News and announcements

'The impact of climate change on the local level, for instance the impact on agricultural productivity, outbreaks of insect pests and changes in water resources are difficult to predict due to the scarcity of monitoring equipment and systems,' said Dr Rob Marchant, from the University of York’s Environment Department...

'It makes sense to prepare a community for a disaster that may never happen, because if you prepare efficiently enough, then indeed it may never happen,' asserts The Guardian...

'The frequency of disasters in the world has increased with more natural disasters expected in the future. Sri Lanka being an island nation should pay prime concern for disaster resilience and resistance,'said Sri Lanka's disaster management minister Mahinda Amaraweera...

A regional meeting of experts held in Cairo could result in a doubling of the number of Arab countries that systematically report on disaster losses. UNISDR brought together over 40 participants from 15 Arab countries to discuss and exchange experiences on establishing national disaster loss databases.

Dr Heyzer, who is also Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP, said they need to take a more active role and write sustainable development stories everyday that connect the dots dealing with climate change, disaster, food scarcity, and energy waste...

Natural disasters are non-discriminatory, affecting G20 countries and non-G20 countries alike. Today we have the knowledge, experience and tools to help mitigate risks and prevent avoidable disasters. And we know that if done right, prevention pays—there are cost-effective steps governments can take to protect populations and assets...

Although the the last serious earthquake occurred in the Basel area in 1356, experts agree that it is a high risk seismic zone. The federal authorities started an earthquake mitigation programme in 2000 to 'reduce the damage potential of earthquakes through prevention'...

The new radio programmes will be centered around disaster risk reduction and climate variability but they will also give agricultural advice on how to cope with saline-affected lands and what kind of crops to choose for the flood affected areas...