The International Disaster Reduction adopts Declaration

7 September The International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC) Davos 2006, has closed with the adoption of a Declaration by more than 600 participants. Chaired by Walter Ammann, from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL/SLF), in Davos, the conference was co-organised from 26 August to 1st September by UNESCO. It focused on the five priorities adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe (Japan) in January 2005, while involving a larger group of risk management experts, practitioners, and scientists. The Declaration draws attention to important issues which have been discussed.

Integrated Risk Management and Development: the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals can only be advanced through a multi-disciplinary and gender approach that embraces disaster risk reduction (designing community and rural risk management plans, protection of people, livestock and other agricultural assets in order to preserve livelihoods, and reduce poverty, hunger and the spread of zoonotic diseases.

- Gender and Disasters: It is imperative that specific needs and contributions of both men and women are mainstreamed throughout practice, science, data collection, policy and decision making.

- Environmental Vulnerability: Protection of vital ecosystem services is fundamental to reducing vulnerability to disasters and strengthening community resilience. Hence, it is essential to recognize :

• Environmental management as an integral part of disaster risk reduction.
  
• That some disaster reduction and recovery efforts can have adverse environmental consequences that could be avoided.
  
• That ecosystems based management, environmental engineering solutions, mitigation of greenhouse gases and climate change adaptation, and integrated water resource management all support the goals of disaster risk reduction.
  
  - Education, Knowledge and Awareness:

• Education for disaster reduction should form an integral part of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2015).
  
• A better working relationship between the scientific community and end-users (mitigators, planners, educators, communicators or responders) is of prime importance.
  
• Processes and infrastructure to acquire, manage, and share information across sectors and decision-making will substantially increase the efficiency and effectiveness of all aspects of disaster reduction.
  
• Strategies and plans are strengthened through attention to cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, cultural attributes and traditional knowledge.

  
  - Regional dimensions: regional variations and risk management capacity building were a central theme of discussion. Participants from Africa took the opportunity to advance plans for promoting mutual interest and cooperation in disaster reduction for safer, disaster resilient communities and issued a position paper outlining details in this regard.

  - Outreach Process: Participants are invited to report on their continuing activities and findings and to share their experiences with IDRC Davos. Periodic progress reports and assessments will be made available on the conference website www.davos2006.ch. This information will be transmitted to the ISDR system.

UNESCO organised, or co-organised, several events:

• UNESCO took part in the opening ceremony on 28 August 2006, with an opening address.
  
• The session on Education and Local Knowledge for Disaster reduction and Sustainable Development, with the Council of Europe, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, ActionAid International, the Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction and the UN/ISDR. This session reviewed the experience of the past several decades in education, local knowledge, disaster reduction, sustainable development and human security. Under the auspices of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), the session achieved the following: · Identification of good practices for the integration of education for disaster reduction and human security into school programmes · Guidelines on practical methods and techniques for improving the safety of school buildings · Enhancement of transferring live lessons activities of catastrophic disasters · Partnerships to implement education for disaster reduction · Proposals for commitments and a corresponding calendar of implementation, as a possible contribution to a general plan of action.
  
• A session on Capacity Building for Earthquake Risk Reduction Partnership between Scientists, Engineers and Community Leaders in the Mediterranean, with the European Seismological Commission (ESC). This Special Workshop provided a forum for an exchange of ideas and good practices among scientists, engineers and community leaders in the European-Mediterranean region to identify specific actions to take in order to develop the societal infrastructures (human, technological, institutional, financial, political and others) needed for earthquake risk reduction.
  
• A session on Integrating Traditional Knowledge Systems into Risk Management. The purpose of this workshop was to expand the concern for cultural and natural heritage in larger risk management strategies, particularly on the contribution that traditional knowledge systems could make in this context.
  
• A session on Landslide risk reduction: integrated strategy for global action. Debates were around 4 themes : improving technological development ; understanding landslide mechanisms and impacts ; capacity building ; planning mitigation, preparedness and recovery actions, with the purpose of building a Pan-European integrated and coordinated strategy for the implementation of the Action Plan.
  
• A session on Hazard communities contributions to the GEO Disasters SBA. This special session focused on the work done toward the Disasters tasks in the GEO 2006 Workplan by two parts of the natural hazards communities: those dealing with geological and meteorological hazards. It provided a forum for exchange between these two communities giving an opportunity for coordination within the context of GEO. The session set out the work conducted by these two communities and explored ways in which the particularities of the different hazards treated can be accommodated within the Global Earth Observation System of Systems.
  
• UNESCO Exhibition of Didactic Tools on Natural Disaster Reduction.