Outline ofthe International Centre For
Water Hazard and Risk Management
under the auspices of UNESCO(UNESCO-CHARM)
Dr. Tadahiko SAKAMOTO
Chief Executive
Public Works Research Institute (PWRI)
Tsukuba, Japan

Background-Water hazards as a major challengeNumber of Events by types in the world
200

The number of water-related
150
disasters is still increasing

100

Flood
Windstorm

Drought
The water-related disasters will be …50¾ aggravated by population
01992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
growth, rapid urbanization,
Source :EM-DAT, CERD, University of Louvain, Belgium
and concentration of humansettlements and assets in flood areas;¾ hampering sustainable development at global scale

Reduction of water hazards isvital for poverty alleviation.

Background-Necessity for dealing with water-related disasters2002 World Summit on Sustainable
Development (Johannesburg)
2003 3rd World Water Forum(Kyoto, Shiga & Osaka)- Necessity to improve risk management
measures, technologies and capacity
building relevant to water-relateddisastersPublic Works Research Institute(PWRI)• History
1927: Established
1979: Relocated to Tsukuba(Area:126ha, Staff: 550)
2001: Re-organized into two institutions(PWRI and NILIM)• Staff : 219 (including 151 researchers)• Research topics: 200• Budget (FY 2004): 6 billion JPY(55 mil. US$)PWRI @ TsukubaTokyoObjective of UNESCO-CHARM
To conduct …
 Research Training & Capacity building Information networking
These three pillar activities deal with waterrelated hazards and its risk management at
local, national, regional and global level

Framework of UNESCO-CHARM
The new Centre will be establishedwithin PWRI as a global centre under
the auspices of UNESCO (Category 2) inautumn 2005

The new Centre will be collaboratingwith the UNESCO-IHP networks,relevant UN agencies and other key
institutes & organizations of the world

Pillar Activities of UNESCO-CHARM
Research
Data/
Information

Curriculum
Results/
Outcomes

Participation

Knowledge

Information
networking

Network

Training& Capacity
building

Activities- Research - Contribution to international projects suchas WWAP and IFI /P (UNESCO/WMO)- Hydraulic / hydrological prediction,observation, modeling and analysis- Risk assessment and risk management
technologies for water-related hazards
・・・and others

Activities- Training and Capacity building PWRI’s long experience with conducting JICA
training courses for over 35 years, including:- River and dam engineering- Sabo engineering
Africa 1/1

Pacific 1/1

Latin America
10/5

Total Number ofTrainees/Countries
101/27
Middlein FY 2003 Asia
East
32/7

57/13

Activities- Information Networking Information networking will be synergized withresearch and training activities in order toenhance integration and coordination:
Through the information network…
¾ Research output will be widely disseminated¾ Feedback from countries / regions will be reflected in
the research projects¾ Trainees will develop domestic links to their own
countries/ regions¾ Local needs for training items would be clarified

Preparatory Activities
October 2003
¾ 32nd session of the UNESCO General Conference
Æ Announcing the intention to set up the Centre inJapan
October 2003
¾ RSC in Southeast Asia & Pacific and in Latin America &Caribbean
Æ Resolutions strongly supporting the CentreJanuary 2004
¾ International workshop at PWRI and Symposium inTokyo
April 2004
¾ Proposal of the Center at the 36th UNESCO-IHP BureauJuly 2004
¾ Hosting a preparatory meeting of IFI/P at PWRIA Blueprint of the Centre BuildingResearch Staff
Center buildingOffice space: 20 (at the initial stage): will be completed inautumn 2005
: 2,000m2

In the Future• We have already submitted an official
proposal for consideration at theforthcoming UNESCO Executive Board.
• And to obtain an accreditation of the newCenter at the UNESCO General
Conference in autumn 2005.

Thank you for your attention.
We sincerely appreciate yoursupport for our proposal.