IRDR 9th Science Committee Meeting (Day One)

Date & Time:

Sunday 19 May (10:00-17:00)

Room:

Room 14

Participation:

Open

Organizer:

Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) International Programme Office (IPO) International Council for Science (ICSU) United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) International Social Science Council (ISSC)

Focal Point:

Manuela di Mauro
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
contact: dimaurom@un.org

Description

IRDR (Integrated Research on Disaster Risk) is a decade-long research programme co-sponsored by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). It is a global, multi-disciplinary approach to dealing with the challenges brought by natural disasters, mitigating their impacts, and improving related policy-making mechanisms.
The Science Committee is comprised of the disaster and risk reduction experts from around the world. Members are chosen based on their standing in the international scientific community and their commitment to the strategic objectives of the programme. The Science Committee meeting is held twice a year that have a strong and continued engagement in disaster risk reduction, in terms of five working groups.

The objective of the two-day event (19/20 May)is to discuss, amongst other matters, new research that will contribute towards the development of the UNISDR Global Assessment Report to be produced in 2015 (GAR 15). It will also bring together diverse disciplines and formulate new methods to address the shortcomings of current studies on natural hazards. This involves conceptualizing completely new approaches to disaster risk reduction that extend outside the bounds of any one field of study, as well as promoting innovative research in line with the working groups’ objectives.

Expected Outcomes

1. Contribute to the development of the background documentation to GAR15, with a short scoping summary touching on the research areas and methodology that IRDR will apply and present for inclusion into GAR15.
2. Progress the IRDR Science agenda and work plan to use science to advise policy and practice.
3. Further develop Working Group activites.