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YOUR TURN TO ASK: Reducing risk in a world of disasters
Written by: AlertNet
This Sunday, the United Nations will be launching an important new report looking at how, where and why disaster risk is increasing globally. Drawing on more than 30 years of data, the study will analyse how climate change and other factors are changing the map of vulnerability. It will also come up with key recommendations for making the planet safer. The contents of the report are under lock and key until the May 17 launch in Bahrain. But AlertNet has asked the United Nations' top official on disaster risk reduction to field questions from readers ahead of the event. Margareta Wahlstrom, chief of the U.N.'s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, will answer your burning questions about climate change, vulnerability and the risks faced by developing countries. You can participate by using the comments section below or by using the #askmw tag on Twitter. We'll get as many of your questions to Wahlstrom as possible, and we'll be publishing her replies on AlertNet on Friday, so keep checking back! New to Twitter? If you aren't using Twitter already but want to post a question or see what other people are asking Wahlstrom through Twitter, just get yourself a Twitter account, search for the #askmw tag and view all questions. You can post a 140-character question yourself, making sure to use the #askmw tag somewhere in your post so it sits with all the other posts from people across the Twittersphere.
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11 responses to “YOUR TURN TO ASK: Reducing risk in a world of disasters”
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12 May 2009 07:28:13 GMT
Most of today's world disasters are unpredictable and may takes few minutes to days for a quick impeding warning to public. It always depends weather it is a wild fire,earth quack, cyclone or a flooding for a warning to be issued to the general public for an emergency preparation.
Thirty years of disaster data's will identify countries where most disasters occurs and should be helpful in reducing the disasters managements, by working with these governments in drawing up a permanent disasters management force, capable of going into action in a short notice. Will the Chief of the UN international strategy disaster reduction management chief Margareta Wahlstrom, will consider recommending an International Emergency Deployment force under UN. Drawn out from experienced technically advanced countries in readiness in all parts of the world to hope up with major earth quacks,flooding, wild fires and cyclones. In many countries in recent times,many rich countries have given helping hands to tackle emergency disaster managements individually. Many poor third world countries always needs disaster management help as aid in relief to millions of affected civilians annualy.13 May 2009 03:15:43 GMT
Dear Margaretha Climate change has long been perceived as a separate campaign from poverty reduction. People will give their money to environmental organisations or aid agencies depending on where their sympathies lie the most. However, the increasing convergence between issues of climate (and subsequent disasters) and poverty mean there is now a synergy between these two issues that never existed before.
However, the public seem slow to pick up on this convergence. The aid agency I work for is losing supporter donations because they resent us working in the area of climate change; they want their money to go directly to 'poor children'. They perceive us as 'off track' and losing integrity to the green movement. The interconnectedness of the issue has yet to be fully understood. Is the UN therefore, taking any steps to emphasise the connection between climate change and poverty? Will there be a campaign to connect the dots? What will your public messaging look like? Regards E.S13 May 2009 03:28:22 GMT
Dear Margaretha Climate change has long been perceived as a separate campaign from poverty reduction. People will give their money to environmental organisations or aid agencies depending on where their sympathies lie the most. However, the increasing convergence between issues of climate (and subsequent disasters) and poverty mean there is now a synergy between these two issues that never existed before.
However, the public seem slow to pick up on this convergence. The aid agency I work for is losing supporter donations because they resent us working in the area of climate change; they want their money to go directly to 'poor children'. They perceive us as 'off track' and losing integrity to the green movement. The interconnectedness of the issue has yet to be fully understood. Is the UN therefore, taking any steps to emphasise the connection between climate change and poverty? Will there be a campaign to connect the dots? What will your public messaging look like? Regards E.S14 May 2009 08:21:57 GMT
Dear Ms.Wahlstrom,
The effects of Climate change impact on the resources, pertinent to the sustenance of Indigeneous Peoples, thus escaling their vulnerability . However how will the UN mainstream the concerns of the Indigeneous people to ensure that they are not 'doubly marginalised", if not proatively included in disaster preparedness and risk mangement plans ? Thank you Megh R Rai Member patron , Kirat Rai Yayokkha Association of the Rai , an Indigeneous People from Eastern Nepal14 May 2009 08:22:43 GMT
One needs a totally different approach to the way in which we tackle Disasters, as there are new pressures put on Governments and Aid Agencies to be more accountable,from Humanitarian Relief Logisitcs not knowing and facing the unknown, to supply chain management how it works, and needs to be stremalined more in line with Commercial Logisitics, where inventories can be done and more advanced technology needs to be used to prevent certain disasters from happening.
14 May 2009 08:23:10 GMT
Dear Margaretha
In the UNFCCC meetings climate change adaptation is one of the important issues now. Our experience is that DRR is a useful approach to make communities more resilient to climate change, so it is a climate adaptation tool. I think it's therefore important for UN ISDR to take this message to the UNFCCC meetings this year. What kind of plans exist to do so?14 May 2009 08:50:20 GMT
Civil society organisations have just completed a bottom up review of progress towards implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) - which provides a global blueprint for disaster risk reduction efforts - at the local level to compliment the UNISDR coordinated top-down perspective at the national level. It was the largest independent global review of HFA progress at the local level ever undertaken, involving forty seven countries, 400 civil society organisations and 5,000 surveys completed with key informant groups +//3//Q" local governments, civil society and community representatives.
A draft report should be available in a couple of weeks ahead of the GP-DRR 2009 in June. The overarching (provisional) conclusion is that nationally formulated DRR policies and plans are not generating widespread systemic change in local practices, and importantly, are failing to inform, motivate and involve vulnerable people in building disaster-resilient communities. Local risk assessments and related to this awareness and understanding of risk were lowest overall scoring indicators +//3//Q" significant given these are the foundations for building resilience So key questions to ask are:- > How to raise level of critical awareness, understanding of risk at the local level? > How to systematically and strategically deepen engagement with at-risk communities? > How to mobilise resources to scale up local level actions to meet upwards trends in vulnerability? >Communities and civil society represents a massively underutilised resource at the local level +//3//Q" how do we utilise this potential to compliment government efforts? Best, Marcus Oxley Chairman, Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction14 May 2009 09:31:17 GMT
I have three related questions. The first is: could Disaster Risk Reduction render climate change adaptation discourse null and void? The second is: do the DRR and climate change discourses complement or compete with one another? The third is: could globally conceived approaches to DRR actually create vulnerability and increase risk when implemented at the local scale?
14 May 2009 10:46:01 GMT
To Margareta Wahlstrom: My question is how NGOs, other agencies, etc. can collaborate closer with UN to mainstream DRR at all relevant levels? Are there plans to put focus on this? The question araises also in regard of pushing puplic awareness on this topic. During the last months it has been nearly impossible to get through via media, especially on DRR but also climate change, even reducing poverty. Regards Andrea
14 May 2009 11:14:50 GMT
To Margareta Wahlstrom: My question is how NGOs, other agencies, etc. can collaborate closer with UN to mainstream DRR at all relevant levels? Are there plans to put focus on this? The question araises also in regard of pushing puplic awareness on this topic. During the last months it has been nearly impossible to get through via media, especially on DRR but also climate change, even reducing poverty. Regards Andrea
14 May 2009 17:32:30 GMT
Disasters are increasing. What we can change is the consequences on humans by better preparedness and response exercises. The focus should therefore be on increasing awareness of how to be ready for the future disaster - starting with the most vulnerable areas in the world, expecially in developing countries.