Transcript Living with Risk: The need to build partnerships

Science and Disaster Reduction –
an update from the UNISDR
Science & Technical Committee
Professor Virginia Murray Member of Science and Technical
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committee for UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR)
Meeting of the European National Platforms and
HFA Focal Points
London, 11-13 November 2009
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Outline
• UNISDR Scientific and Technical committee
• Highlight of key findings of First Scientific &
Technical Committee report for Global
Platform
• Other projects
• Reflections on how the Committee findings
can help the meeting of the National
Platforms and HFA Focal Points in DRR
research and scientific evidence base
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After the
Tsunami
2004
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http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file8511.pdf
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Scientific and Technical Committee
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• http://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/isdr/mechanisms/
• advises the Global Platform
• advocates for and guides policy and actions
related to scientific and technical issues within the
ISDR System, for informed decision making and
public awareness
• Science is considered here in its widest sense to
include the natural, environmental, social,
economic, health and engineering sciences, and
the term "technical" includes relevant matters of
technology, engineering practice and implementation.
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Scientific and Technical Committee
• to provide advice & to make recommendations on
priorities for scientific & technical attention by ISDR
System
• to propose & organize specific enquiries to investigate &
report on priority matters
• to advise on relevant elements of Joint Work Programme
• to provide guidance to scientific & technical work of ISDR
thematic partnerships
• to stimulate dialogue & innovation including promotion of
good practice
• to report annually to the Chair of the ISDR System on
matters within its mandate
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Scientific and Technical Committee
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• First meeting January 2008
• Second meeting October 2008
• Third meeting June 2009
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Current Membership
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• Dr. Walter Erdelen (Chair of the STC)
Professor Ilan Chabay*, Chalmers University of
Assistant Director General, Natural
Technology, Sweden
Sciences, France, representing
Dr. Mohamed Farghaly, Director General, Arab UNESCO
Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime
Transport of the League of Arab States, Egypt.• Dr. Howard Moore, Senior Advisor,
ICSU Secretariat, representing ICSU
Professor Mohsen Ghafory-Ashtiany,
• Dr. Juan Carlos Villagrán de León,
International Institute of Earthquake Engineering
Head, Risk Management Section,
and Seismology (IIEES), Iran
UNU–EHS, Germany, representing
Professor Harsh Gupta*, National Geophysical UNU
Research Institute (NGRI), India
• Dr. Samir Ben Yahmed, Director,
Dr. He Yongnian, China Earthquake
Health Action in Crises, Switzerland,
Administration, China
representing WHO
Professor Gordon McBean*, Institute for
• Dr. Geoff Love, Director Weather and
Catastrophic Loss Reduction, The University of Disaster Risk Reduction Services
Western Ontario, Canada (also representing the Department, Switzerland, representin
Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR)
WMO
programme)
• Dr. Walter Ammann*, President,
Professor Virginia Murray*, Consultant Medical Global Risk Forum (GRF Davos),
Toxicologist, Health Protection Agency, United Switzerland
Kingdom
• UNISDR Secretariat
Professor Laban A. Ogallo, Director, IGAD
Climate Prediction and Applications Centre
(ICPAC), Kenya
Dr. Kaoru Takara, Vice Director, Disaster
Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto
University, Japan
Professor Dennis Wenger, National
Science
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Foundation, United States
First project: First Scientific & Technical
Committee report for Global Platform October 2008
STC Subcommittee for drafting and design of report
• Dr. Walter Ammann*, President, Global Risk Forum (GRF
Davos), Switzerland
• Professor Ilan Chabay*, Chalmers University of Technology,
Sweden
• Professor Harsh Gupta*, National Geophysical Research
Institute (NGRI), India
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• Professor Gordon McBean*, (Chair) Institute for Catastrophic
Loss Reduction, The University of Western Ontario, Canada
• Professor Virginia Murray*, Consultant Medical Toxicologist,
Health Protection Agency, United Kingdom (Dr Delphine Grynzpan
and Louise Dowling, UK Health Protection Agency, researched and
assembled the first draft under Professor Virginia Murray’s
guidance.)
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Dr. Reid Basher coordinated and edited the report for
the UNISDR.
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Topics selected
• Climate change
• Changing institutional and public
behaviour to early warnings
• Knowledge of the wide health impacts
of disasters
• Improving resilience to disasters
through social and economic
understanding
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Recommendations covered
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(i) Promote knowledge into action
(ii) Use a problem-solving approach that integrates all
hazards and disciplines
(iii) Support systematic science programmes
(iv) Guide good practice in scientific and technical
aspects of disaster risk reduction
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(i) Promote knowledge into action
• Greater priority should be put on sharing and
disseminating scientific information and
translating it into practical methods that can
readily be integrated into policies, regulations and
implementation plans concerning disaster risk
reduction.
• Education on all levels, comprehensive knowledge
management, and greater involvement of science in
public awareness-raising and education campaigns
should be strengthened.
• Specific innovations should be developed to facilitate
the incorporation of science inputs in
policymaking
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(ii) Use a problem-solving approach that
integrates all hazards and disciplines - 1
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• A holistic, all-hazards, risk-based, problemsolving approach should be used to address the
multi-factoral nature of disaster risk and disaster risk
reduction and to achieve improved solutions and
better-optimised use of resources.
• This requires the collaboration of all stakeholders,
including suitable representatives of governmental
institutions, scientific and technical specialists and
members of the communities at risk.
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(ii) Use a problem-solving approach that
integrates all hazards and disciplines - 2
• Knowledge sharing and collaboration between
disciplines and sectors should be made a central
feature of the approach,
• in order to guide scientific research
• to make knowledge available for faster
implementation,
• to bridge the various gaps between risks,
disciplines, and the stake-holders
• and to support education and training, and
information and media communication
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(iii) Support systematic science programmes
• Systematic programmes of scientific research,
observations and capacity building should be
supported at national, regional and international
levels to address current problems and emerging
risks such as are identified in this report.
• The international Integrated Research on Disaster
Risk (IRDR) Programme, which is co-sponsored by
ICSU, ISSC, and UNISDR, provides a new and
important framework for global collaboration.
• The ISDR Scientific and Technical Committee should
provide strategic guidance on research needs for
disaster risk reduction and oversight of progress
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(iv) Guide good practice in scientific & technical aspects of disaster risk reduction - 1
• S&TC should be strengthened to serve as a neutral,
credible international resource to support
practitioners at all levels, from local through national to
international levels, by overseeing the collection, vetting
and publicising of information on good practices carried
out on the basis of sound science and up-to-date
scientific and technological knowledge, as well as on
those inadequate practices or concepts that may be
hindering progress.
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(iv) Guide good practice in scientific & technical aspects of disaster risk reduction - 2
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• The Committee should further develop its
recommendations for follow-up on the areas of
concern highlighted in the present report, including
on the themes of disaster risk reduction and
climate change adaptation, preparedness and
early warning systems, health impacts of
disasters, and the association of disaster risk
and socioeconomic factors.
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Chairman’s conclusion – point 5
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• “stressed the necessity for investment in
research and development and higher
education, and for the more effective integration
of science and technical information into
policy and practice.”
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Another project from 3rd meeting June 2009
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• Subcommittee on all hazard disaster databases was
established, comprising Prof. Murray (Chair), Dr.
Ammann, Prof. Ghafory-Ashtiany, Prof. Ogallo, Prof.
McBean, Dr. Takara and Prof. Wenger,
• draft terms of reference for initial scoping work
developed
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AIMS
• To understand how data/information
relating to all risks, hazards and disaster
management is collected, held and
analysed
• To facilitate the use of high quality
information by decision makers at all
levels e.g. politicians, emergency
planners, healthcare professionals and
scientists
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Cochrane reviews
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Cochrane reviews[i] report that it is a difficult task for any
professional practitioner to keep up-to-date with relevant
evidence in their field of interest.
major bibliographic databases cover less than half world's
literature and are biased towards English-language
publications; textbooks, editorials and reviews that have not
been prepared systematically may be unreliable; much
evidence is unpublished, but unpublished evidence may be
important; and more easily accessible research reports tend
to exaggerate the benefits of interventions.
A need to develop a checklist for assessing quality of
databases and to consider methods that could be used for
assessing database content scientifically
[i] The Cochrane Collaboration
An introduction to Cochrane reviews and The Cochrane Library.
http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/clibintro.htm
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Evidence based medicine
Step 1: Formulate a question
Step 2: Search for the evidence
Step 3: Appraise the evidence
Step 4: Apply
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Hierarchy of research evidence in
health care
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REPORTING SOURCE
DISASTER DATABASE
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EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
Downstream data limitations are
transferred down the chain
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Reporting Source
• Issues with primary data have already been
commented on[i]. Disaster databases are
only ever going to be as good as reporting
sources they rely on:
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Subject to bias (agenda of data collector)
Loose definition of people affected
Methods for evaluating damages
Geographical location
[i] Guha-Sapir D et al. Data on Disasters: Easier Said
Than Done. Disaster & Development 2006;1 (1): 155
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Disaster Databases/ Papers
• Lack of good quality data
• Lack of transparency in reporting
• Possible that validation undertaken but not
possible for reviewer to assess
• Lack of identification of sources (so low
reproducibility of data and difficult to assess
validity of sources)
• No sub-group analysis possible due to data
constraints
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Evidence synthesis
• No ‘shortlist’ or comprehensive
database of databases/ directory of
databases such as the Directory of
Clinical Databases (DoCDat) which can
be searched
• Are there any bibliographic databases
specific to disaster field?
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Where are we as of Friday 6th November 2009?
• Well developed thinking in logical steps
• Committee reviewing HPA prepared
report and agreeing plan to develop a
practical second stage project with
publication of data
• Support from Professor Mike Clarke,
Oxford University and Director of UK
Cochrane Centre and other colleagues
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Conceptual model of topics to be assessed in special
report and their links – focus will be on overlap
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Conceptual model of links between climate change and
disaster risk to be assessed by report
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Chapter headings
1. Climate change: new dimensions in disaster risk,
exposure, vulnerability, and resilience
2. Determinants of risks: exposure and vulnerability
3. Changes in climate extremes and their impacts on
the natural physical environment
4. Changes in impacts of climate extremes: human
systems and ecosystems
5. Managing the risks from climate extremes at the local
level
6. Managing the risks from climate extremes at the
national level
7. Managing the risks: international level and integration
across scales
8. Toward a sustainable and resilient future
9. Case studies
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UNISDR Scientific and Technical Committee
• The role of the Science and Technical
Committee is vital for UNISDR and related
activities
• So far two completed and other vital projects
in development
• Reflections on how the Committee findings
can help the meeting of the National
Platforms and HFA Focal Points in DRR
research and scientific evidence base
• Exciting and challenging opportunities for
collaborative working
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