«UNITED NATIONS Project Overview Plan Early Warning Strengthening Project* Update of 30 April 2005 * UN Flash Appeal Project TSU-REG-05/CSS06-REGION. ...»

UNITED NATIONS

Project Overview Plan

Early Warning Strengthening Project*

Update of 30 April 2005

* UN Flash Appeal Project TSU-REG-05/CSS06-REGION.

Evaluation and Strengthening of Early Warning Systems in Countries

Affected by the 26 December 2004 Tsunami

UNESCO-IOC

Project Overview Plan, Early Warning Strengthening Project

Update of 30 April 2005

Project Overview Plan

Early Warning Strengthening Project* Update of 30 April 2005 * UN Flash Appeal Project TSU-REG-05/CSS06-REGION. Evaluation and Strengthening of Early Warning Systems in Countries Affected by the 26 December 2004 Tsunami Produced and published by the UN-ISDR Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning (PPEW), Görresstrasse 30, D-53113 Bonn, Germany. Tel: (49 228) 249 8810, Fax: (49 228) 249 8888, E-mail: isdr-ppew@un.org, Website: www.unisdr-earlywarning.org CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Scope of the Project Overview Plan..... 3

1.2 Background......... 3

1.3 Project objectives and benefits...... 4

1.4 Resources......... 4

2. PROJECT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

2.1 Project strategic framework...... 6

2.2 Project implementation....... 6

2.3 Coordination mechanisms....... 7

2.4 Project components........ 8 1: Core system implementation...... 9 2: Integrated risk management...... 10 3: Public awareness and education..... 11 4: Community-level approaches..... 12 5: Project coordination....... 13

3. TIMETABLE, BUDGETS, CONTINGENCIES AND PRIORITIES

3.1 Timetable overview........ 14

3.2 Budgets......... 15

3.3 Contingencies........

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Scope of the Project Overview Plan This Project Overview Plan describes the ISDR-coordinated multi-partner project to support the strengthening of early warning capacities of countries of the Indian Ocean, following the tsunami catastrophe of 26 December 2004. The project aims to provide an overall integrated framework for strengthening early warning systems in the region, primarily for tsunamis, but also recognizing the context of multiple hazards, risk management and risk reduction. The project is supported through the United Nations Flash Appeal for the affected countries as project TSU-REG-05/CSS06REGION.

The plan revises and extends the original project proposal, based on developments over the period January – April 2005. It will continue to be periodically updated over 2005-2006 to reflect changing circumstances and project progress.

In this document, the project is referred to as the Early Warning Strengthening Project.

1.2 Background The Indian Ocean tsunami was triggered by 9.0-magnitude earthquake near Sumatra in Indonesia.

While many people are believed to have died in the earthquake, the main cause of death was trauma and drowning from the flux of seawater and waves pouring into coastal areas without warning. The death toll is believed to be over 300,000 people.

Early warning systems for tsunami have been in place in the Pacific Ocean region for many years, coordinated by multilateral mechanisms under the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), of UNESCO. If effective tsunami early warning systems had been in place in the Indian Ocean region, many thousands of lives could have been saved. Following the event, there have been continuing high levels of anxiety about further tsunamis and a number of false alarms and panic.

The United Nations Flash Appeal in respect to the tsunami, issued on 6 January 2005, included a US$ 8,000,000 proposal “Evaluation and Strengthening of Early Warning Systems in Countries Affected by the 26 December 2004 Tsunami” that was submitted by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning (UNISDR/PPEW) (see www.unisdr-earlywarning.org), with substantial input from UNESCO-IOC. Early warning was also included by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as an element of one of their Flash Appeal proposals.

The proposal outlined a partnership approach to supporting the integrated development of tsunami early warning systems, recognising the numerous UN and other organisations that contribute to improving countries’ disaster risk management and risk reduction, including early warning systems.

In particular, the project supports UNESCO-IOC in its leadership to establish the core elements of a tsunami early warning system.

The Early Warning Strengthening Project was well received by donors. The current status as of 30 April 2005 includes donations from Japan (US$4,000,000), Sweden (US$1,400,000) and Norway

(US$1,400,000) and pledges from the European Commission (US$2,600,000), Finland (US$1,300,000) and Germany (US$390,000) – approximate figures – amounting to a total of about US$11,000,000. Discussions are being undertaken with other potential donors.

Although the original Flash Appeal was confined to a sub-set of affected countries, there is now general agreement among most parties including donors that an effective early warning system needs to involve all countries in the Indian Ocean Region. The Early Warning Strengthening Project therefore will endeavour to encompass all countries, as appropriate to their needs, capacities and risks faced.

1.3 Project objectives and benefits The objectives and expected benefits of the Early Warning Strengthening Project were stated in the brief original proposal as follows.

“The project will link the available technical capacities on tsunami early warning with humanitarian and emergency management capacities. It will quickly implement the first steps to establish effective tsunami warning capacities in the region, in particular though facilitating an interim warning capacity based on existing national and international capacities, supporting a conference to achieve technical specification and political consensus on the design of an appropriate early warning system, developing networks among practitioners and authorities concerned with all hazards, conducting regional meetings of relevant practitioners for both training and coordination aims, developing interim information materials for practitioners and community leaders, providing necessary coordination and support for the affected countries, and developing educational support and demonstration projects. The activities will be carried over an 18 month period, with greatest effort concentrated in the first six months.” “The benefits of the proposed activities will be improved public confidence and security, a rapid boosting of the capacities for action and planning by public authorities in the countries affected, authoritative information products needed by the humanitarian community, and a sound basis for coordination and informed implementation of tsunami warning systems in the region.” The period since the project’s urgent drafting in early January has seen many developments, such as initiatives by the affected countries and the results of several international and regional meetings. Activities supported by the project include steps by UNESCO-IOC to upgrade ocean observing systems and to implement an interim tsunami watch system and the conduct of training and coordination meetings (see 2.3). The design of the Early Warning Strengthening Project is evolving in response to these developments.

Among other things, the original proposal’s two phases, on warning system development and preparedness activities, are being pursued in parallel, and more emphasis is being given to integrating the tsunami early warning system development into countries’ other natural hazard warning systems and disaster risk management and reduction activities. This follows the direction provided by the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, the primary outcome from the World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, 18-22 January 2005, (see http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr/intergover/official-doc/L-docs/Final-report-conference.pdf)

1.4 Resources As of 30 April 2005 approximately US$ 6,800,000 had been received for the Early Warning Strengthening Project. With the remaining pledges, an overall budget of US$ 11,250,000 is being worked to. Further contributions will be welcomed and used to extend the project in areas of priority need.

As part of the Mid Term Review of the Flash Appeal, coordinated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in late March, UNESCO-IOC prepared a further request for US$ 12,000,000 to support activities in establishing core capabilities beyond the preparatory work possible under the present project. The request is elaborated in the document prepared by UNESCO-IOC and ISDR titled Progress and further requirements for the development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean1 (see document IOTWS-II/5, http://ioc.unesco.org/indotsunami/mauritius05/mauritius05.htm). Donor responses at the Mauritius coordination meeting amounted to nearly half of the request (see http://ioc.unesco.org/indotsunami/mauritius05/mauritius05_outcome.htm).

The construction of a fully functioning, effective tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean will require many tens of millions of dollars for the core elements alone. In addition, sustained and substantial funding will be needed to develop the necessary preparedness and mitigation measures in the countries of the region, including public awareness and education, and to build broad-based national capacities for multi-hazard risk management and risk reduction. Further proposals to this end will be developed under the project.

It is important to recognise that substantial resources are being provided by the countries of the region, bilateral donors and many other organisations. Examples include India’s commitment of around US$ 30,000,000 to develop its national system, Thailand’s offer of a US$ 10,000,000 to support a multi-partner regional early warning system fund, the offers of Germany, Australia and other countries of several tens of millions to support core system development, USAID’s support project of US$ 12,000,000, and UNEP’s commitment of US$ 1,000,000 to support environmental assessments and related activities. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and other non-government organisations bring significant financial and other resources to the support of early warning related activities.

The Early Warning Strengthening Project is seeking linkages and synergies with the various other initiatives. In some cases, the partners directly involved in the project bring to the table their own resources, which can be substantial and can provide opportunities for mutual leveraging and expanding project activities. Efforts are being made to extend the work of the project through such means.

The Mauritius document Progress and further requirements and this Project Overview Plan are complementary. Progress and further requirements includes elements of the present document, but has more details on core system implementation needs than are provided here.

2. PROJECT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

2.1 Project strategic framework A strategic framework is being progressively elaborated by the ISDR secretariat and a consortium of partners as a tool to help guide, coordinate and monitor progress on the Early Warning Strengthening Project, The framework comprises the following five major components.

1. Core system implementation Obtain regional consensus on the nature of a tsunami early warning system, design its core elements, particularly the observing system, national tsunami warning centres, and permanent regional coordination mechanisms, and commence initial strengthening and implementation steps.

2. Integrated risk management Integrate the tsunami early warning system into national disaster risk management and reduction mechanisms, seeking synergies with other hazard early warning systems and strengthening national capacities for tsunami-related disaster risk management and risk reduction.

3. Public awareness and education Develop and disseminate information products on tsunami, early warning and risk reduction, tailored to local languages and cultures, targeting key intermediaries such as public officials, teachers, and community leaders, and develop and promote mass media materials and campaigns.

4. Community-level approaches Implement community-level pilot activities to test and demonstrate good practices, including hazard and vulnerability assessment, organisational strengthening, community participation, warning system operation, capacity building, evacuation planning, and the design and construction of shelters and other works.

5. Coordination Establish the mutual understandings, agreements, information resources, networks, support capacities and decision-making mechanisms needed to ensure the effective implementation of the project and its early warning system objectives.

Section 2.4 provides further details on the project’s intentions with respect to each of the components, including planned activities and the partners involved.

The framework is also being considered by partners as a useful means to guide the development of the early warning system more generally, beyond the scope of present project (see section 2.3).

Specific results and indicators are under development.

2.2 Project implementation The Early Warning Strengthening Project is operated as a single integrated project, with all project donations pooled into a single sub-account of the Tsunami Trust Fund managed by OCHA.

Nevertheless, the different donors each have specific requirements, according to their national law or administrative procedure, which must be met. In some cases specific project proposals have been or are being developed by ISDR-PPEW in order to satisfy these requirements before the donor can release the offered funds.