|
|
|
Proper
warning systems can reduce the number of casualties
|
Small
islands close their conference with a call for significant strengthening of early
warning for Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific and action to conserve corals,
mangroves and other natural sea defenses.
Making
operational a tsunami early warning system in the Indian Ocean must be one of
the key outcomes of an international disaster reduction conference taking place
in Japan, the head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said on
January 15, 2005.
The
conference should also outline how such a system can be extended beyond the
Indian Ocean to all seas and oceans across the globe and to all forms of natural
and man-made disasters including climate change, said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP’s
Executive Director.
“The
need for early warning was one of the key outcomes of the Small Island
Developing States (SIDS) conference which closed on Friday in Mauritius. The
United Nations, governments and civil society are as one on this issue,” he
said.
“The
disaster reduction conference, taking place between 18 and 22 January in Kobe,
must now take this forward and put real flesh on these plans including the sums
of money needed and the roles of the different actors involved,” added Mr
Toepfer.
The
SIDS conference also highlighted how natural features such as coral reefs and
mangroves play important roles in defending small islands and low lying coastal
areas from aggressive and destructive seas.
Governments
agreed that more action should be taken to conserve these vital ecosystems by,
for example, reducing pollution from the land into coastal areas, tackling
illegal trade in corals and better assessing the impact of coastal developments.
Delegates
at the SIDS meeting agreed that early warning systems were vital and that along
with technology such as telecommunications and sea-based buoys, reducing
vulnerability to such events also required community based initiatives involving
education and training.
A
special session of the Kobe World Conference on Disaster Reduction has been
organized on 19 January by the Japanese government to specifically address the
tsunami issue.
Mr
Toepfer said much could be learnt from the Caribbean, where a Caribbean Tsunami
Warning System was approved in 2002 following an earlier meeting hosted by the
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO)
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and UNEP.
The
system, which would cover areas including the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico
and the Bahamas, is designed to alert countries and communities to a potentially
damaging tsunami by ringing telephones and setting off alarm tones on personal
computers.
Other
components of the system include a network of sea level gauges, able to detect
the emergence of big waves, a network of seismic stations and links to weather
and meteorological stations in the region.
An
aggressive public education and information program for local communities is
also proposed including how to spot warning signs and develop appropriate
evacuation procedures.
The
system, which has been priced at just under $2.5 million, would take about three
years to establish. But since being agreed there has been little progress
towards its implementation.
Mr
Toepfer said: “We must ensure that the proposed Indian Ocean early warning
system does not, like the Caribbean one, simply lie on the shelf gathering dust.
We must, as a tribute to those 150,000 people who died as a result of the
devastating tsunami of 26 December 2004, translate fine words into deeds to
ensure that vulnerability in the Indian Ocean is reduced and that early warning
systems elsewhere are put in place. These need to cover not only tsunamis but
other catastrophes including hurricanes and cyclones, fires, chemical accidents
and oil spills”.
Since
the tragedy of 26 December, UNEP along with other UN bodies and the
international community has been assisting the countries affected including
small islands such as the Seychelles and the Maldives.
An
initial assessment or ‘screening’ of the environmental damage,
including damage to natural sea defenses such as coral reefs and mangrove swamps
and chemical and waste installations, is expected from UNEP teams by mid to late
February when UNEP will hold its Governing Council at its Nairobi, Kenya,
headquarters.
The
Mauritius Declaration, which came at the end of the SIDS meeting held last week
in Port Louis, Mauritius, states that “we, the representatives of the people
of the world, reiterate that the acknowledged vulnerability of small island
developing states continues to be of major concern and that this vulnerability
will grow unless urgent steps are taken”.
Governments
also specifically backed calls for an Indian Ocean and more extended early
warning network.
“The
tragic impacts of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and the recent
hurricanes in the Caribbean and Pacific highlight the need to develop and
strengthen effective disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, emergency
relief, and rehabilitation and reconstruction capacities,” says the
declaration.
|
