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| Monday, 17 March 2003 |
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The Working Group Meeting of the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Programme (AUDMP) will be ceremonially inaugurated by the Mayor of Colombo Prasanna Gunawardena today at 9.30 a.m. at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo 1, states a press release from the National Housing Development Authority. Disaster professionals from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Norway will participate in this programme. This has been jointly organised by the Asian Disaster Preparation Centre (ADPC), the Centre for Housing, Planning and Building (CHPB), the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) and the Urban Development Authority (UDA) with the assistance of United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The theme of this year's working group meeting is "Disaster Risk Communication and Monitoring and Evaluation". Promoting a culture of prevention requires creative and innovative approaches to disseminate its message and to make it an integral part of the overall planning process. Asia is the most disaster affected region of the world. In the last decade an average of nearly 60,000 people were killed and 190 million people affected by disasters in Asia every year. This represents nearly 80 per cent of fatalities and nearly 90 per cent of the global population affected every year. The problems of poor infrastructure and housing and inadequate sanitation and health facilities are further aggravated by the increasing number of disasters which affect the livelihoods of inhabitants in urban centres. AUDMP is the first and largest of a growing number of regional programmes implemented by the ADPC. The ADPC is a regional resource center dedicated to safe communities and sustainable development through disaster reduction in Asia. Established in 1986 in Bangkok, Thailand, the ADPC is recognised as an important focal point for promoting disaster awareness and developing capabilities to foster institutionalised disaster management and mitigation policies. In Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Multi-Hazard Urban Disaster Mitigation Project (SLMUDMP) aimed at reducing the vulnerability of urban areas to flood and landslide hazards, is being implemented by the CHPB in partnership with the NBRO and the UDA. The SLMUDMP has made significant achievements till date and received international recognition. Since the SLMUDMP started in 1997, the demonstration activities undertaken in Ratnapura led to the development of a Multi-Hazard Map Workbook, Risk-Based Mitigation Planning, Action Plan for Natural Disaster Management for the Ratnapura Municipal Council Area etc. Selected activities were replicated in Kandy Municipal Council, Nawalapitiya Urban Council, Colombo and cities along the Kelani river. A series of training programmes on Natural Disaster Mitigation have also been organised under the SLMUDMP and currently the project is working with universities of Moratuwa and Ruhuna in integrating natural disaster mitigation in university courses. The challenges in developing effective monitoring and evaluation systems to measure and evaluate impacts and successes critical for good project management will also be discussed at this meeting. Issues pertaining to activities, methodologies and processes for mainstreaming and sustaining disaster mitigation initiative will also be emphasised. |
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