NATURAL SCIENCES
About us
The purposes of UNESCO in the field of natural disasters are:
- to promote a better understanding of the distribution in time and space of natural hazards and of their intensity,
- to set up reliable early warning systems,
- to devise rational land-use plans,
- to secure the adoption of suitable building design,
- to protect educational buildings and cultural monuments,
- to strengthen environmental protection for the prevention of natural disasters,
- to enhance preparedness and public awareness through education and training communication and information,
- to foster post-disaster investigation, recovery and rehabilitation,
- to promote studies on the social perception of risks.
The issues linked to natural disasters and their mitigation are crosscutting. Consequently, various Divisions, Sections and Programmes of the UNESCO Natural Sciences are involved in the different aspects and challenges of natural disaster reduction. These unites include the Divisions of Water Sciences, Ecological and Earth Sciences, Basic and Engineering Sciences. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and UNESCO Field Offices are also engaged in disaster risk reduction.
The Section for Disaster Reduction in Headquarters serves as a focal point and carries out the following fields of action:
- Develop and strengthen international, regional and national networks for assessing, monitoring and mitigating risks from natural hazards, including earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides;
- Promote mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction knowledge into educational and public awareness programmes, as well advocacy and policy support for disaster preparedness;
- Upon request, provide a technical advise for post-disaster recovery, reconstruction and disaster risk mitigation.
Other programmes involved in natural disaster reduction
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s related fields of action are: 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; 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.
The International Hydrological Programme’s related fields of action are: to 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 with particular attention to sub-Saharan Africa.
The Man and the Biosphere Programme’s related fields of action are: 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; and support the Organization’s role in earth observation systems and partnerships with space agencies for monitoring changes in land, water and oceans.
The IGCP is a cooperative enterprise of UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and has been stimulating comparative studies in the Earth Sciences since 1972. IGCP has made research results available to a huge number of scientists around the world with about 400 projects. IGCP provides several thousands of scientists from about 150 countries with a multi-discipline platform to exchange knowledge and methodology on geological problems of global importance.
Section for Disaster Reduction: Contacts
Mr Badaoui Rouhban - Director, Section for Disaster Reduction
Mr Rida Bakbak - Programme Specialist
Mr Takashi Imamura - Programme Specialist
Ms Kristine Tovmasyan- Assistant Programme Specialist
Ms Juliana Chaves Chaparro - Spanish Associate Expert
Ms Brigitte Sartre - Assistant
Ms Kremi Nikolova - Assistant