Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World- Part 1

Material Information

Title:
Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World- Part 1
Creator:
World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Publisher:
South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC)
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2004
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Risk management -- Pacific Islands ( lcshac )
Disaster response and recovery -- Pacific Islands ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
Pacific Islands

Notes

Summary:
This document is a progress report on the implementation of the Yokohama Strategy for reducing disaster risk within the Pacific Islands region. The first chapter of this document divides the Pacific Islands region into four groupings based on size, geology, resources, and development. The first group contains the highly developed countries, Australia and New Zealand. The second group is made up of the larger island countries of Melanesia: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The third cluster consists of the middle income Polynesian countries of Samoa and Tonga. The final group is comprised of the resource-poor, mostly atoll countries of American Samoa, Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Pitcairn, Tokelau, Tuvalu and Wallis, and Futuna. The second chapter addresses the various hazards and risks facing the region: geological risks such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions; meteorological risks in the form of tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts; along with health, environmental, and social risks. What makes the Pacific Islands region particularly unique is the degree to which its vulnerabilities are magnified by the small sizes and populations of many of its countries. While the absolute number of deaths and the economic costs of disasters within the region are not particularly high, their relative impact on development is of considerable magnitude. Often the regions Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have economies heavily reliant on one major industry, and significant proportions of their populations living in subsistence communities. This section also discusses some of the barriers to the implementation of the Yokohama Strategy found within the region, such as poor record keeping, lack of disaster impact assessments, underdeveloped risk assessment mechanisms, and general resistance to risk management techniques. The third chapter of the document presents regional disaster management efforts. It highlights the evolution of institutions such as the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) into a regional coordinating structure for disaster management, and the networks of national disaster response entities, national and regional development agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research centers, etc. The Yokohama Strategy is one of the first attempts at expanding DRR beyond preparedness, alert, and response. It provides an enumeration of the principles behind its plans of action, placing emphasis on the concepts of prevention, preparation, and mitigation. ( ,, )
Subject:
General Risk Reduction
Citation/Reference:
Yokohama strategy and plan of action for a safer world: Pacific progress report part 1, the region. World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction (WCNDR).

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042665

dpSobek Membership

Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction