Global Workshop on Community-Based Forecasting and Early Warning

Preparedness for Natural Disasters

Disasters take their greatest tolls at the local level, as shown by the devastating magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004, Hurricane Katrina, and the recent 8 October 2005 earthquake in northern Pakistan. Capacity development at the grassroots level can directly mitigate these tolls by having local communities tap and share their resources and traditional knowledge on the natural environment and its hazards. In so doing, communities can create their own solutions to strengthen their safety and security, which in turn contribute to the timely achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

This concept paper proposes a community-directed workshop / dialogue space, to be held in 2006, that will encourage dialogue and cross-sectoral collaboration between community leaders, scientists, NGOs, corporate/business leaders and government policy makers, on the concerns and innovative strategies of local communities for natural disasters.

Through featured plenary presentations, facilitated small group discussions (“world cafes”) and large circle dialogues around specific themes and free interactions, participants from different regions of the world, particularly from the tsunami-hit region, will share their community best practices in forecasting and early warning preparedness for natural disasters. Participants will distinguish which aspects of these practices are appropriate to implement in their own communities. They will then develop action plans to realize these aspects in a timeline that the communities themselves define, in partnership with interested multi-stakeholders, including government, business, academe, and NGOs in the communities.

If this workshop is relevant for you and your community, please let us know of your interest and support by email. Thank you!