. 2nd Regional Technical Conference on Tropical Cyclones
and Storm Surges
The ADRC participated in the 2nd Regional Technical Conference on Tropical Cyclones
and Storm Surges held on July 1-3, 2004 in Brisbane. About 40 people joined the conference
from the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones and the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon
Committee.
The discussion was actively conducted for further developing the methods of prediction,
forecast and early warning, in order to reduce the negative impacts caused by meteolorogicaldisasters including cyclones, typhoons, tornados and lightnings. The conference wascomposed of 3 parts by theme including meteology, hydrology and disaster reduction. The
ADRC delivered a keynote speech at the session on its activities for disaster reduction andsome of the key issues to be considered in the Asian countries.
4-2-6-3. 32nd Session of the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical
Cyclones
The 32nd Session of the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones was held on
February 21-26, 2005 in New Delhi, hosted by the Government of India. The session wasconvened to review the cyclone-related disaster prevention and preparedness activities in themember countries with an aim to reduce the negative impacts of cyclones in the region. It had
a special significance that, in response to the catastrophic tsunami which severely affected thecoastal areas of five out of eight Panel member countries, the participants discussed the urgent
need for an effective tsunami warning system which could be an extension and improvementof the existing cyclone warning system. A Senior Researcher, Ms. Etsuko Tsunozaki,presented the activities of the ADRC focusing on community awareness as a crucial factor fordisaster reduction.
4-2-7. Collaboration with International Organizations and Initiatives
4-2-7-1. Collaboration with Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)
１） ASEAN-U.S. Cooperation on Disaster Management Inception
Workshop
From May 4-5 2004, the ASEAN-U.S. Cooperation on Disaster Management Inception
Workshop was held in Bangkok, Thailand. The aim of this workshop was to discuss the4. Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries, International Organizations and NGOs

introduction of the American incident command system (ICS) to the ASEAN countries, andBrunei, the Philippines and Vietnam were selected to introduce the ICS system as pilot
countries.

２）

ASEAN Regional Programme on Disaster Management“Launching of the ASEAN Regional Programme on Disaster Management” was held on
May 26-27, 2004 in Bali, Indonesia, gathering about 60 participants including each
representatives from 10 countries of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management, theASEAN Secretariat, UNHCR Jakarta, the UN/OCHA, the DIPECHO, the ASEAN
Foundation, the ADPC, and the ADRC.
The meeting aimed to discuss the specific measures to conduct the 5 projects which havebeen currently planned. The ADRC made a presentation on the background of the ADRC andTDRM.