Promoting Best Practices - Sharing Innovative Experiences

Best Practices
Dryland Biodiversity
Medicinal Plants
Water Resources
Renewable Energy
Knowledge Sharing
Disaster Mitigation
Capacity Building

Workshop group photo

Dina

Landslide damage

Disaster Mitigation in Small Island Developing States

The number of natural disasters increased dramatically in the last century and their impact is nowhere more devastating than in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It is estimated that environmental catastrophes such as hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods have killed more than 300,000 people and caused more than US$800 billion-worth of damage over the past 10 years. Less developed countries are particularly at risk because they lack the infrastructure to prepare for such disasters and the resources to respond to them.

In addition, recent World Bank report concluded that, despite increased funding for infrastructure and risk reduction, avoidable mistakes were still being repeated. The impact of environmental disasters on SIDS can be greatly reduced if all those affected share their knowledge and benefit from each other's experience and lessons learned.

To enhance knowledge sharing, the United Nations Development Programme's Special Unit for South-South Collaboration (UNDP/SSC) and the Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO) have invited nominations for participants at a workshop that will lead to the publication of a volume of case studies on Disaster Mitigation in Small Island Developing States.

National and local governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations and scientific and technological institutions were invited to propose potential contributors.

The best 20 to 30 were presented at a workshop held from 27 to 29 October 2005 in cooperation with the University of Mauritius. Authors presented full length 'success stories', which are being edited by TWNSO for inclusion in a volume in the UNDP/SCC-TWAS-TWNSO 'Sharing Innovative Experiences' series.

International Workshop at the University of Mauritius, 27-29 October 2005

TWNSO and the United Nations Development Programme Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (UNDP-SSC) organized the seventh in a series of workshops on the theme of "Sharing Innovative Experiences" with two additional partners, the University of Mauritius and the UNDP country office, Mauritius. The University of Mauritius hosted the meeting on its campus, while UNDP-Mauritius assisted with on-the-ground logistics.

The initial session of the meeting, held from 27-29 October 2005 at the University of Mauritus, was dedicated to the 'Mauritius Experience'. Sok Appadu, Mauritius Meteorological Services, described the cyclone warning system in place on the island, while Soonil Rughooputh, University of Mauritius, outlined the development of an integrated disaster management and information system for the island, taking in not only natural disaster such as cyclones, tsunamis and landslides, but also such events as oil spills. Finally, Mitrasen Bhikajee, Mauritius Oceanography Institute, outlined what small islands such as Mauritius could learn following a visit he made to assess the disaster preparedness of Japan. "The total length of Japan's sea wall defences," he informed, "are now longer than the Great Wall of China."

The meeting finished with participants agreeing that there is a need for more support for scientific research to help understand the processes and mechanisms that lead to natural disasters, and the value that local, indigenous knowledge can play in preparing disaster response plans. The University of Mauritius, through a recently created network of universities located on SIDS, also offered to develop a specific network for research institutions and other agencies involved in natural disaster mitigation research and planning.

Such a network will ensure that the efforts of the participants to share their knowledge and experiences during the workshop will continue. TWNSO will remain involved in these efforts in addition, as with other TWNSO/UNDP-SSC workshops, the presented case studies will be edited by TWAS staff into more reader-friendly versions. These will be published as volume 12 of the Sharing Innovative Experiences series and distributed free of charge throughout the developing world and – in this case – especially to governments and relevant organizations in small island developing states.

Workshop Programme

List of Participants

Workshop photos