News and announcements

In their opinion for the Jakarta Post, Jonatan A. Lassa and Syamsidik present the Indonesian efforts to create a new and stronger research institution in disaster risk science following the tsunami in Aceh, namely the TDMRC (Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center)...

'Children should be active participants in DRR effort. At home or at school they should know how to protect themselves during natural calamities like earthquakes, floods and cyclone,' said Margarita Tileva, chief, emergency solution UNICEF...

The objective is to protect small farmers and day labourers from losing their livelihoods due to the impact of a hurricane or a flood by offering microinsurance and other risk transfer solutions linked with disaster risk reduction and risk management...

The discovery helps explain how tsunamis can cross ocean basins to cause massive destruction at some locations while leaving others unscathed. The data raise hope that scientists may be able to improve tsunami forecasts...

'When I discovered that similar natural disasters are happening in other countries, I realized, like others, I am also a victim. So I asked myself, why wait for these disasters to occur and take us by surprise again?'...

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, today welcomed the Durban Climate Change Adaptation Charter for Local Government agreed yesterday by Mayors from around the world as "the best possible start to a critical week in the life of this planet when we so urgently need real leadership on mitigation and adaptation.

'Adaptation is a new business and no one has done it before. Africa should take the lead in this area and in the future, it will sell this expertise to the rest of the world,' said Dr. Saleemul Huq, from the International Institute of Environment and Development...

While there is no formal negotiating status for business and civil society at the UN climate change summit (COP-17) in Durban, 80% of the funds needed to deal with the effects of climate change will have to come from the private sector and households...