a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

First Announcement

World Conference on
Disaster Reduction
18-22 January 2005
Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

A safer world for all
A milestone event toincrease the international profile of disaster risk reduction
promote integration of disaster risk reduction intodevelopment planning and practicestrengthen local and national capacities to address thecauses of disasters that continue to devastate andimpede the development of many countries.

A set of specific goals, activities and policy measures for implementation
2005-2015 will be presented for consideration and adoption, drawing on
a review of the past decade’s progress with the Yokohama Strategy andPlan of Action for a Safer World that was adopted at the first worldconference on the subject held at Yokohama, May 1994.

1
Draft/ 04 Feb 2004

Draft/04 Feb 04

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

What is at stake?
“Disaster reduction
policies and measuresneed to be implemented tobuild disaster resilient
societies and communities,
with a two-fold aim: toreduce the level of risk insocieties, while ensuring,on the other hand, thatdevelopment efforts do notincrease thevulnerability to hazards
but instead consciously
reduce such
vulnerability.”
ISDR backgrounddocument to the World
Summit on Sustainable
Development,
Johannesburg,
August 2002

Draft/04 Feb 04

Human and economic losses due
to natural disasters continue toincrease despite efforts
undertaken by communities,
Governments and internationalorganization. The International
Decade for Natural Disaster
Reduction (IDNDR, 1990-1999)
helped to raise awareness on risk
reduction needs, but was clearly
not enough. Data for 2003 fromreinsurance companies report theoccurrence of around 700
disasters, with over 50,000 people
killed, almost five times as manyas in the previous year (11,000);
such a high number of victims
has only been recorded four times
since 1980. Economic losses roseto over US$ 60 billion (in 2002:
US$ 55 billion). Developing
countries are disproportionately
affected, with their losses rising to2

about five times higher per unitof GDP than for the richcountries, sometimes exceeding
years of hard-won anddesperately needed economic
development.
The underlying problem ofgrowing vulnerability to hazards
is partly related to development
activities and in particular withpoverty. Development decisions
made at local and international
levels often increase thevulnerability to hazards rather
than reduce the risk. Poverty
reduction strategies are still nottaking into account the need toreduce risk and vulnerability tonatural and technologicalhazards. More work is needed to
improve social protection forvulnerable communities if thea safer world for all
Millennium Development
Goals are to be achieved.
On the occasion of the
mid-term review of the
IDNDR, a World
Conference on Natural
Disaster Reduction washeld in Yokohama, Japan
in 1994. Since then, the“Yokohama Strategy for a
Safer World: Guidelines
for Natural Disaster
Prevention, Preparedness
and Mitigation” and its
Plan of Action, have
served as the international
blueprint in the field of
disaster reduction.
The UN General
Assembly adopted theInternational Strategy for

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Disaster Reduction (ISDR)in December 1999 to follow
up on the IDNDR
achievements as well as
facilitate theimplementation of disaster
reduction worldwide.
Progress has been made anddisaster reduction is now
recognized as a crucialcomponent for sustainable
development in the
Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation of theWorld Summit on
Sustainable Development(2002). Progress andchallenges were highlighted
in the first global summaryof disaster reduction
initiatives – Living with
Risk – published by the
ISDR Secretariat in 2002.

3“Natural disaster prevention and mitigation
ranks among the top twenty most importantand urgent global issues of the twenty-first
century. The issue has taken on suchproportions and brings so much suffering that
global disaster prevention and mitigation
measures seem to be a must...These disasters
have grown so in scope and frequency that they
imply responsibilities for the global
community.
Reducing world poverty is arguably the main
global challenge of the next twenty years.
Why? First, for moral reasons, and for thesake of justice and balance. It has become
clear that poverty means more than lack ofincome: it includes isolation andpowerlessness, insecurity, lack of services, andlack of control over one’s future...and feelingconstantly exposed to catastrophic risks.”
Source: J.F. Rischard (2002) High Noon:
Twenty Global Issues, Twenty Years
to Solve Them

Draft/04 Feb 04

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Why hold another World Conference
on Disaster Reduction?
While commitment to the
reduction of disasters has been
growing – demonstrated
through several existing
international initiatives,agreements and declarations –actual materialization is stillslow. Disaster impacts are
increasing and remain a major
obstacle to development. New
risks are emerging. In somecases development itself is
contributing to growing risks.
A detailed review of theachievements, gaps and criticalchallenges facing theinternational community since
the adoption of the Yokohama
Strategy and Plan of Action of1994 is presently underway,
with numerous international,
national and local policies,
initiatives, scientific andtechnical achievements
demonstrating the feasibility
and worth of investment inrisk reduction. Emerging
issues and opportunities
related to environmental andclimate change, pandemics
such as HIV/AIDS, genderbalance and education are also
coming to the fore of publicattention.
Much remains however to bedone to coordinate andstrengthen further these
movements and integratethem into effective national
policies.
Draft/04 Feb 04

Millennium
Development Goal:“To intensify our collective
efforts to reduce the number andeffects of natural and manmade
disasters.” Placed under section
IV. Protecting our common
environment
Road map towards the implementation of the United Nations
Millennium Declaration, 2001,
Secretary-General Report to
GA (A/56/326)

A shift in focus from relief tosustainable development isoccurring. The current
situation calls for aninternational meeting thatbrings together local, national
and international policymakers
active in social and economic
development andenvironmental management
issues, disaster risk managers
and practitioners, as well ascivil society and community
groups. The conclusion of the
Yokohama review coincidingthwith the 10 Anniversary of
the Great Hanshin-Awaji
Earthquake in addition to theGovernment of Japan’s offer
to host the Conference in thecity of Kobe-Hyogo, provides
the ideal occasion and setting
for the event.
The World Conference on
Disaster Reduction is expected
to motivate and guide4

governments and theirpolicymakers to pay more
attention, identifying practicaland concrete ways to incorporate
disaster risk reduction intopoverty reduction.
The Conference will build on thefindings of the review of
implementation of the Yokohama
Strategy and Plan of Action,
aiming at:• Assessing achievements andidentifying good practices since
its adoption in 1994;• Defining the remaining
challenges, critical needs andopportunities in disaster
reduction initiatives worldwide,
and to examine emerging
issues;• Developing elements for anarticulated programme fordisaster risk reduction to
implement the relevant
Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and objectivesof the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation for sustainable
development.
The Conference will also
raise awareness of the urgency tofocus on the vulnerable, taking
into account community needs toaddress disaster risk, as well asemphasize policy development
and action at global, regional,
national and local levels for thedevelopment of a culture of
prevention.

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action
The ‘Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World’ wasadopted at the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction (May
1994, Yokohama, Japan), as the main outcome of the mid-term review of theInternational Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).
Principles of the Yokohama Strategy

1.

Risk assessment is a required step for the adoption of adequate andsuccessful disaster reduction policies and measures.
2. Disaster prevention and preparedness are of primary importance in
reducing the need for disaster relief.
3. Disaster prevention and preparedness should be considered integral
aspects of development policy and planning at national, regional,
bilateral, multilateral and international levels.
4. The development and strengthening of capacities to prevent, reduce andmitigate disasters is a top priority area.
5. Early warnings of impending disasters and their effective dissemination
using telecommunications, including broadcast services, are key factors to
successful disaster prevention and preparedness.
6. Preventive measures are most effective when they involve participation at
all levels, from the local community through the national government to
the regional and international level.
7. Vulnerability can be reduced by the application of proper design andpatterns of development focused on target groups, by appropriate
education and training of the whole community.
8. The international community accepts the need to share the necessary
technology to prevent, reduce and mitigate disaster; this should be madefreely available and in a timely manner as an integral part of technicalcooperation.
9. Environmental protection as a component of sustainable development
consistent with poverty alleviation is imperative in the prevention andmitigation of natural disasters.
10. Each country bears the primary responsibility for protecting its people,
infrastructure, and other national assets from the impact of natural
disasters. The international community should demonstrate strong
political determination required to mobilize adequate and make efficientuse of existing resources, in the field of natural disaster reduction, bearing
in mind the needs of the developing countries, particularly the least
developed countries.
5

Draft/04 Feb 04

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Objectives of WCDRThe UN General Assembly adopted
resolution A/RES/58/214 on 23 December
2003, stating the Conference objectives asfollows:(c) To share best practices and lessons learned
to further disaster reduction within thecontext of attaining sustainable
development, and to identify gaps andchallenges;(a) To conclude and report on the review of
the Yokohama Strategy and its Plan of
Action, with a view to updating theguiding framework on disaster reduction
for the twenty-first century;(d) To increase awareness of the importance ofdisaster reduction policies, thereby
facilitating and promoting theimplementation of those policies;(b) To identify specific activities aimed atensuring the implementation of relevant
provisions of the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development1 onvulnerability, risk assessment and disastermanagement;(e) To increase the reliability and availability of
appropriate disaster-related information to
the public and disaster management
agencies in all regions, as set out inrelevant provisions of the Johannesburg
Plan of Implementation.

Expected outcomes of the Conference• Adoption of a set of goals and policy
measures for guiding and stimulating theimplementation of disaster risk reduction,
both on what to achieve and ‘how-to-do’risk reduction3.

• Increased awareness, recognition andpolitical endorsement for implementing ofdisaster risk reduction and mobilizing
local, national and international resources.
• Clearer directions and priorities for action
at international, regional, national andlocal levels to ensure implementation of theInternational Strategy for Disaster
Reduction and to support the achievementof the Millennium Development Goals
and the objectives of the Johannesburg
Plan of Implementation2.

12
3• Launching of specific initiatives andpartnerships to support theimplementation of the International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26
August-4 September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and corrigendum), chap. I, resolution 2, annex.
See framework of thematic areas in Annex 1.
See recent discussion on-line in 2003: www.unisdr.org/dialogue

Draft/04 Feb 04

6

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Format of the Conference• Poster sessions• Workshops/seminars/symposiums (keytechnical and scientific experts andlocal/community practitioners)• Field visits

The Conference will be organized aroundthree main processes:a) Intergovernmental process to engage
the attention and participation of national
and international authorities to formulate
and ensure the adoption of expected
outcomes, as guided by the UN General
Assembly and to be discussed with the
Bureau (comprising five UN member
states) during the Preparatory Committees.

c) Public participation – promoting
awareness to the wider public:

Activities to be carried out in the
preparatory phase, during and as a follow
up to the Conference, to be organized by
Hyogo Prefecture, Japanese institutions,other organizations, Governments,
academic institutions, UN public
information services and the ISDR
Secretariat• Public forum (e.g. open debates)• Japanese public events(e.g. involving schools)• Media events, coverage and campaigns• Public exhibition open for the generalpublic (particularly school anduniversity students) and Conference
participantsb) Knowledge exchange (technical andpolicy developments): Various parallel
events on specific thematic issues and goodpractices, organized by sponsoring andparticipating organizations (international,
regional, sub-regional, national, local,
Governments, NGOs, academic, private
sector) in the form of:• Panels and roundtables (as appropiatewith ministers, parliamentarians, mayors,business and community leaders, heads
of UN and others agencies)
Related processes

The World Conference on Disaster Reduction will draw upon the commitments made by
the following processes, and will also contribute to their implementation:• IDNDR (1990-1999), World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Yokohama (1994) andthe ISDR (2000);• Small Island Developing States Barbados Programme of Action (1994) and its ten-year
review in 2004 (BPoA+10);• Millennium Development Goals (2000);• Johannesburg Plan of Implementation for Sustainable Development (2002);• UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2015;• UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);• UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD);• UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III);• Earth Observation Summits ( GEO 2004);• Ministerial Declaration of the 3rd World Water Forum (2003)

7

Draft/04 Feb 04

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Tentative Thematic Areas for the World Conference on Disaster Reduction
The following list of thematic areas based on a framework to guide and monitor disasterrisk reduction to be addressed in seminars and workshops leading up to the World
Conference on Disaster Reduction (coordinating responsibility for each thematic area to be
assigned).
For more information on the framework and thematic areas, please refer towww.unisdr.org/dialogue.
A. Governance: Institutional and policy frameworks for risk reduction• Socio-economic policies and effective utilization of resources (linking to poverty
eradication, private and public resources)• Environmental policies (integration into existing environmental policies andmanagement practices)• Risk reduction and sustainable development• National policies, institutional developments and legislation• Local authorities and municipality policies for risk reduction• Community action and participation- a policy option• Regional institutional frameworks and policies• Transparency- accountability• Science and technology policies
B. Knowledge management: building a culture of resilient communities• Education for sustainable development- disaster risk reduction in schools• Disaster risk reduction at university level and postgraduate• Research agendas• Training: formal and informal (community action)• Media and disaster risk reduction- public awareness raising tools
C. Risk identification: emerging risks• Hazard and vulnerability assessments- methodologies• Disaster impact assessments and methodologies• Forecasting and early warning• Climate and environmental risk assessment• Data-collection and information use to reduce risk
• Urban risk
D. Lessons-learnt: “good practices”• Rebuilding safer communities- sustainable solutions• Land use planning• Insurance- financial instruments- micro finance- safety nets
• Safer construction- compliance with codes and corruption• Business and private sector investing in disaster risk reduction• Environmental management and risk reduction• Community action: where it has worked• Networks and partnerships (private-public, government-NGOs, academicgovernment, etc.)• Gender issues and disaster risk reduction
E. Preparedness for effective response• From relief to development

Draft/04 Feb 04

8

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

Preparatory process
A comprehensive preparatory process will help
ensure the successful outcomes of theConference. The ISDR Secretariat will serve as
the secretariat of the Conference and will
coordinate preparatory activities, in close
cooperation with Japan as the host country andwith the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee
for the Conference, and with the support of
relevant departments of the United Nations
Secretariat.

• The Inter-Agency Task Force on
Disaster Reduction will provide additional
guidance on the content and the preparationof the Conference and the coordination of theparticipation and engagement of its members.
• A working group under the IATF/DR will act
as an organizing and advising committee
to the Secretariat. It will be composed of thoseorganizations directly involved in the
preparations of the Conference. Potential
members include UNESCO, UNU, UNDP,
IFRC, OCHA, DESA, UNCRD among
others. Some consultations and meetings of thisworking group may be conducted
electronically before IATF/DR andPreparatory Committee meetings and on otherrelevant occasions, as needed.

Member States, United Nations bodies andspecialized agencies and other relevantintergovernmental agencies and organizations,particularly the members of the Inter-Agency
Task Force on Disaster Reduction (IATF/DR),will participate actively in the Conference, and its
preparatory process.
The preparation of the Conference will besupported by the following mechanisms:

The IATF/DR working group will provide
specific advice and guidance on thesubstantive work of the Conference.
Additional expertise and further guidance will
be sought through wide consultation to
engage/involve representatives from various
sectors and levels in different disaster prone
regions of the world. The possibility of ahigh-level personality to increase the profileof the Conference is currently being discussedwith the Office of the UN Secretary-General.

• Two inter-governmental preparatorycommittee meetings, to be held in
association with meetings of the IATF/DR in
May and October 2004, and conducted by abureau consisting of five representatives ofMember States elected on the basis ofequitable geographical representation to
discuss specific conference outcomes

Why Hyogo, Japan?
On 17 January 1995 the Great Hanshin-Awaji
earthquake struck the Hyogo prefecture, including
the City of Kobe (population 1.5 million), resulting
in thousands of fatalities. It was the first major
earthquake in a large city in a developed country inrecent history. The people of the city of Kobe as wellas the Hyogo Prefecture will commemorate thetenth anniversary of the tragedy on 17 January 2005.
Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan has along history of living with geological hazards suchas earthquakes. Heavy snow in the northern parts inthe winter, and frequent tropical storms or typhoons
approaching from the south are but a few examplesof hydrological hazards in Japan.
9With such a wide array of experiences coping withnatural hazards to learn from, Japan is one of theleading countries in disaster reductionengineering and planning.
Japan has spent around 1 per cent of its annual
governmental budget on disaster countermeasuressince the 1950s such as the promotion of national
conservation projects, improvement in weather
forecasting technologies and the development ofdisaster management systems. Japan has shownthat through commitment and consistent effort thenegative impacts of hazards can be greatly
reduced, contributing to more sustainable
development.

Draft/04 Feb 04

a safer world for all

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

8. Regional and thematic meetings and other events contributing to
the World Conference on Disaster Reduction during 2003-2004
Regional and thematic meetings in 2003 and 2004 will review achievements and lessons learnt on disaster risk reduction,
identifying areas that need to be addressed as well as propose needs for future action. These meetings are being organizedby partner organizations and the ISDR Secretariat has proposed additional discussions on disaster reduction as a contribution to WCDR. The following table lists those meetings contributing to the process (04 February 2004).

1

2
3

4

5

Regional Meetings

Thematic Meetings

2003

2003

First Asian consultation,(Government of Japan,
ADRC, ISDR), KobeHyogo, Japan, 17 January
Pacific Regional consultation(SOPAC), Fiji, 5-7 May
Safer Sustainable
Communities 2003 Australian
Disaster Conference (EMA),
Canberra, 10-12 September
Euro-Mediterranean
consultations (Council ofEurope, Spain, ISDR),
Madrid, Spain, 6-8 October
Forum Mitch+5(CEPREDENAC, UNDP,COPECO), Tegucigalpa,
Honduras, 9-11 December

2004
6

7

8

9

10
11

12

13
14

Second Asian consultation(Governments of Cambodia
and Japan, ADRC, ISDR),
Cambodia, 4-6 February
Third Asian Consultative
Meeting of Regional
Organizations and Regional
Offices of UN Agencies,(WHO/SEARO, ADPC),
Manila, Philippines, 28
February
Third Asian consultation
during 4th meeting ofConsultative Committee on
Regional Cooperation in
Disaster Management(ADPC and Government of
Bangladesh), Dhaka,Bangladesh, March
Third Southeast Asia Disaster
Management Practitioners
Forum, (ADPC,UNESCAP, ECHO, IFRCSE ASIA), Bangkok,
Thailand, April
Sub-regional consultation
with Central Asian Countries,(IIEES), Teheran, Iran, May
International Conference on
Disaster Reduction(Government of China,
ISDR), Beijing, China,17-19
or 25-27 May
African consultation,(UNDP, UNEP, AU/
NEPAD; ISDR), Nairobi,
Kenya (tent.), May/June
Caribbean consultation,(UWI, CDERA, ACS,
UNDP, PAHO) October
Second Meeting of ASEAN
Committee on Disaster
Management, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia, November

1

2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Regional consultations on Early-Warning
Asia: Bandung, Indonesia, 26-28 May - Africa: Nairobi, Kenya, 23-24 June
Americas: Antigua, Guatemala, 3-5 June - Europe: Potsdam, Germany, 28-29 July
Online Conference to develop Framework for Disaster Risk reduction, by ISDR/UNDP, 25 August-25 September
International Wildland Fire Summit (GFMC), Sydney, Australia, 8 October
Second International Conference on Early Warning (ISDR, Government of Germany), Bonn, Germany, 16-18 October
6th International Conference on Disaster Management (Civil Defense, Government of Cuba), Havana, Cuba, 25-28
NovemberInternational Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, topic includes Risk Reduction (IFRC), Geneva, 2-5
December
Asian International Conference on Total Disaster Risk Management (OCHA, ADRC, UNDP), Kobe, Japan, 2-4
December
ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management –ACDM, (ASEAN), Brunei Darussalam, 8-10 December

2004
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41

Inter-regional preparatory meeting for SIDS BPoA+10 (UN/DESA) Bahamas, 26-30 JanuaryWorld Congress on Natural Disaster Mitigation New Delhi, India, 19-21 February
Sustainable Community Empowerment for Disaster Management organized (UNCRD), Kobe-Hyogo, Japan, 7 February
Disaster Reduction Forum 2004 - transfer lessons of catastrophic disasters – (Disaster Reduction Alliance -DRA). KobeHyogo, Japan, 8 February
Thirty-first session WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1-6 March
Global Disaster Information Network Conference (GDIN), Washington DC, USA, 26-29 March
Risk Management as a Sustainable Development Factor on Human Scale- Ibero-America Civil Protection (ONEMI,
Chile) Santiago, Chile, 24-26 March
World Water Day (WMO and ISDR), 22 March, Geneva & worldwide
8th Annual Meeting of the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Programme, (ADPC, USAID), Dhaka, Bangladesh, March
Ministerial Conference on Earth Observations, Tokyo, Japan, second quarter of 2004
Conference on International Cooperation in Fire Management and Emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans,
Near East and Central Asia, Antalya, Turkey, 30 March - 2 April
Commission on Sustainable Development, UN, New York, April + PrepCom SIDS
International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), Geneva, 2-3 May
Third Mekong Annual Flood Forum, (Mekong River Commission), Vientiane, Laos, June
Second Conference on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness (Red Cross Centre on Climate Change), the Hague,
Netherlands, 9-11 June
Fourteenth World Conference on Disaster Management (Canadian Center for Emergency Preparedness), Toronto, Canada,
20-23 June
2004 Annual Hazards Research and Applications Workshop, Boulder, Colorado, USA, July
International Conference on Storms, Brisbane, Australia, 5-9 July
Third International Conference on Continental Earthquakes, Beijing, China, 11-13 July
International Conference on Continental Earthquake, Beijing, China, 12-14 July
Thirteenth World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (International Association of Earthquake Engineering),
Vancouver, Canada, 1-6 August
Gender Equality and Disaster Risk Reduction Workshop (University of Hawaii Social Science Research Institute, USAID,
ISDR), Honolulu Hawaii, 10-12 August
Thirtieth IGU International Geographical Congress, Glasgow, UK, 15-20 August
Thirty-second International Geological Congress: Geological hazards-Assessment and Mitigation, Florence, Italy, 20-28
AugustInternational meeting to review the implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action/SIDS+10 (UN/DESA),
Mauritius, 30 August - 3 September
International Conference on Education (UNESCO/IBE), Geneva, Switzerland, 8-11 September
Urban Risk, Barcelona World Urban Forum (UN-HABITAT), Barcelona, Spain, 13-17 September
Ministerial Conference on Earth Observations, European Union, fourth quarter of 2004
Asian Seismological Commission, Fifth General Assembly, Yerevan, Armenia, 18-21 October
Thirty-seventh session ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, China, 15-20 November
UNFCCC COP 10, (UNFCCC), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 29 Nov-10 December
Meeting on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into develpment and aid policies, venue and dates TBC
International Forum on Earthquake Insurance, (CBS), Beijing dates TBC

0

30

30

TM30

60

60

RM5

TM1

TM25

Legend

TM29

150

TM5

150

120

TM15

RM13

TM39

90

90

Thematic Meetings

TM9

TM24
TM20
TM14

120

60

60

0

0

TM35
RM4

30

TM19

60

60

RM12
TM1,19

TM37

90

TM33

RM10

90

120

120

TM10

150

TM13

150

RM9

TM17
RM8

180

180

RM7

TM8

TM1

RM6, 14

TM22

RM11
TM,27,28,38,41

Additional meetings contributing to the World Conference
on Disaster Reduction - venues to be confirmed (TM32-33)

30

TM1
TM4
TM2,6,16,21,34
TM32

TM23
TM36

TM31

Regional Meetings

30

30

Regional and Thematic Meetings
2003-2004

60

TM26
TM3
RM3

TM7,11,12,18
RM1

60

30

RM2

30

0

United Nations Inter-Agency Secretariatof the International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (UN/ISDR)
Palais des Nations
CH 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 9172103 / 762 / 759
Fax: +41 22 9170563
isdr@un.org
www.unisdr.org
UN/ISDR Latin America
and the Caribbean
P.O. Box 3745-1000
San José, Costa Rica
Tel: +506 224 1186
Fax: +506 224 7758
eird@eird.org
www.eird.org
UN/ISDR Africa
Block U Room 217
UNEP, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: + 254 2 62 41 01
Fax: + 254 2 62 47 26
ISDR-Africa@unep.org
www.unisdrafrica.org
ISDR Asia Partnership
ADPC, ADRC, UN/ESCAP, UNDP
(open-ended)
http://www.unisdr.org/news/asia informs/
ISDR informs Asia.pdf

World Conference on Disaster Reduction

For more information contact:

A safer world for all

ISDR Mission
The ISDR aims at building disaster
resilient communities by promoting theimportance of disaster reduction as anintegral component of sustainable
development, to reduce human, social,economic and environmental losses due
to natural hazards and related
technological and environmental
disasters.

ISDR main objectives• Increase public awareness to reducerisk to natural hazards• Obtain commitment from publicauthorities• Stimulate interdisciplinary and intersectoral partnership and expand risk
reduction networking at all levels• Improve further the scientificknowledge of the causes of disasters
and the effects of natural hazards andrelated technological andenvironmental disasters on societies

Inter- Agency Task Forceon Disaster Reduction
Current members include:
Chaired by the Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian
Affairs
African Union
Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC)
Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC)
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters,
Catholic University of Lovain (CRED)
Council of Europe
Drought Monitoring Centre (Kenya based)
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Global Fire Monitoring Centre
Iberoamerican Association of Civil Defense and Civil
Protection
Organization of American States
International Council of Science (ICSU)International CIS Council
International Federation of Red Cross and Red CrescentSocieties
International Telecommunication Union
Munich Reinsurance
South Pacific Geosciences Commission (SOPAC)
UN Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD)
UN Development Programme (UNDP)
UN Education, Science and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)UN Environmental Programme (UNEP)
UN-HABITATUN University
World BankWorld Food Programme (WFP)
World Health Organization (WHO)World Meteorological Organization (WMO)