A/54/136-E/1999/89
Distr.:General
18 June 1999
Original: English
General
Assembly
Fifty-fourth
session
Item
101 (b) of the preliminary list*
Environment
and sustainable development: International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
Economic
and Social Council
Substantive
session of 1999
Geneva,
5–30 July 1999
Item
13 (h) of the provisional agenda**
Economic
and environmental questions: International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
** E/1999/100 and Add.1.
Recommendations on institutional arrangements for disaster
reduction activities of the United Nations system after the conclusion of the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
Report of the
Secretary-General
Summary
The present report is submitted in pursuance of General
Assembly resolution 53/185. Together with the report of the Secretary-General on the
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) (A/54/132–E/1999/80 and
Add.1) requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 44/236, the present report is
intended to contribute to the Council’s deliberations on the future arrangements for
natural disaster reduction within the United Nations system. It is composed of three
sections: the IDNDR mandate (sect. I); achievements of the Decade (sect. II); and
recommendations for the future (sect. III). A list of regional and thematic IDNDR meetings
held between June 1998 and June 1999 is contained in the annex. The report puts forward a
proposal for the continuation of a non-operational focal function for policy development,
advocacy and inter-agency coordination of disaster reduction activities in the United
Nations system after the closure of the Decade.
Contents
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I. IDNDR mandate....................................................................................................
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1–4 |
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II. Achievements of
the Decade..................................................................................
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5–11 |
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III. Recommendations
for the future..............................................................................
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12–24 |
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Annex |
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List
of regional and thematic IDNDR evaluation meetings, June 1998–June 1999.......................... |
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8 |
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I. IDNDR
mandate
1. The mandate assigned
to the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) was derived from the
objective and goals formulated in the International Framework of Action, as adopted by the
General Assembly in its resolution 44/236. The strategic focus at the start of the Decade
was on disaster reduction through the scientific understanding of natural disasters, the
assessment of their damage potential, and the mitigation and reduction of damage through
technical assistance and technology transfer, education and training.
2. A mid-term review of
IDNDR was undertaken by the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of
1994; its results were endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 49/22 A. Based
on the findings of the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction and guided by the
Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action (see A/CONF.172/9, chap. I, annex I), the mid-term
review introduced new strategies for the second half of the Decade.
3. Consequently, IDNDR
placed greater emphasis on social sciences and economics; focused on the development of
public policy, including legislation and national policies for disaster reduction;
intensified regional and subregional approaches, and shifted from emergency preparedness
to the reduction of vulnerability and risk. Overall, more effort was put into the
promotion of concrete applications of science and technology for disaster reduction. More
attention was also paid to the users’ community that is so crucial in the interface
between disaster planning and concrete measures of implementation.
4. Considering the
evolution in the nature, frequency, intensity and complexity of disasters worldwide (see
sect. II below), the mandate of the United Nations system in dealing with disaster
reduction is bound to evolve further. In order to preserve the United Nations
system’s ability to support the disaster reduction effort in Member States well
beyond the year 2000, the momentum generated by the Decade should be maintained.
II. Achievements of the Decade
5. The achievements of
the Decade are described in detail in the report of the Secretary-General on the Decade
(A/54/132–E/1990/80 and Add.1). The present review of major lessons and observations
on the evolution of disaster hazards worldwide is provided in support of proposals for
future functional and institutional arrangements after the conclusion of IDNDR.
6. During the Decade,
strong upward trends occurred in the severity and frequency of natural disasters
worldwide, with increasing impacts on constructed environments and populations. In the
past two years in particular, a sequence of large-scale natural disasters has reminded
communities around the world of the threat posed by natural hazards. Most of these
disasters have been statistically termed “one in 100 years events” and referred
to as “disasters of the century” in the countries and regions affected (see
box).
Some recent
disaster highlights
In
1997/98, extensive El Niño-related drought and subsequent wildfires have caused massive
social and economic disruption in Indonesia. At the same time, countries in Africa have
suffered severely from both floods and drought. An earthquake in northern Afghanistan has
caused large-scale loss of life and destruction of property. Bangladesh and China have,
again, experienced floods of extreme proportions. Hurricanes Georges and Mitch have
devastated vulnerable communities across Central America and the Caribbean. Extensive
flooding and mudslides have also significantly affected the economies and human health
situation of Pacific coast countries in South America. The economy of Papua New Guinea has
nearly been brought to a standstill by the culmination of impacts of drought, frost and
tsunamis. Europe has suffered one of its most severe floods in the Oder river basin, while
tornadoes ravaged towns in North America, causing more fatalities and injuries than any
other event in the preceding two decades. In February 1999, massive avalanches
precipitated by unusually heavy snowfall in the Alpine region resulted in many fatalities
and extensive structural damage.
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7. According to the
Munich Reinsurance company, economic losses from such major natural disasters have risen
by a factor of nine since 1960. The last year, 1998, has been particularly severe in
comparison, with overall losses from some 700 natural disasters estimated at US$ 93
billion. This gradual increase in the losses is attributed to a variety of factors, often
acting in conjunction, such as:
(a) The continuing concentration
of population and assets in high-risk areas, with insufficient efforts towards risk and
vulnerability reduction;
(b) The global neglect of
disaster reduction strategies in socio-economic planning, risk assessment and monitoring,
early warning and disaster preparedness;
(c) The increasing vulnerability
of modern industrialized societies to disasters, inter alia, due to reliance on
complex infrastructure systems;
(d) The degradation of the
natural environment, leading to negative synergies between the occurrence of natural
phenomena and increased risks for communities exposed to natural hazards;
(e) Increasingly convincing
evidence of global climate change, including a possible aggravation of climate
variability, such as the El Niño/La Niña phenomenon;
(f) Increased occurrence
of so-called “compound” disasters (natural-technological,
natural-environmental);
(g) The effects of large-scale
poverty in the developing world and a potential for economic collapse in countries in
economic transition, which would increase community vulnerability to natural disasters.
8. Despite these negative
trends, there have been several developments in the opposite direction at the global
level, which have helped to support the Decade’s goals and objectives, inter alia:
(a) An increasing realization in
many professional fields of the need for a broader orientation on intersectoral
approaches, such as in climatology, which considers disaster reduction in relation to
environmental change, water resources management, coastal zone management and sea level
rise;
(b) A growing understanding of
the human dimension in the occurrence of natural disasters, and of the relationships
between socio-economic factors, risk factors and disaster vulnerability;
(c) Dramatic improvements in the
development of compact and powerful telecommunications and computer systems, which has
improved access to information and real-time data on natural hazards in most parts of the
world;
(d) Investment in earth
observations technology and the establishment of global monitoring systems for oceans,
land areas and climate (Global Ocean, Terrestrial and Climate Observing Systems);
(e) An increased interest in the
study of global environmental change, in particular climate change and climate
variability, and dramatic improvements in the scientific understanding of the global
climate regime, the forecasting of climate variability and extremes, and the projection of
their impacts on society.
9. Consequently, the
Decade’s objectives have gained increasing recognition at the national level, as
witnessed by the steadily growing numbers (currently 141) of Member States with national
IDNDR committees or focal points, and the gradual policy shift from response and recovery
to reduction and preparedness in the national disaster plans of most of these countries.
Regional IDNDR conferences, which brought Governments together with key disaster
management organizations in each of the five regions of the world as part of the final
IDNDR action plan for 1998/99, have demonstrated the potential for exchange and sharing of
experience and approaches between countries at the regional level. Reinforced by IDNDR
applications, such as the Risk Assessment Tools for Diagnosis of Urban Areas against
Seismic Disasters initiative, the IDNDR focus on early warning as a key disaster reduction
tool and IDNDR’s promotion campaigns, such as the annual International Disaster
Reduction Day established by the General Assembly in its resolution 44/236, paragraph 2,
such geographic common approaches have contributed to an almost system-wide reaffirmation
of the immense value of disaster reduction as an integral part of sustainable development
strategies.
10. The IDNDR Inter-Agency Steering
Committee has served as a common platform for the development of disaster reduction
activities among IDNDR partner agencies inside and outside the United Nations. Several of
these, such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization /Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (UNESCO/IOC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank
and the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), have defined a new disaster
orientation in their programmes. Others, such as the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and
the Council of Europe, have intensified disaster reduction efforts that had already been
in place prior to the Decade. And others have intensified collaboration on disaster
reduction as a specific contribution to the Decade, as is the case with joint ventures
between WMO and UNESCO, between the World Health Organization (WHO), the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and others. The IDNDR Scientific and
Technical Committee has contributed significantly policy development; its final report is
contained in document A/54/132–E/1990/80/Add.1.
11. In 1997/98, the rapid creation of
the Inter-Agency Task Force on El Niño within the framework of IDNDR provided a specific
example of intersectoral cooperation among diverse international agencies. Through the
IDNDR action plan 1998–1999, with its specific objectives and targeted activities,
the IDNDR secretariat has facilitated concerted action in the fields of policy
development, advocacy and inter-agency coordination in support of a comprehensive disaster
reduction strategy for the twenty-first century. The regional and thematic IDNDR meetings,
organized within this action plan (see annex) have demonstrated the potential for exchange
and sharing of experience between countries at the regional and international levels. With
the increase in frequency and severity of natural and technological hazards, the merits of
such common platforms have become more manifest in recent years.
III. Recommendations for the future
12. A final assessment of the Decade
must take into account the possible evolution of disaster reduction in the twenty-first
century. On the one hand, changes in the need for disaster reduction will be determined by
the changing patterns of natural hazards, their future potential for association with
technological disasters or political conflicts, and shifts in the socio-economic and
demographic trends. On the other hand, new technological tools and their wider
availability will potentially alter the nature of disaster reduction. Based on the lessons
learned during the past 10 years and current trends in society, politics and the sciences,
future disasters will be characterized by the following factors, all potentially acting in
conjunction:
(a) As population pressure
mounts in specific areas of the world, more people may live in or depend on
disaster-vulnerable ecosystems;
(b) Where sustained economic
growth does not keep pace with population growth, large-scale poverty may increase and,
hence, vulnerability to disasters;
(c) As global environmental
change continues, new natural hazards may develop and new combinations of existing hazards
may have unprecedented consequences;
(d) Increasing vulnerability of
growing populations in high-risk areas may trigger large-scale population movements.
13. However, at the same time it may
be expected that:
(a) The ever-increasing ability
of monitoring, modelling and forecasting the behaviour of climate regimes and global
environmental change may lead to considerably improved early warning systems for a larger
range of natural disasters;
(b) More powerful
telecommunication tools, combined with smaller but more powerful electronic computing and
positioning systems, will improve the efficiency of response and relief operations during
and following disasters and allow for better coordination of disaster management.
14. Disasters occur when natural,
technical and human-induced phenomena impact on vulnerable socio-economic systems.
Vulnerability to disasters is a function of objective hazards and human activity in a
constructed environment. Human behaviour patterns can be influenced; therefore,
vulnerability can be reduced. This makes disaster reduction not a random choice but a
moral imperative. If communities need not suffer, they should not suffer. In addition,
there are important socio-economic benefits of disaster reduction. Insufficient investment
in disaster reduction leads to much higher costs for humanitarian assistance and
reconstruction following natural disasters, and to a widening development gap between rich
and poor communities. The cost-effectiveness of disaster reduction thus makes it a
strategic imperative as well.
15. Disaster reduction provides a
strategic opportunity for humanitarian assistance to formulate concerted approaches which
include measures of prevention, preparedness and response, as well as rehabilitation and
reconstruction leading to a higher level of community disaster resilience. Disaster
reduction thus offers a real opportunity to effectively link the humanitarian and
sustainable development constituencies in their efforts to achieve social and economic
stability.
16. The lessons learned during the
Decade demonstrate that disaster reduction must go beyond sectoral mainstreaming. It needs
to be recognized in a large number of sectoral strategies, including those in development
planning and technical cooperation, disaster management and humanitarian assistance, the
protection of natural resources, the management of population growth and the mitigation of
climate change. Disaster reduction must thus be applied at a multitude of levels by a
great variety of actors, in both public and private-sector domains.
17. Important actors in this respect
are public officials in Member States, who are able to improve disaster reduction
policy-making. The second Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held at Berlin on
29 March 1999, unanimously endorsed the IDNDR approach to disaster reduction within the
framework of advancing international cooperation between the European Union and 10 Asian
States. It stressed the importance of improved international cooperation, including early
warning, to reduce the impact of the El Niño phenomenon. As another example, the African
determination to ensure the integration of disaster reduction in Government policies
culminated in the Nairobi Declaration on Natural Disaster Reduction, adopted at the
conclusion of the IDNDR-UNEP meeting for Africa (18–21 May 1999), which asserts that
it is important to ensure continuity of disaster reduction in Africa after the conclusion
of IDNDR in 1999, so that the positive results achieved during the Decade are not lost,
and that the United Nations system should ensure the continuation of the functions of
advocacy and coordination at the international level performed so far by the IDNDR
secretariat. Similar statements can be found in the concluding observations formulated by
the STC in its Final Report.
18. The overall evaluation of IDNDR
demonstrates that disaster reduction is not a static concept with fixed methods of work
but is subject to evolution in accordance with changing challenges and ever-increasing
technical opportunities. In order to ensure that the Decade’s achievements will not
be lost, the momentum of this continuous review, assessment and reform of disaster
reduction philosophy, its application and its policies must be maintained. As confirmed by
the Decade, the United Nations system provides an eminently suited framework for bringing
the various interests together in the mutual interest of all. It is thus crucially
important that a platform is maintained for cooperation through coordination, and for the
promotion of synergies rather than compartmentalization among stakeholders.
19. In this connection, the IDNDR
secretariat produced a proposal for future arrangements for natural disaster prevention
activities following the closure of the Decade as a position paper for discussion in the
Inter-Agency Steering Committee meeting of 25 January 1999. The note, subsequently
presented to the Organizational Committee (OC)/ACC in March 1999, proposed the
establishment, on 1 January 2000, of an inter-agency secretariat for natural disaster
reduction, composed of an international team of experts, inter alia, seconded by
United Nations organizations, Governments, and non-governmental organizations, funded by
voluntary contributions from Member States and other sources. The note also recognized the
need for an inter-agency task force for natural disaster reduction, which would be
composed of representatives from within and from outside the United Nations system.
20. The task force would provide a
platform for the realization of disaster reduction in a concerted manner, particularly
through dialogue and consensus-building among sectoral entities both within and outside
the United Nations system. Its major functions would be:
(a) To serve as the main forum
within the United Nations system for devising strategies and policies for the reduction of
natural hazards;
(b) To identify gaps in disaster
reduction policies and programmes and recommend remedial action;
(c) To ensure complementarity of
action by agencies involved in disaster reduction;
(d) To provide policy guidance
to the secretariat;
(e) To convene ad hoc meetings
of experts on disaster reduction-related issues.
The
task force would work in full accordance with existing institutional arrangements in the
United Nations system which may relate to natural disaster reduction concerns.
21. The proposed secretariat would
serve as a substantive secretariat for the task force. Its mandate would consist of
advocacy, policy development and coordination of the United Nations system’s
activities in the field of natural disaster reduction. Its main functions would be:
(a) To serve as the focal point
within the United Nations system for the coordination of strategies and programmes for
natural disaster reduction, and to ensure synergy between disaster reduction strategies
and those in the socio-economic and humanitarian fields;
(b) To support the Inter-Agency
Task Force in the development of policies on natural disaster reduction;
(c) To promote a worldwide
culture of reduction of the negative effects of natural hazards, through advocacy
campaigns;
(d) To serve as an international
clearing house for the dissemination and exchange of information and knowledge on disaster
reduction strategies;
(e) To backstop the policy and
advocacy activities of national committees for natural disaster reduction.
22. OC/ACC took note of the
information paper, and in order to assist the Secretary-General in formulating his
recommendations for presentation to the General Assembly through the Council, OC/ACC:
(a) Expressed appreciation for
the contribution that the United Nations system, especially the IDNDR secretariat, had
made in advancing advocacy and enhancing awareness in the area of natural disaster,
preparedness, and mitigation and relief;
(b) Agreed on the need for the
continued enhancement of collaboration among the members of the United Nations system and
to further strengthen their capacities in this regard;
(c) Emphasized the importance of
mainstreaming these activities as an integral part of sustainable development and national
strategies;
(d) Welcomed inter-agency,
multisectoral and interdisciplinary approaches to natural disaster reduction, including
preparedness, prevention and mitigation;
(e) Noted the importance of
ensuring synergies between actors within the United Nations system and those outside it in
the context of disaster awareness, prevention, and preparedness as well as response;
(f) Noted also the growing
awareness among different organizations of the link between disaster and development and
the initiatives taken by them, including those by the World Bank, to strengthen their
capacity to participate in natural disaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation
activities, as well as the responsibility given to UNDP by the General Assembly for
operational disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness;
(g) Emphasized the
non-operational character and universality of the advocacy dimension of the objectives of
IDNDR;
(h) Took note of the information
provided by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on how to sign/ratify the
Tampere Convention which provides a legal framework for the use of telecommunications in
international humanitarian assistance;
(i) Noted that the
considerable recent advances in seasonal weather and climate predictions, including of
such phenomena as El Niño, enable improved preparedness of vulnerable communities against
natural disasters. This highlighted the importance of a visible focal point within the
United Nations system for scientific and technical aspects of natural disaster
preparedness, prevention and mitigation.
23. OC/ACC noted the different options
for the institutional arrangements for such an inter-agency secretariat, and also noted
that in the light of these considerations, the secretariat would make these options the
subject of consultation with agencies most directly concerned prior to submission to the
General Assembly through the Council. In this context, OC/ACC emphasized the importance of
an inter-agency approach in the follow-up and cautioned against the proliferation of
secretarial functions. Subsequently, the IDNDR secretariat has held a series of
consultations on the subject with several of the agencies and other relevant institutions
closely associated with the work of the Decade.
24. After careful review of the
achievements of the Decade and future challenges in the field of natural disaster
reduction, and having carefully considered the views expressed in the course of
consultations, the Secretary-General believes that future arrangements must (a) provide
optimal conditions for the non-operational inter-agency nature of natural disaster
advocacy; (b) facilitate the continuing dialogue with both the humanitarian assistance and
sustainable development constituencies, and foster synergies and complementarity between
the two; and (c) afford high visibility for the goals of disaster reduction within the
framework of the United Nations. The Secretary-General believes that these conditions are
best realized by establishing an inter-agency task force on natural disaster reduction, as
proposed in paragraphs 18–20 above, and by placing the proposed inter-agency
secretariat as a distinct entity integrated within the Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, under the responsibility of the Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs. The inter-agency secretariat would be financed from extrabudgetary
resources, through a trust fund.
Annex
List of
regional and thematic IDNDR evaluation meetings, June 1998–June 1999
Regional
meetings
Central
Europe (Prague, June 1998)
Europe
(London, June 1998)
Seventh
annual South Pacific regional disaster meeting (Nuku’alofa, Tonga, July 1998)
Regional
conference for CIS and Central Eastern European countries (Yerevan, September 1998)
IDNDR-ESCAP
regional meeting for Asia (Bangkok, February 1999)
Prevention
and reduction of natural disasters in the Mediterranean (Valencia, May 1999)
IDNDR-UNEP
regional meeting for Africa (Nairobi, May 1999)
Hemispheric
conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (San José, May–June 1999)
Thematic
meetings
Intergovernmental
meeting on emergency telecommunications (Tampere, Finland, June 1998)
International
conference on early warning (Potsdam, Germany, September 1998)
International
seminar on natural disaster reduction for roads in the Mediterranean countries (Istanbul,
October 1998)
First
intergovernmental seminar of experts on El Niño (Guayaquil, Ecuador, November 1998)
Conference
on mountain natural hazards (Grenoble, France, April 1999)
Natural
disaster prevention: land-use planning and sustainable development (Paris, June 1999)
