Update

'Our lack of geologists here in the region could affect our geohazard survey' said James Leones, chief geologist at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, highlighting that geohazard mapping helps identify areas prone to landslide, flooding or earthquake and can save lives. Learn more about geohazard mapping at the Global Platform...

Nepal has become one of the first countries to consider scaling up community-based adaptation to climate change and making it part of national development policy, reports IRIN. Climate change adaptation is one of the many issues that will be debated at the Global Platform...

The United Nations has awarded the United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction to the Global Fire Monitoring Centre (GFMC), Fire Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Freiburg University, Germany, for its outstanding work in the field of wildfire prevention.

'If adaptation is to work for the poor, it needs to be an inherently political process, and one intent on addressing broader issues such as inequalities in power and social marginalisation,' writes Rachel Godfrey Wood in an editorial for The Guardian UK. More on climate change adaptation at the Global Platform...

AusAid announced recently that it will commit around P720 million to help implement a disaster risk management plan at the local level reports ABS-CBN. Hear more about investments in disaster risk reduction at the Global Platform...

'The Office of the President aims to set an example for the rest of the bureaucracy that here we are preparing. We're not taking things for granted,' said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. in a report by Xinhua. The Philippines is among the countries attending the Global Platform...

'There is debate about whether man-made or 'natural' disasters have a longer-term impact, and whether markets can learn from past experience and become more robust when faced with 'black swans'', writes Nyree Stewart for the FT Adviser. More on the cost of disasters at the Global Platform...

The Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan and his Australian counterpart, Julia Gillard have both pledged to reinforce bilateral efforts in dealing with natural hazards, in the wake of the recent earthquake, reports Xinhua. More on disaster preparedness at the Global Platform...

Eric Weddle highlights the expertise of Purdue University specialists that have helped provide valuable assessments and information on natural catastrophes such as the Haitian earthquake and the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. More on risk assessment at the Global Platform...

'As aid agencies have become more adept at thinking about climate change in their work, the burning question is how to expand successful programmes that help local people cope with climate shifts' writes Megan Rowling for AlertNet. See how you can help communities adapt to climate change at the Global Platform...