The Forum, organized by the International Science Council, the United Nations Office on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk programme, attracted 400 participants over two days to discuss advances in science that support the implementation of the Sendai Framework and to identify critical knowledge needs on an integrated approach to DRR.
The Forum launched a UNDRR-ISC facilitated technical working group on hazards terminology aimed at developing a common definition and language across the full scope of hazards covered by the Sendai Framework. Chaired by Professor Virginia Murray, the new working group has been tasked with developing new hazard definitions and classifications, and seeks input from stakeholders to ensure the list is robust, and reflects the full spectrum of local and regional terminology.
Professor Murray, Head of Global DRR, at Public Health England said “An updated hazards list driven by science is crucial to ensuring an integrated response to disaster risk reduction and achieving the goals set out by the Sendai Framework”.
Dr Flavia Schlegel, the ISC’s Special Envoy for Science in Global Policy said “We live in a time of increasingly frequent and severe disasters fuelled by the impacts of climate change. In response, the International Science Council invests in bridging the gap between the natural and social sciences in understanding the very systemic and cascading nature of risks”.
One of the key challenges discussed during the Forum was how to address the issues around the use of data – including the lack of data from some of the most vulnerable regions, and how big data, quality data and data interoperability were critical in enhancing the capacity to better understand and manage risks, particularly given advances in science and disruptive technologies, and systems-wide resilience to address technological hazards.
The Forum urged the DRR community to consider major advances in the use of technology for disaster management which had strong potential for future deployments, however, noted that their application varied in pace, scope and impact. The advances included:
- Use of drones in disaster situations to assess damage, guide first responders, deliver equipment, medicines, etc.
- Technologies improve our understanding of causes, enhance early-warning and damage assessment
- Potentials for big data, AI for predicting scenarios and impact
Another strong message coming from delegates at the Forum Sendai Framework provided an understanding of risk which required engagement with vulnerable communities, stronger effort in understanding the local context in which risks emerge and the complex ways in which the physical and social geographies combine is needed to advance DRR and the sustainable development agenda.
Working with local communities is a key component of this engaged and inclusive science and it is hoped that through the Technical Working Group on Sendai Hazard Definitions and Classification, that the list will reflect the full spectrum of local and regional terminology.
Further reading:
1. Technical Working Group on Sendai Hazard Definitions and Classification
2. ISC Policy Briefs:
- Disaster Loss Data In Monitoring The Implementation Of The Sendai Framework (click here)
- Achieving Risk Reduction Across Sendai, Paris And The SDGs (Click here)
3. Launch of the new Journal Progress in Disaster Science
For further comment or information, please contact ISC Science Officer, Anne-Sophie Stevance:
Email: anne-sophie.stevance@council.science
Photo: Firemen search for bodies in the flattened town of Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, on March 22, 2011, after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The twin quake and tsunami disaster, Japan’s worst crisis since World War II, has now left 8,805 people dead and a further 12,664 listed as missing, with entire communities along the country’s northeast coast swept away. Photo credit: MIKE CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images
Related Items
"The making of the Golden Record of our century": daring to pursue mission-oriented science
19.09.2023

To achieve sustainable development, the world needs to mobilize around a big science approach once more
13.09.2023

Helping newsrooms get disaster risk ready, an International Science Council and World Editors Forum collaboration
21.08.2023

Global science needs a new approach to tackle climate change and complex sustainability question
27.07.2023

The ISC addresses the UN High Level Political Forum and meets with the UN Secretary General
24.07.2023

A Model for Implementing Mission Science for Sustainability: proposed by the Technical Advisory Group to the Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability
11.07.2023

Preparing for Crisis X: Can newsrooms and the scientific community overcome sceptical publics?
29.06.2023

Rising to the challenge of the High-Level Meeting on the Sendai Framework: Insights from the ISC's latest disaster risk reduction report
18.05.2023

Nurturing a Sustainable Future: Collaboration, Empowerment, Trust, and Resilience in Science at the ISC Mid-term Members Meeting
16.05.2023

ISC's nomination track ensures transdisciplinary and global representation in UNEP's Scientific Advisory Group for GEO-7 Assessment
14.04.2023

UN 2023 Water Conference carries new engagements towards realizing SDG6 and future avenues for a decade of action
23.03.2023

IPCC report: the world must cut emissions and urgently adapt to the new climate realities
21.03.2023

Second conference on the war in Ukraine: exploring the impact on the science sector and supporting initiatives
14.03.2023

ISC-BBC StoryWorks partnership ends on a high note, delivering some of the highest engagement for the BBC
13.03.2023

World is set to miss UN targets for preventing deadly and costly disasters by 2030, warns International Science Council
28.02.2023

In wake of ‘natural’ disasters, not reducing biodiversity loss is a big missed opportunity
01.02.2023

Science in Times of Crisis Episode 3 - The Fallout of Conflict: The Arctic and Outer Space
15.12.2022

Funding for resilience: Five key objectives to protect vulnerable groups through Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing
04.08.2022

Position paper of the Scientific and Technological Community Major Group for the 2022 High-level Political Forum
17.06.2022

International Science Council appoints 66 Foundation Fellows who have made exceptional contributions to the role of science as a global public good
09.06.2022

Policy Brief: Harnessing data to accelerate the transition from disaster response to recovery
24.05.2022

Joint letter to ISC Members from ISC President, Peter Gluckman, and Acting CEO, Mathieu Denis
06.04.2022

Systemic Risk Briefing Note highlights complexity of interconnected, interdependent, and uncertain challenges
10.03.2022

Strengthening emergency communications for complex, cascading and compounding events – lessons learned from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami in Tonga
14.02.2022

An early career perspective on the science-policy interface in the decade of climate action following COP26
28.12.2021

Four considerations for accelerating progress on climate change at the science-policy interface
05.11.2021

Climate risk assessment gaps: seamless integration of weather and climate information for community resilience
27.10.2021

Hazard Information Profiles: Supplement to UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review - Technical Report
04.10.2021

Earthquake expert who advised the Haiti government in 2010: ‘Why were clear early warning signs missed?’
13.09.2021

Indigenous inclusion in the science-policy sphere requires more than symbolic gestures: Interview with Meg Parsons
10.08.2021

2021 Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs: amplifying STI for a sustainable and resilient COVID-19 recovery
01.05.2021

COVID-19 has sparked new relationships between academia and policymakers – we must maintain them
20.04.2021

World Engineering Day - science and engineering are key partners in building a sustainable future
04.03.2021

Kyoto Landslide Commitment launched to increase understanding on how to reduce landslide risk
02.12.2020

Lessons from existing disaster risk and recovery research should inform equitable and sustainable pathways out of the pandemic
13.08.2020

From COVID-19 crisis comes opportunity to rethink risk - by Heide Hackmann, ISC CEO and Mami Mizutori, Secretary-General UNDRR
03.06.2020

Placing scientific knowledge, preparedness and public awareness at the core of disaster risk policy
01.04.2020

Building resilience against biological hazards and pandemics: COVID-19 and its implications for the Sendai Framework
27.03.2020

Cities in the Danger Zone: Adding Natural Threats to the Development Challenges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon
13.11.2019

ISC commits to enhanced collaboration with UN-Habitat and UNDRR on urban health and wellbeing and disaster risk reduction
20.06.2019

Official Statement by the Scientific and Technological Community (STC) Major Group Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2019, Geneva, Switzerland
17.05.2019

ISC launches policy briefs ahead of the UN Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2019)
10.05.2019

Public launch event of the Council explores values of science and links between science, politics and society
05.07.2018

New report from scientific experts provides a unique guide to translate Sustainable Development Goals into reality
12.05.2017

ICSU and IRDR publish set of policy briefs to inform the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
11.05.2017

Call for Participation: 2017 Advanced Institute on Disaster Risk Reduction with Systems Approach for Slow-Onset Climate Disasters (AI-SOCD)
18.04.2017
NZ Government thanks IRDR and CODATA groups for their help following 2016 Kaikoura earthquake
23.02.2017

ICSU publishes independent mid-term review of Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme
19.01.2017
International experts submit report on Future of the Seas and Oceans to G7 Science and Technology Ministers meeting in Japan
21.05.2016
Former ICSU President Jane Lubchenco awarded Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for Work in Changing Policy
25.03.2015
New paper: Disaster risks research and assessment to promote risk reduction and management
18.03.2015

More than 1,000 delegates gather in Geneva for talks on global disaster risk reduction agreement
20.11.2014

UN supports call for an international science advisory mechanism on disaster risk reduction
26.07.2014
Science Plan on Hazards and Disasters: Special Vulnerability of Islands – ICSU Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific
11.01.2013
Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to meet in Panama
13.04.2012
Science Plan on Understanding and Managing Natural Hazard Risks – ICSU Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
01.01.2010

International Council for Science (ICSU) launches major research programme on natural disasters
22.10.2008
At Pivotal Event in China, the International Council for Science Releases New Strategy to Strengthen International Science for the Benefit of Society
20.10.2005