Mumbai, Miami on list for big weather disasters, panel says

Climate change to inflict major crises, panel says San Francisco Chronicle - ‎36 seconds ago‎ Washington -- Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists says in a report ... Managing risk in a warming world Moneycontrol.com - ‎30 minutes ago‎ One of the most interesting facets of a new United Nations climate change report is what's not in it: much mention of curbing the greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat in Earth's atmosphere and in turn can spur some natural disasters. Mumbai, Miami on list for big weather disasters, panel says Boston Globe - ‎1 hour ago‎ By Seth Borenstein | AP Flooding submerged cars in Thailand's Ayutthaya Province last November. Extreme weather will increase, the panel said. WASHINGTON - Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts, and heat waves that nations should ... Global warming linked to extreme weather Sky News Australia - ‎1 hour ago‎ Global warming linked to extreme weather Updated: 15:07, Thursday March 29, 2012 One of the federal government's leading climate change experts says a United Nations report is an early warning that the world will face more deadly extreme weather events ... Extreme weather: it's about to get worse, say scientists Brisbane Times - ‎5 hours ago‎ As La Nina weather patterns subside the east coast can expect to stay wet right into April, reports Weatherzone's Josh Fisher. Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heatwaves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented ... Plan for climate change disasters, urges UN panel Irish Times - ‎6 hours ago‎ GOVERNMENTS NEED to have policies to “avoid, prepare for, respond to and recover from the risks of disaster” posed by extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, reports Frank ... Report: Nations should prepare for weather disasters Salt Lake Tribune - ‎6 hours ago‎ By SETH BORENSTEIN | AP Washington • Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate... Climate change report: time to start preparing for the worst Christian Science Monitor - ‎6 hours ago‎ It's time to start protecting people from the impact of severe-weather events, a panel says. The report offers further evidence of how the climate change conversation is shifting. By Pete Spotts, Staff writer / March 28, 2012 Fearing that climate ... UN climate panel ties some weather extremes to global warming msnbc.com (blog) - ‎6 hours ago‎ First for breaking news and analysis: Compelling world news stories from msnbc.com and NBC News journalists. Follow us on Twitter. By msnbc.com staff and news services Warming has led to changes in climate extremes such as heat waves, ... Mumbai, Miami on Weather Disasters List TIME - ‎8 hours ago‎ By AP / SETH BORENSTEIN Wednesday, Mar. 28, 2012 (WASHINGTON) — Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international ... All 140 related articles »

UN-SPIDER supports Space Technology Applications in DRR

Fifth International UN-SPIDER Bonn Workshop
3rd Annual RSO Meeting conducted in Vienna
UN-SPIDER to carry out a Technical Advisory Mission to Tonga (20 – 26 March 2012)
Karoly Robert University of Hungary joins UN-SPIDER as an RSO
UN-SPIDER supports the Third Workshop on Space Technology Applications in Disaster-Risk Reduction and Emergency Response
VALID project update: Substantial scientific support.
European Seminar on Disaster Risk Management in Berlin.
UN-SPIDER participation in “Expert Group Meeting on Geo-reference Disaster Risk Management System in Asia-Pacific Region”, Bangkok, Thailand.
IGAC from Colombia becomes UN-SPIDER’s newest RSO


RSO News

Algeria inaugurated the Centre of Satellite Development (CDS)
ADRC conducted Training for Government Officials in Charge of DRM in Indonesia
RCMRD conducted “Workshop on Disaster Rapid mapping and International Charter Operations”
Iranian Space Agency, successfully launched the Navid-e-Elm and San'at (promise of Science and Technology) Satellite on February 3, 2012



COntinue reading the detailed UN SPIDER new letter at :- http://www.cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=23331

Best time to donate money is before crisis strikes

But aid groups find it harder to attract funds for prevention than for cure

BY CRAIG KIELBURGER AND MARC, EDMONTON JOURNAL FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Albert Einstein once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

On Friday, Feb. 3, the UN declared the famine over in Somalia. All is not well yet. Some nine million people throughout the Horn of Africa still face a serious food crisis, but the worst of the disaster that has claimed as many as 100,000 lives - mostly children - has passed.

Now the world will turn its attention, resources and donations to the next disaster, like the growing hunger crisis in the Sahel region of northwest Africa.

We can predict how it will go.

Aid organizations will issue dire press releases for a month or two, which will be ignored at first. As the scale of the emergency grows, the media will discover the story and camera teams will rush to the scene. There will be a flurry of news stories. A burst of donations from the public will follow, with big funding announcements from governments. Depending on the profile of the emergency, after a few weeks, not much more, journalists will lose interest and donations will trickle off.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

We're caught in Einstein's loop of insanity, delivering emergency assistance over and over but never getting the result we want: stopping people from dying of hunger.

An often-repeated statistic in the development community is that every dollar spent on prevention will save four dollars in emergency response. After the 2005 drought in the Horn of Africa, another study found that it had cost $80 a day to treat a malnourished child, but it would have cost only one dollar a day to prevent the malnutrition in the first place with development programs.

We can't stop droughts from happening, but we can give communities the tools to survive so they are prepared and don't starve when the drought strikes.

The humanitarian news website AlertNet has released the results of a survey of 41 of the world's largest international aid non-government organizations.

Sixteen of these agencies said that 10 per cent or less of their spending goes to projects that help com-munities prevent or reduce the risk of disasters. Fourteen more NGOs weren't even able to get the information to answer the question. In other words, a majority of organizations are not making a meaningful effort to help communities prepare for and survive disasters.

Some organizations have made prevention a priority, and have had an impact because of it. In 1984, the famine in Ethiopia killed more than 400,000 people. Since 1984, these organizations have helped communities in the region become more prepared and resilient to drought. As a result, this time the drought affected more countries but the death toll was much lower.

Twenty-five of those NGOs polled by AlertNet said they would like to increase their disaster prevention work, if they can find the funding.

So what's the problem?

"Funding for disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness is not very 'sexy' for donors - global, domestic and private," says Jouni Hemberg of FinnChurchAid, Finland's largest development organization, in the AlertNet report.

The 2011 Millennial Donors Report by the U.S. fundraising firm Achieve found that 77 per cent of people who give to charity would be at least somewhat likely to stop giving money if they didn't know what impact their money was having. When we give money to a charity, we want to know where that money is going, and what difference it is going to make.

Delivering food and water to tens of thousands of families, as most organizations do in an emergency, has an obvious impact. When you donate to support emergency relief, you know exactly how your money is going to save lives.

Teaching sustainable farming practices or supporting local governments to manage water resources better - that's a little more complex and the impact isn't quite so obvious and immediate. Come the next drought, fewer people will need us to deliver emergency food and water. You can save more lives more effectively by helping communities prepare to survive a drought, than by rushing in with emergency aid after the drought has started.

However, many organizations are sending donors the exact opposite message with their marketing.

In every disaster, all the ads from aid groups say: "Now is the time to give!" and "We need your donations more than ever!"

What's the message behind this urgency? That it's more important to give to emergency aid than ongoing development that could prevent the emergency in the first place.

Let's turn it on its head. Why not buy the full-page newspaper ad after the drought, saying now is when we need your donations the most. By giving now, you are ensuring no one starves during the next drought.

Aid groups then need to do a much better job of explaining the impact of prevention work to their donors. With the effects of climate change, disasters are only going to become more frequent. In regions like the Horn of Africa, where droughts used to come every five to seven years, now they're coming every two to three.

We will fail if we keep trying to do the same old emergency response and expect different results.

Working with communities to prepare for disasters will save more lives, and will be a much more effective use of our aid dollars.

An ounce of prevention really is going to be worth a pound of cure.

Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger co-founded Free the Children.


Source:- http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Best+time+donate+money+before+crisis+strikes/6214286/story.html

Natural disasters should be top risk concern

Natural disasters should be top risk concern

By Enterprise Innovation Editors | Jan 5, 2012

Headline news in 2011 on the devastating impact of catastrophic events have led businesses to reflect on their IT resilience standing. More than ever, they are questioning their preparation for natural disaster not only in their home country; but also how to stay connected and in business with their partners and supply chain around the globe.

IBM shared six tips that individuals and businesses can use to help prepare their IT environments for natural disasters and a wide range of other threats.

According to some estimates, 2011 has become the year of billion-dollar disasters. This is apparent by the series of hurricanes and tornados in the United States' Midwest and Southeast, combined with the earthquakes on the East Coast, Colorado and Peru. Closer to home, there were the tsunami in Japan and the devastating flood in Queensland, Australia, and more recently in Bangkok. With all of these activities, it is a safe assumption that natural disasters should be a top risk concern.

In preparation, many people in high risk areas are rushing to buy emergency supplies like flashlights, water and wood to board up their houses, but it is important to also consider the preparedness of businesses and government agencies.

Given these impending natural disaster and other top causes of disasters like power outages and network failure that disrupt the flow of information, businesses and individuals should also be assessing their business and disaster recovery plans before it is too late.

The following are IBM's tips for disaster preparedness:


Continue reading at :- http://www.cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=23092

Campaign cities share ideas for protecting world’s ancient sites

Campaign cities share ideas for protecting world’s ancient sites

Photo credit

By Dizery Salim

Geneva, 4 January 2011 – Byblos, with its ancient port dating back 5,000 years, is dotted by Phoenician, Roman and medieval ruins along the waterfront that municipal authorities now fear are in danger from sea storms.

“Heavy waves hit the heart of the harbour directly, damaging it,” explained Lisa Abou Khaled, from the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Disaster Risk Management Unit.

When Byblos city official Tony Sfeir met counterparts from Venice at the Third Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in May – convened by the UN disaster risk reduction office, UNISDR – he realized that the two cities faced the same dangers and obstacles.

Like Byblos, Venice is a UNESCO World Heritage site, has a local economy related to tourism and to port activity, and share similar water-related risks. At the time of the Global Platform, Venice had just been recognized by UNISDR as a role model city for cultural heritage protection for its defence system against tidal floods.

Renowned for its beauty, Venice is frequently flooded because unstable inlets open the lagoon to excess water when the mean sea level rises higher than 80 centimetres. Six times in the past 10 years, the water rose exceptionally high – over 140 centimeters – carrying silt and moisture, which experts say are putting the physical survival of the city at risk.

In June 2011, Mayor Ziad Hawat decided to invite the Italian delegation for a two-day workshop to find ways to protect Byblos’ historical sites along the waterfront.

Building Knowledge, Not Just Houses, in the Developing World

A bricklayer's daughter helps create safer homes after quakes in China, Indonesia, and Haiti

Haitians often build with concrete blocks that haven't been fully cured Jake Price

By John Tozzi

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When Elizabeth Hausler visited India in 2003 to tour areas devastated by earthquakes years earlier, she was dismayed. In Maharashtra state, where a 1993 temblor killed 10,000 people, relief agencies had built thousands of homes for survivors. Many people, though, used them only for storage and slept in ramshackle shelters. The nonprofits built the houses with little input from the locals, so residents didn’t trust that they would withstand another quake. In nearby Gujarat, which had been hit by a quake in 2001, Hausler saw houses built by aid groups that ignored local practice by placing doors on the street rather than facing the courtyard. “People would knock a hole in the wall and move the door,” says Hausler. “That’s not very good for earthquake resistance.”

An engineer trained at the University of California at Berkeley, Hausler had long known that earthquakes rarely kill people; shoddy construction does. Yet better construction isn’t the only factor in keeping people safe during earthquakes. When aid groups don’t understand local customs and construction methods, homeowners are often discontented and safety is compromised. On her India trip, Hausler discovered that in places where the government had given locals the money and some engineering guidance to rebuild their homes after earthquakes, residents wound up with houses they were more apt to live in.

That led Hausler, who worked alongside her bricklayer father near Chicago during high school and college, to create a more sustainable approach to rebuilding in developing countries. Her nonprofit, Build Change, teaches homeowners, architects, and contractors how to make structures stronger. For example, bricks in Indonesia tend to be dry and weak; soaking them in water before building can double the strength of a wall, Hausler says. “Small changes to existing ways of building” can go a long way toward making structures safer, she says.

Her group has helped construct 18,000 houses and has trained more than 4,000 builders in Indonesia, China, and Haiti since 2004. The focus on training runs counter to the approach of many disaster relief groups, says Kathleen Tierney, director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Build Change’s “primary goal is to help people learn how to construct a house,” Tierney says. “That’s really different from the kind of group that parachutes in and provides a service and then leaves.”

In Indonesia, where Build Change has helped tsunami and earthquake victims, some homeowners salvaged windows, door frames, and timber from their damaged homes and hired local contractors. They rebuilt their houses for $3,000 to $8,000, the group says. Homes constructed by outside relief agencies cost $12,000 to $20,000, Hausler says, because the groups bought new materials and had to pay overhead and salaries for expatriate workers. The bulk of Build Change’s 90 employees are local builders in Haiti and Indonesia. Five people run the office in Denver.

Materials matter as much as design. If relief groups import steel frames and drywall that aren’t available locally, homeowners can’t maintain the houses. And donor money that rushes in after an earthquake pushes up the price of local supplies. “It’s not sustainable to bring in something new if the supply chain isn’t set up,” says Hausler, who this year won the Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability, which recognizes innovations for the developing world.

In Haiti, government engineers trained by Build Change are teaching others how to retrofit houses to improve safety. And the group has advised the Ministry of Public Works on new building codes and overseeing the quality of construction. “Build Change is among the best organizations that we have worked with, especially when it comes to education,” says Charles Hygin Raymond, a director at the ministry.

Haiti’s recovery from its 2010 earthquake illustrates how the challenges of design, economics, and culture are intertwined. Over the past century the country has lost 95 percent of its original forests. That means there’s little wood for construction, or even for fuel to fire bricks, so most homes are made of concrete blocks. Blockmakers, though, skimp on cement and sell blocks without curing them for the full week needed to let them reach maximum strength. If manufacturers don’t sell the blocks as soon as they produce them, “they don’t have money to buy raw materials to make the next batch,” Hausler says. “This isn’t a technical issue but a matter of cash flow.” And it means rebuilt homes will be as weak as those that collapsed.

Source:- http://www.cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=22872

Huawei Releases 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Huawei Releases 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Huawei is committed to driving the sustainable development of the economy, society, and the environment

[Shenzhen, China, 13 June, 2011]:Huawei, a leading telecom solutions provider, today released its 2010 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. The report provides an overall review of Huawei's commitments and practices with regard to its corporate social responsibilities, including implementing fair operations, practicing ongoing environmental protection, bridging the digital divide, enhancing supply chain CSR management, caring for employees, and offering community support. The report demonstrates Huawei's efforts and contributions in driving the sustainable development of the economy, society, and the environment.

This is Huawei's third annual CSR report. The report was compiled in compliance with the G3 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and it discloses Huawei's efforts and practices in a systematic and standardized manner. Major core indicators were used. The application level of the report is B+.

http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=21983

Source :-

Grassroot innovations draw India Inc

Grassroot innovations draw India Inc

Business Standard: May 23, 2011

Mumbai/ Ahmedabad: While so far the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) spearheaded innovations at grassroots level, the organisation is now getting a sound support from India Inc. With word spreading around about interesting innovations being discovered from across the country, corporates are queueing up at NIF to for commercial and social tie-ups. While the likes of Future Group and Britannia intend to brand and market such grassroots innovations in food products discovered by NIF, power equipment company Alstom is joining hands with NIF for pilot projects in low-cost windmills. For instance, retail giant Future Group recently unveiled Nutraceutical Cookies, developed by three tribal women innovators from Panchmahal in Gujarat. The products have been unveiled by Future Group in association with National Innovation Foundation (NIF) under the aegis of their 'Khoj lab- India ka Idea' initiative. With a memorandum of understanding (MoU) being signed between them in December 2010, the tie-up will result in more such launches in the coming months, said Future Group. The patented cookies are made from natural ingredients under the four categories of Anaj, Cornif, Kodri and Farari, and are rich in calcium, protein, omega 3 fatty acids, dietary fibre, phosphorus and iron, its bio-active and antioxidant compounds. The cookies will be available in two pack sizes of 100 grams and 200 grams at all Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar stores. Starting with the six Big Bazaar outlets in Ahmedabad, the product will be sold in across Big bazaar outlets in India soon. According to Anil Gupta, executive vice chairman at NIF, the organisation is also in talks with another FMCG major Britannia for a similar tie-up. "While we have been promoting grassroots innovations since sometime, it is now that they are seeing us mainstream. What makes our innovations different is that we try to sell by people and not to people. It is a positive sign to see many corporates showing interest in our grassroots innovation," said Gupta. Apart from retail and FMCG, NIF is also in talks with corporates for commercial or social tie-ups in verticals like automobile, food and food processing, technology, agriculture, energy and transport.On the social front, Alstom Foundation has extended financial support of 56000 euros (Rs 35.68 lakhs approx.) to Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) and NIF for setting up 50 low-cost windmills for irrigation in salt farming areas of Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. "The low-cost windmills are an innovation by two brothers from Assam which was identified by NIF. GIAN has been adding value to the innovation and helping the innovators make it more commercially viable. This green technology will help cut the diesel expenses and labour by 40 percent and 18 windmills have already been installed for the same. Among corporates, Alstom Foundation, the CSR wing of Alstom Group has shown interest in supporting use of low-cost windmills for irrigation in salt farming in Gujarat," said Mahesh Patel, chief innovation manager, GIAN. GIAN and NIF are planning to set up in all 130 windmills in the near future in three phases and hope to see more corporate support for the same.

Source :- http://www.ibef.org/artdisplay.aspx?tdy=1&cat_id=60&art_id=28828&utm_source=newsalert_05_2011&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IBEF_23

http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=21802

Barclays (LON:BARC) publishes Citizenship Report 2010

Barclays Citizenship Report 2010

2010 marked the eleventh year that Barclays has reported on its environmental and social performance and, for the first time, the Report has been published online alongside the Annual Report. The Report has been independently assured by Ernst & Young and meets the requirements of a Type 2 assurance engagement as defined by AA1000AS.

Highlights include:

Extended £43bn in gross new lending to households and businesses in the UK alone, including £7.5bn from the acquisition of Standard Life Bank
Supported 106,000 business start-ups in the UK - an increase of 12 per cent over 2009 and the highest number since 2003
Invested more than £55m in the communities where Barclays operates
Engaged 62,000 colleagues in volunteering, regular giving and fundraising activities
Launched new Climate Action Programme 2011-2015
Involved in £7bn worth of transactions in the clean energy and clean technology sector globally
Committed £1bn over the next four years to improving the customer experience
Achieved an 80 per cent overall score in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Ranked sixth in the global financial sector in the Global 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index report and achieved an A rating in the inaugural Carbon Performance Leadership Index

Barclays, which has reported against the G3 indicator protocols and its Financial Sector Supplement since 2007, is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and wealth management with an extensive international presence.

Citizenship is one of Barclays four execution priorities. Chief Executive Bob Diamond said: “Citizenship is not peripheral to our business, but rather lies at the heart of what we do - which is to employ Barclays unique resources, expertise and people to support our customers, clients and communities.”

To provide feedback on this report, please visitwww.barclaysannualreports.com/ar2010/index.asp?pageid=92 or emailsustainability@barclays.com

V.C. Menon :Indians need be more prepared for natural calamities

Indians need be more prepared for natural calamities: Experts

2011-04-19 09:40:00 Last Updated: 2011-04-19 09:45:46

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In this photo taken Tuesday, April 5, 2011, Masahiko Horio, president of Ho... New Delhi: Within a month after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan, India experienced two moderate tremors. Were these warnings for something bigger? If experts are to believed, they were and say Indians need to be more prepared to deal with natural calamities. "Some of these could also be seen as a precursor for something bigger, considering India's vulnerability to earthquakes because of its location in a high risk seismic zone," N.V.C. Menon, former member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said. According to him, it is important to launch an awareness campaign to prepare Indian households to prepare them in responding to natural calamities such as the one that wreaked destruction in Japan. "We could face massive destruction if a high intensity earthquake strikes India," Menon said, stressing there is the "need for a massive awareness campaign as people here are not clear about the steps needed to reduce the impact of an earthquake." The government, under the aegis of NDMA, is working to enhance India's preparedness to face an event like that in Japan. However, people should also prepare themselves to deal with an emergency, Menon said. Households in quake-prone areas should prepare emergency kits with candles, medicines, match boxes, important documents and other necessary items so that they can evacuate immediately in the event of an earthquake. Studies have shown that more than 60 percent of India is vulnerable to earthquakes and most of the deaths during a quake are caused by the collapse of buildings. According to geographical data, Kashmir, Punjab, the western and central Himalayas, the northeastern region and the Rann of Kutch fall under the Zone 5 category, referred to as the Very High Damage Risk Zone. "Northeastern states like Assam and Meghalaya and cities like Shimla and Delhi are sitting on the brink of a disaster," V.K. Sharma, professor of disaster management at the Indian Institute of Public Administration, told IANS. "With about 685 slums and congested localities in the old city with maximum number of unsafe buildings, Delhi could collapse in the event of a high intensity earthquake," warned Sharma. More than 50 percent of Shimla could also collapse, he added. The biggest problem, according to Sharma, lies in the non-adherence of the prescribed building codes by private builders while erecting any new structure. The National Building Codes of India contains stipulations for fire safety requirements, materials to be used, structural design and construction, including safety and building and plumbing services. In cities maintained by municipal corporations it is expected that all building codes are followed for new constructions. "But very often the builders and contractors violate the codes," Menon said. This was the reason for the collapse of the buildings in Ahmedabad and Bhuj in Gujarat during the 2002 earthquake even though they were almost 480 km away from the epicentre of earthquake, he asserted. The condition is least encouraging in rural areas and in those urban areas where private constructors are hired for building purposes. "In these cases, people employ local constructors who have no engineering background and are not aware of any code," said the expert. Menon advised a few things that can be done by households to increase the earthquake resistance of existing buildings. "For existing buildings, rapid visual screening by trained civil engineers can help find its quake resistance capacity," he said. The study of the soil type and the possibility of sand liquifaction that can happen during quake vibrations should also done, the expert suggested.

Source :- http://www.sify.com/news/indians-need-be-more-prepared-for-natural-calamities-experts-news-national-letjEcjhcjc.html

http://cdrn.org.in/show.detail.asp?id=21703