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UNESCO launches strategy for tsunami resilience in the Atlantic and Mediterranean
Published by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) the NEAMTWS Strategy 2030 identifies key objectives, and foundational elements for a continuously improving regional Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (TEWS) to meet stakeholder needs during the period 2021–2030, capitalising on the Ocean Decade societal benefits to improve monitoring, detection, and data-sharing among Member States and partners in the region. It is a direct contribution to the new Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme (ODTP).
“The Tsunami Resilience Section coordinates a 24-hour service that protects the lives of people, the only operational service in IOC/UNESCO that does this, therefore it is extremely important for the lives and safety of coastal communities,” emphasised Vladimir Ryabinin, the Executive Secretary of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO), during the launch event. “My job is to see the ICG/NEAMTWS 2030 Strategy well integrated into the framework of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and exploit the opportunities that arise with it.”
The NEAMTWS Strategy was launched on 12 April, at the UNESCO Headquarters, during the annual meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the North-eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, and connected seas Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/NEAMTWS), in the presence of their excellencies, the Permanent Delegates to UNESCO from France, Italy, Portugal, and Türkiye.
“The ICG/NEAMTWS 2030 Strategy together with the Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme and the Research Development and Implementation Plan will drive and define the next major milestones across all the three key pillars of a Tsunami Early Warning System in the NEAM region,” said Denis Chang Seng, Programme Specialist on Tsunami Resilience within the IOC/UNESCO Secretary, who also acts as Technical Secretary of the ICG/NEAMTS. “The five Tsunami Service Providers countries in France, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Türkiye are the torch bearers to spearhead the way forward and support the engagement and participation of other countries in tsunami risk reduction.”
The full version of the NEAMTWS 2030 Strategy is publicly available, as is a new brochure designed to communicate the Strategy to a broader audience, including the Ocean Decade community and partners.
Learn more:
Posters on Tsunami Ready and Coastal Hazard Ready
Information on the ICG/NEAMTWS Steering Committee
