INTEGRATED RESEARCH ON DISASTER RISK (IRDR)

addressing the challenge of natural and human-induced  environmental hazards

Communicated by Kuniyochi Takeuchi

First Meeting of the Scientific Committee

12-13 May 2009 – Bergen, Norway

Draft Agenda

Tuesday 12 May

8.00     1. Opening of meeting (GM) and individual introductions by all participants

8.15 2. Brief statements of welcome by Deliang Chen (ICSU Executive Director) and Heide Hackmann (ISSC Secretary-General)

8.25 3. Presentation on work to date by Planning Group, and introduction to main features of Report (GM plus selected former members of Group, e.g. Steve Sparks, Dick Eiser, Bill Hooke)

9.30     4. Free discussion on IRDR programme and its likely evolution

11:00-13:00 ISSC Session with Dr. Pachauli                                 (Rescheduled)

13.00 Lunch

14.00 5. Examination of Terms of Reference of IRDR-SC

14.45 6. Updating on IRDR co-sponsorship (HM)

15.00 7. Relationship between IRDR and existing and overlapping programmes – Need for detailed mapping? Establishment of Consultative Forum

15.30 8. Financing IRDR

16.00 9. Establishment of IRDR International Programme Office – Results of the call for offers. Structure, location, host institution and likely initial staffing needs. Appointment of IPO staff, and especially IRDR Executive Director - recruitment procedure and timing. Conditions of employment – monitoring of performance. (HM)

Draft Agenda (contd.)

17.30 10. Programme of IRDR for first three years – Case studies exercise – Creation of action plan – Establishment of working groups/sub-committees? (GM)

18.00  Session closes

Wednesday 13 May

08.30   10 contd. Programme of IRDR for first three years – Case studies exercise – Creation of action plan – Establishment of working groups/sub-committees? (GM)

09.30 11. Capacity building in disaster risk reduction within IRDR – the START model (GM)

10.00 12. Data legacy of IRDR (GM)

10.15 13. Programmes of ICSU Regional Offices and their interaction with IRDR (HM)

10.30 14. Relationship with UN Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (GM and Reid Basher, ISDR)

11.00 15. Development and establishment of National Committees for IRDR (HM)

11.15 16. Elaboration of IRDR logo (HM)

12.00 17. Date and place of next meeting (GM)

Report on the IRDR 1st Science Committee (KT: 09/05/15)

Held on 12-13 May at University of Bergen

Participants: 18 members and 4 observers as attached.

Agenda as attached. 8:00-11:00 & 14:00-18:00 on 12 May and 8:30-12:00 on 13 May.

The first SC meeting was held in Bergen and made a good start of discussion. The official minutes will be ready soon. I had the following impressions.

1. The main achievements of the meeting were to have got together and started knowing each other including his/her views.
2. Unfortunately the time was too short compared with long list of agenda, not enough discussion was made.
3. In particular, the committee could not discuss enough about the relation with existing and preceding programs. Members were assigned to look into and report on in the next meeting what kind of relation may be possible with the programs. Assignment was based on familiarity with the program or geographical distribution.
   1. I was assigned to see the relation with International Flood Initiative (IFI) and GeoRisk Commission. Leonard Barrie of WMO on WMO programs.
   2. Also I was assigned to look into the activities of ROAP. Coleen Vogel of South Africa for ROA and Omar Cardona of Colombia and Allan Lavell of Costa Rica for ROLAC.
4. I strongly proposed to identify what IRDR could do for promoting the existing programs. But only mentioned was catalytic role to integrate with social scientists and decision making or implementation sectors. “How” was not discussed.
5. Three WGs were formed on data, vulnerability and decision making. It seems that SC members are going to form research teams. No open invitation to the wider research community was discussed.
6. Proposals for Case studies and Forensic analyses were requested. I am allocated here to look into Tokyo case. I proposed to analyze the Cyclone Sidr and Nargis as success and failure case.
7. For IPO selection, it was decided to send an investigation team (probably, Gordon, Daliang and Reid Basher) to examine Beijing and Taipei offers. It is expected to be no earlier than July.
8. The next meeting is considered in September or October. The place depends on the progress in selection procedure of IPO.

I felt myself in rather a big temperature difference from other members including Gordon. I have already translated the Science Plan into Japanese and wrote a promotion essay in a journal. I talked with Prof. Kuroda and quite many other members of Science Council of Japan and the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) people. They all showed quite a supportive reaction. I was stressing the niche of IRDR is to look into decision making processes and work with municipalities for practical implementation methodology. This is not an ordinary research program at all but much more like a social experiment. Otherwise this is just an addition of many other programs/projects already going.

In fact we have many advanced programs which are already in an implementation stage rather than a research stage.

Well, my enthusiasm may be understood in the Committee but no discussion followed to such direction. I cited the sentences in Sub-objective 3.1: Vulnerability assessment (page 26) as below, but Gordon just said “Here the important words are “could” and “would” which is not decided but up to the Committee”. I got really disappointed the Committee not following the discussion on this direction. I hope it is only due to shortage of time and next time we have enough discussion on where this program should go.

“This part of the programme could, at local and regional levels, bring public and private sector experts and leaders together with hazards researchers to develop vulnerability assessments and coping strategies (both pre-event mitigation plans and emergency response plans) and to provide input to establish government initiatives to evaluate and strengthen community resiliency nationwide. The programme would serve to mobilize within countries government agencies and external donors and international programmes to provide the resources needed for such community-based efforts (hazard maps, forecasts and outlooks, inventories of vulnerable structures, best engineering practices, templates for developing hazard plans, and other forms of information, and in some cases, some level of cost-sharing to cover the costs of implementation, etc.).”

I was especially disappointed that the Committee did not discuss about the relation between ICSU Regional office hazard programs. I repeatedly said that they are waiting for what IRDR can do to promote their projects. I said funding is most important, for which national committee would be the key. But Gordon said NC may be important in Japan but not in Canada and many other countries. Well, it may be true.

Well, it would take some time to determine where IRDR will go. I think I have to be patient to wait and see the development. My promotion activity in Japan may have to be as well.

Integrated research with decision making and implementation practices may be difficult with the members of the current Committee. Here representation of the developing countries practice oriented members is nearly none. All members are intellectuals from developed countries. I am not sure what can such biased Committee can solve the very practical question: “Why, despite advances in the natural and social science of hazards and disasters, do losses continue to increase?”

List of Participants

1st Meeting of the IRDR Scientific Committee

Bergen, Norway

12 & 13 May 2009

Omar Darío Cardona

Professor of Integrated Disaster Risk Management,

Institute of Environmental Studies, National

University of Colombia

Manizales

Colombia

Emails. odcardona@hotmail.com, dario@cimne.upc.edu

Deliang Chen

Executive Director, ICSU

5 rue Auguste Vacquerie

75116 Paris

France

Tel. (33 1) 45 25 03 29, Fax. (33 1) 42 88 94 31

Email. deliang.chen@icsu.org

Raymond Chen

Head, Geotechnical Engineering Office, 15/F

Civil Engineering and Development Building

101, Princess Margaret Road

Homantin, Kowloon

Hong Kong, China

Tel. (85 2) 2762 5010

Email. raymondkschan@cedd.gov.hk

Richard Eiser

Department of Psychology

University of Sheffield

Western Bank

Sheffield S10 2TP

UK

Tel. (44 114) 222 6622, Fax. (44 114) 276 6515

Email. j.r.eiser@shef.ac.uk

William Hooke

American Meteorological Society

1120 G. Street, NW, Ste. 800

Washington DC 20005-3826

USA

Tel. (1 202) 737 9006, Fax. (1 202) 737 9050

Email. hooke@ametsoc.org

David Johnston

Director, Joint Centre for Disaster Research

School of Psychology, Massey University

GNS Science, PO Box 30368

Lower Hutt

New Zealand

Tel. (64 4) 570 1444, Fax. (64 4) 570 4679

Email. david.johnston@gns.cri.nz

Michel Lang

Head, Unit of Hydrological and Hydraulic Research,

CEMAGREF

3bis, quai Chauveau

69336 Lyon Cedex 09

France

Tel. (33 4) 72 20 8798, Fax. (33 4) 78 47 7875

Email. michel.lang@cemagref.fr

Allan Lavell

Latin American Social Science Faculty (FLACSO), Coordinator, Programme for the Social Study of Risk and Disaster, De McDonalds de Curridabat

200 sur, 25 este, Curridabat

San Jose, 5429-1000

Costa Rica

Tel. (506) 253 0082, Fax. (506) 234 6696

Emails. riesgo@flacso.org, allan_lavell@yahoo.com

Gordon McBean (Chair)

Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

University of Western Ontario

149 Richmond Street

London, Ontario, N6G 2MI

Canada

Tel. (1 519) 661 4274, Fax. (1 519) 661 4273

Email. gmcbean@uwo.ca

Maria Patek

Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,

Environment and Water Management

Marxergasse 2

1030 Wien

Austria

Tel. (43 1) 711 007 335

Email. maria.patek@lebensministerium.at

Ortwin Renn

Institut fuer Sozialwissenschaften

Universitat Stuttgart, Abteilung fuer Technik- und

Umweltsoziologie

Seidenstr. 36

D-70174 Stuttgart

Germany

Tel. (49 711) 685 83970 or 685 84295

Fax. (49 711) 685 82487

Email. ortwin.renn@sowi.uni-stuttgart.de

Steven Sparks

Department of Earth Sciences

University of Bristol

Wills Memorial Building

Queens Road

Bristol, BS8 1RJ

UK

Tel. (44 117) 925 3385, Fax. (44 117) 925 3385

Email. steve.sparks@bristol.ac.uk

Astri Suhrke

Senior Research Fellow

Chr. Michelsen Institute

PO Box 6033 Postterminalen

5892 Bergen

Norway

Tel.. (47) 5557 4377 or 5557 4000

Email. astri.suhrke@cmi.no

Kuniyoshi Takeuchi

Director, Int. Centre for Water Hazard and Risk

Management (ICHARM)

Minamihara 1-6

Tsukuba 305

Japan

Tel. (81 2) 9879 0854, Fax. (81 2) 9879 6709

Email. kuni.t@pwri.go.jp

Coleen Vogel

School of Geography, Archaeology and

Environmental Studies

University of Witswatersrand

Private Bag 3

Witwatersrand 2050

South Africa

Tel. (27 11) 717 6510, Fax (27 11) 403 7281

Email. coleen.vogel@wits.ac.za

Angelika Wirtz

Head of NatCatSERVICE

Geo Risks Research/Corporate Climate Centre

Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG

Aktiengesellschaft in München Königinstraße 107

80802 München

Germany

Tel. (49 89) 3891 3453, Fax. (49 89) 3891 73453

Email: awirtz@munichre.com

Ex-Officio

Heide Hackmann

Secretary General, International Social Science

Council (ISSC), UNESCO House

1 rue Miollis

75732 Paris Cedex 15

France

Tel. (33 1) 4568 4860

Fax. (33 1) 4566 7603

Email. issc@unesco.org

Howard Moore

International Council for Science (ICSU)

5, rue Auguste Vacquerie

FR-75016 Paris

France

Tel. (33 1) 45 25 03 29, Fax. (33 1) 42 88 94 31

Email. howard.moore@icsu.org

Observers

Leonard A. Barrie

Co-Director WMO Research Department

Director of Atmospheric Research and Environment

Branch World Meteorological Organization

7 bis, Avenue de la Paix BP2300, 1211 Geneva 2

Switzerland

Tel. (41 22) 730 82 40

Fax. (41 22) 730 80 49

Email: Lbarrie@wmo.int

Reid Basher

Senior Coordinator, Interagency and Policy

Coordination Unit, ISDR secretariat

UN/ISDR, lais des Nations

CH 1211 Geneva 10

Switzerland

Tel. (41 22) 917 2788

Fax. (4 22)9170563

Email reid.basher@un.org

Badaoui Rouhban

Chief, Section for Disaster Reduction

Natural Sciences Sector

UNESCO

1, rue Miollis

75732 Paris Cedex 15

France

Tel. (331 ) 45 68 41 20, Fax. (33 1) 45 68 58 21

Email. b.rouhban@unesco.org

Ester Sztein

Program Officer

Board on International Scientific Organizations

The National Academies

500 5th Street, NW 504

Washington, DC 20001

Tel. (1 202)334 3049, Fax. (1 202) 334 2231

Email. esztein@nas.edu

Documents to download:

SC1_Meeting agenda and participants

SC1_Summary report