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EC WORKING GROUP ON WMO STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLANNING (WG/SOP)
First Session
GENEVA, 2-4 April 2012 / EC WG/SOP-I(2012)/Doc. 7.5
(22.III.2012
Item: 7.5
ENGLISH ONLY
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION PROGRAMME
(Submitted by the Secretariat)
The document presents an update on the progress in the development of the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Programme
ACTION PROPOSED
The working group is invited to note progress on the development of the DRR Programme and its relevance to the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS).
Reference(s):
1. Final Report of The 2012 Meeting of Presidents of Technical Commissions, Geneva, 30January - 1 February (a.m.) 2012
2. Abridged Final Report with Resolutions of the Sixteenth World Meteorological Congress (WMO–No. 1077)
3. Abridged Final Report with Resolutions of the Sixty-second Session of the Executive Council (WMO‑No. 1059)
4. Abridged Final Report with Resolutions of the Sixty-first Session of the Executive Council (WMO‑No. 1042)
5. Abridged Final Report with Resolutions of the Sixtieth Session of the Executive Council (WMO–No. 1032)
6. Abridged Final Report with Resolutions of the Fifty-ninth Session of the Executive Council (WMO‑No. 1027)
7. Abridged Final Report with Resolutions of the Fifteenth World Meteorological Congress (WMO–No. 1026)
EC WG/SOP-I(2012)/Doc. 7.5, p. 5
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION PROGRAMME
1) Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is one of the high priority areas of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The DRR Programme contributes to WMO Expected Results (ER) 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. In particular, the Sixteenth Session of the World Meteorological Congress (Cg-XVI, Geneva, Switzerland, 16 May–3June2011) approved the two-tier implementation plan of the DRR Programme (Figure 1, Annex to this paragraph), including: (1) development of knowledge products, guidelines and training programmes on DRR thematic topics based on documentation and synthesis of good practices; and (2) DRR national/regional capacity development projects with a strong focus on strengthening cooperation of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS), Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) and Regional Climate Centres (RCCs) with DRR users at various levels. This would require capacity development needs for the thematic topics, operational capacities and coordination mechanisms. To this end, significant efforts have been taken to engage the Members, Regional Associations (RAs), Technical Commissions (TCs) and Programmes, to develop strategic alliances with key partners at regional and international levels.
2) The outcomes of the 2006 WMO DRR Programme country-level survey based on 145 Member responses have been used as a benchmark for the development of the implementation plan of the DRR Programme, particularly noting that:
a) Droughts, flash and river floods, strong winds and severe storms, tropical cyclones, storm surges, forest and wild land fires, heat waves, landslides, sand and dust storms, marine and aviation hazards, as well as rapid melting of the glaciers and potential risks to quality and quantity of water supply, are among the top hydrometeorological hazards of concern to Members; and
b) ( i ) Nearly 70% of countries require new or revised DRR policies, legislation, planning, and coordination mechanisms with focus on preparedness and prevention and clarity of the role of the NMHS; (ii) over 65% of NMHS need modernization or strengthening of their core infrastructure for observation, telecommunication, and operational forecasting; (iii) nearly 80% of NMHS need guidelines, standards as well as management and technical training programmes; and (iv) over 80% of NMHS need strengthening of their strategic and operational partnerships with various disaster risk reduction stakeholders.
Progress with the development of thematic guidelines, standards and related training programmes:
3) Thematic priorities of the DRR Programme include the development of standards, guidelines and training modules consistent with Quality Management Systems (QMS) principles, spanning institutional, technical and operational aspects for the provision of meteorological, hydrological and climate services to support a number if thematic areas. These include: (1) Hazard/Risk analysis; (2) Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS); (3) Sectoral risk reduction through improved planning in sectors such as land zoning, infrastructure and urban planning, agriculture, health, transport, water resource management and energy; and (4) Disaster risk financing, which includes insurance and other catastrophy and weather indexed financial risk transfer mechanisms.
4) This has been achieved by the establishment of number of thematic “user-interface mechanisms” and development of a number of guidelines for release during the inter-sessional period 2012-2015 as outlined in Tables 1 and 2 and schematically shown in Figure 2 (Annexes to this paragraph). The WMO Technical Commissions (TCs) are engaged through these mechanisms to identify requirements for guidelines, standards and pilot products and services identified through these mechanisms.
5) With consideration that the foundation of effective DRR decision-making is based on the ability to understand and quantify socio-economic risks associated with meteorological, hydrological, and climate-related hazards, a user-interface Expert Advisory Group on Hazard/Risk Analysis (EAG-HRA) is being established in 2012 to guide WMO activities in support of risk analysis. All relevant technical commissions are invited to designate experts to participate in this advisory group to identify concrete areas of activities linked to the work of their respective TCs, considering that:
(a) Analysis of hazard patterns from historical data is necessary but not sufficient for risk analysis and must be augmented with the outcomes of climate prediction and forecasting tools for a forward looking analysis of hazard characteristics.
(b) Over 90% of WMO members indicated the need for guidelines for standardization of historical records of hazard data, metadata, hazard analysis tools (statistical and forward looking) and related capacity building and training (source: WMO DRR Survey 2006) and that EC-LXI requested “best possible practices” approach to the development of such standards and guidelines.
6) In the area of Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS), a comprehensive framework for the role of NMHSs in DRR and MHEWS has been developed (Figure 3 with details provided in the Annex of this paragraph). This Framework was developed on the basis of an analysis of seven good practices in MHEWS and provides the basis for development of WMO Guidelines on the operational aspects of MHEWS building on the principles of QMS, to be implemented during the 2012-2015 inter-sessional period, through the MHEWS Expert Symposia mechanism established in 2006 and participation of relevant TCs.
7) In 2011, the Expert Advisory Group on Climate Services for Disaster Risk Financing (EAG-CSDRF) was established and a concrete work plan has been developed to identify, document and synthesize good practices in this area and develop relevant requirements and guidelines for climate services to support different sectors in this area.
8) In relation to the meteorological, hydrological and climate services for sectors, the first sector being addressed is the international humanitarian preparedness and planning. Specifically, in cooperation with eight United Nations and international humanitarian agencies, through an inter-commission ad hoc “Task Team on “Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Services for Improved Humanitarian Planning and Response” including the Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), the Commission for Climatology (CCL), and the Commission for Hydrology (CHy), a detailed document on the requirements of the humanitarian community for meteorological and climate services is under preparation. This document will provide the foundation for development of operational pilots that would engage NMHSs, RSMCs and RCCs. However, significant contributions from CHy are required with regard to the provision of Hydrological Services which pose a complex challenge.
9) The Technical Commissions are being engaged systematically to review the DRR programme work plan with a view to how they can best contribute to development of standards, guidelines and training modules, through their engagement in the relevant “DRR user-interface mechanisms”, to support:
a) Hazard analysis in support of the work of the Expert Advisory Group for Hazard Risk Analysis (EAG-HRA);
b) Operational MHEWS within the Quality Management Framework (QMF) principals in support of the work plan of the MHEWS Symposia;
c) Product and service development for meteorological and climate services for international humanitarian planning and preparedness in support of the ad hoc Task Team on Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Services for Improved Humanitarian Planning and Response; and
d) The work plan of Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on Climate Services for Disaster Risk Financing.
Regional/national capacity development projects
10) In relation to the multi-agency phased DRR national/regional capacity development projects in South East Europe, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia to date, efforts have been undertaken to strengthen coordination and cooperation among TCs and technical Programmes, Regional Associations (RA), and strategic partners at regional and international levels to support these projects (Figure 4 and Table 3 Annexes to this paragraph). Specifically, the development of these projects are based on the following considerations:
a. Government interest and engagement
b. Multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral engagement and development of strategic alliances (national, regional, global)
c. Partners and donors engagement from early stage
d. Leverage exiting projects and their outcomes
e. User-driven assessment of gaps, needs, prioritization and requirements
f. National/regional development component
g. National: DRR policies, institutional roles, partnerships, capacity development
h. Regional: Strengthening of Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers (RSMC) and Regional Climate Centers (RCC)
i. Integrated Service Delivery for development of meteorological, hydrological and climate services
j. National: Strengthening of NMHS and technical cooperation
k. Regional: Engagement and strengthening of RSMCs and RCCs
l. Sustainability
11) The expected outcomes the these project include:
a. Increased coordination and cooperation at national and regional levels for provision of meteorological, hydrological, and climate information to the targeted socio-economic sectors
b. Increased utilization of meteorological, hydrological, and climate knowledge in the decision-making processes of governments and targeted socio-economic sectors
12) The main thrusts of these projects are:
a) Preliminary assessments capacities, gaps and needs
b) Socio-economic stakeholder needs, requirements and agreements for meteorological, hydrological and climate products and services
c) National policies and regulatory framework and roles of NMHS
d) Modernization and core service strengthening of NMHS
e) Integrated Technical Services and capacity development to support risk assessment, MHEWS, sectoral risk management and risk financing:
(i) Hydrological services: Increased access to national and regional flood management information systems
(ii) Climate Services: Increased access to climate data, analysis tools, and climate forecast products and services
(iii) Severe Weather and Marine Services: Increased access to forecasting tools and severe weather warning services
f) Observing Systems, data services and exchange: Increased regional dialogue and agreements for exchange of meteorological, hydrological and climate data
g) In-country technical support
h) Evaluation and expansion to next phase
13) Engagement of RAs, TCs and various WMO operational networks of RSMCs and RCCS has been critical for the development of these projects. Specifically, RA Management Groups and related Working Groups have been engaged in supporting the assessments and the development of the requirements and prioritization of the activities of these projects. This has been underpinned by multi-agency, multi-stakeholder user interface mechanisms, facilitated by the Secretariat engaging NMHS and DRR stakeholders. Lessons learned from these interactions could lead to strengthening of the role of RAs and their working groups and their cooperation with DRR mechanisms in the regions.
14) Furthermore, Technical Commissions are being further leveraged through the partnership established with national, regional and international partners and Members for the development of the comprehensive and integrated DRR projects in the Caribbean, South East Europe and South East Asia. These projects provide enabling environments for an integrated and coordinated approach to engaging the WMO Technical Commissions and Programmes with the Regional Association, members and other partners for a more coordinated approach to assist Members. To this end, the project proposals of DRR Programme would ensure reflection of the specific contributions of the Regional Associations and Technical Commissions in particular with respect to the identification of needs and requirements, development of guidelines, norms and standards for possible approval by EC/Congress and participation in regional projects.
DRR resource mobilization
15) Resource mobilization in support of DRR is being coordinated through WMO’s broader resource mobilization processes, leveraging emerging DRR funding opportunities.
16) Through the aforementioned implementation approach, DRR Programme is significantly contributing to the development of Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), in particular related to the development of User Interface Mechanisms as key contribution to the GFCS User Interface Platform (UIP), and the development climate products and services to support DRR decision-making, one of the four priority areas of GFCS.
EC WG/SOP-I(2012)/Doc. 7.5, p. 5
1. Annex to Paragraph 1
Figure 1: Two-Tier Schematic of the Implementation Approach of the DRR Programme
EC WG/SOP-I(2012)/Doc. 7.5, Annex 2
2. Annex to Paragraph 4:
Table 1: DRR thematic “user-interface mechanisms” /User-Driven DRR Expert Advisory Group or Coordination Mechanism / Date established or held / Partners / Deliverables /
2008-2011 / 2012-2015 /
International Expert Symposia on Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems / - 1st MHEWS Symposium
(Geneva, May 2006)
- 2nd MHEWS Symposium: (Toulouse, May 2009)
- 3rd: China Q4 2013 (TBC) / NMHS, Disaster Risk Management Agencies, WMO, WHO, UNOCHA, WFP, FAO, UNHCR, UNDP, IFRC, UNESCO-IOC, World Bank, ITU, UNEP, UN-ISDR, UNICEF
TCs, other programmes and activities: CBS, CHy, CCl, JCOMM, AgM, CIMO, CAS, AeM, TCP, QMS / 1. Documentation of good practices in governance and institutional aspects of MHEWS in seven countries.
2. Synthesis of lessons learnt from the good practices / 3. “Institutional partnerships in MHEWS”, forthcoming book (Springer Verlag 2012)
4. Guidelines on governance and institutional partnerships in DRR and MHEWS (June 2012)
5. Third International Experts’ Symposium on MHEWS (Q4 2013)
6. Guidelines on operational aspects of MHEWS with TCs (2015)
Ad-hoc Task Team on Meteorological, Hydrological and Climate Services for Humanitarian Preparedness and Planning / - CBS – March 2009
- engage CHy and CCl (2008) / UNOCHA, UNHCR, IFRC, UNICEF, UNITAR-UNOSAT, WFP, WHO, UNDP,
TCs: CBS, CHy, CCl
Chair: Michel Jean / 1. Interface with Humanitarian Agencies established (April 2009)
2. First meeting held in September 2010, TOR established, work plan finalized (http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/drr/events/HumanitarianTT/index_en.html)
3. Consultants hired by DRR Division to support the chair and the task team for the development of requirements (2011). / 4. Report on needs and requirements of Humanitarian Agencies (Q2 2012)
5. Operational pilots (2012-2014)
6. Evaluation and proposals for scaling-up (2015)
Expert Advisory Group on Climate Services for Disaster Risk Financing / - December 2011 / NMHS, UNEP-FI, WFP, Willis Research Network, CIMH, CSIRO, ISDR, Munich Re, UNFCCC, World Bank, IFAD, Swiss Re, University of Kentucky, Geneva Association (Insurance) / 1. First meeting held in December 2011, TOR established, work plan finalized
(http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/drr/events/EAG-FRT/FRT1/index_en.html) / 2. 2012: Document good practices and publish
3. 2013: International Symposium to identify needs and requirements and build partnerships for implementation
4. 2013-2015: Implement pilots in different regions
Expert Advisory Group on Climate Services for Hazard/Risk analysis / - to be established in 2012 / World Bank, UNDP-GRIP, WFP, Experts from Risk Modelling Sectors, OECD, GEM, CRED, Munich Re, Swiss Re, WRN, NMHS, reps from RCCs.
TCs and other programmes: CBS, CHy, CCl, JCOMM, AgM, CIMO, CAS, TCP / N/A / 1. First meeting to be held in 2012 to develop TOR, priorities and work plan for 2012-2015
2. Documentation and synthesis of good practices
3. Development of guidelines for standardization hazard data, metadata
4. Development of guidelines for Climate Forecasting and analysis tools
5. etc.
EC WG/SOP-I(2012)/Doc. 7.5, Annex 4