World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe recommends global early-warning system under UN
Press release 31/2005
22 January, 2005
An increase in natural disasters and subsequent destruction due to seismological risks and exceptional weather events puts emphasis on preparedness, concluded the UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan, on Saturday.
At least ten per cent of the billions allocated to the after-care of disasters should be used on the prevention of damage, said UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland.
Delegations from nearly 170 countries participated in the World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe, Japan, on 18-22 January. The number of participants was over 4 000. The Finnish delegation included representatives from various ministries, expert organisations and the Finnish Red Cross. The delegation leader was Director General Hannu Kyröläinen from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia on 26 December drew the world's attention to natural disasters and their consequences. The largest relief operation in history was launched.
Should there have been an early-warning system in place on the day, thousands of lives could have been saved and relief operations expediated, concluded the experts in their meetings during the conference.
The Kobe conference discussed the tsunami disaster in separate sessions with view to the experiences and lessons therein. A central theme in all sessions was the significance of early-warning systems. Many countries and organisations presented their systems and plans to develop them.
Finland's statement emphasised our interest and preparedness to participate in developing various early-warning systems for which Finland offered its expertise and know-how.
The conference adopted an action plan for 2005-2015 which includes actions to reduce vulnerability to disaster and to better perceive factors causing disasters. The EU and several non-governmental organisations would have preferred more concrete objectives.
The conference was of particular importance to the developing nations as natural disasters hamper their development considerably. Finland contributed to the conference costs of the third world delegates.
Storms and floods of recent years have highlighted the risks of natural disasters in Finland, too.
The storm a fortnight ago and the subsequent flooding of the sea water resulted in an agreement between the Finnish and Estonian authorities to launch cooperation to jointly improve observation systems and rescue operations in connection with exceptional weather events, particularly in the Gulf of Finland.
Further information: Hannu Kyröläinen, Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5036, Pentti Partanen, Head of the Department for Rescue Services at the Ministry of the Interior, tel. +358 9 1604 2960, Jaakko Sieral, Counsellor, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, tel. +358 9 160 53349, and Marianne Sågbom, Director, Weather Warning Service, Finnish Meteorological Institute, tel. +358 9 192 93 400