Programme

As the UN's agency for science, UNESCO has been intimately involved in disaster reduction for the past 45 years, with studies on earthquakes and oceanography dating back to the 1960s. It has since expanded into many areas as it pursues multidisciplinary actions to study natural hazards and mitigate their effect.

The following is taken from the Draft Programme and Budget for 2008-2009 (second draft of 34 C/5).

Biennial sectoral priority 1: Promoting research and technical capacity-building for the sound management of natural resources and for disaster preparedness and mitigation

(i) with focus on the work of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) in its seventh phase, and strongly enhanced coordination with the HELP and FRIEND sites, the G-WADI network, the IHP National Committees, the category 1 institute UNESCO-IHE, the water related category 2 centres and UNESCO Chairs, strengthen scientific approaches for improved water management policies and governance, technical capacity-building and education at all levels and provide avenues for adapting to the impacts of global changes on river basins and aquifers and actively contribute to and strengthen global monitoring, reporting and assessment through WWAP with particular attention to sub-Saharan Africa;

(ii) strengthen the activities and improve the performance and impact of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), the World Network of Biosphere Reserves including the development of biosphere reserves as learning platforms for sustainable development, including ecotourism, and for environmental management and monitoring, by leveraging resources, improving coordination and promoting cross-cutting and intersectoral activities through a variety of partnerships; reinforce UNESCO’s unique role in developing research and capacity-building in geosciences including geobiochemistry through the IGCP Programme; and support the Organization’s role in earth observation systems and partnerships with space agencies for monitoring changes in land, water and oceans;

(iii) strengthen the activities of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), as the established intergovernmental body on oceans and coastal zones within the United Nations system, reinforcing its role in improving governance and fostering intergovernmental cooperation through ocean sciences and services in order to improve understanding of climate change and its impacts, including sea-level rise, ecosystem functioning and biodiversity; continue to observe and monitor the open ocean and coastal seas, to prepare policy recommendations for discussion by Member States and to foster the development of institutional capacity for coastal and marine management and for marine scientific research with a view to contributing to sustainable development, in particular in developing countries, LDCs and SIDS, and to achieving the MDGs; and increase efforts to allocate resources for the benefit of Africa and LDCs, particularly with regard to the consequences of climate change;

(iv) foster a culture of disaster preparedness for natural and human-induced disasters, including those of a technological nature, at national and regional levels, with a focus on policy advice, mastering and disseminating knowledge, and education for disaster mitigation and response, as well as on the promotion of systems and networks concerned with the assessment and mitigation of hazards, including early warning systems;

(v) provide sufficient resources to IOC in order to facilitate the implementation of a Global Tsunami Warning System within its efforts to contribute to the development of national and regional capacities for disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation with a special emphasis on women, through a multi-hazard approach, and to assist in the establishment and development of tsunami early warning systems in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and connected seas, and the Caribbean and adjacent seas;