Ms. Ma. Antonia Loyzaga, Executive Director of the Manila Observatory (MO), and Dr. Celine Vicente, Head of the Geomatics for Environment and Development program, participated in the recently conducted Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan, from 14 – 18 March 2015 (www.wcdrr.org). The goal of the conference was to formulate and agree on a new worldwide framework for disaster risk reduction for the future. With support from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia – Mitsubishi Research Institute (ERIA-MRI), MO presented its Philippine Country Study on Disaster Mitigation System by Using Space and Geospatial Information Technology at the 3rd Workshop on Disaster Mitigation System by Using Space and Geo-Spatial Information Technology, 18 March, 9:00 – 15:00, TKP Sendai Conference Center, Sendai. Other country presentors included Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand, besides the ERIA-MRI and the Project Leader. The country presentations discussed the following:
- Current and future issues/challenges in your country about disaster mitigation/management
- Current status and future plan of space and geo-spatial information technology as applied to disaster mitigation/ management
- Benefit from new trans-border disaster information system
- Way and Issues to cooperate with new trans-border disaster information system
The support from the ERIA-MRI also enabled MO to participate in other UNWCDRR activities :
- Role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) Advancing Disaster Risk Knowledge and Building Local Risk Capacity, 16 March 2015, 9:00 – 12:00, Tokyo Electron Hall Miyagi 401
- ERIA and OECD Forum on Enhancing Resiliency in ASEAN and East Asia, 16 March, 12:00 – 13:00, Tohoku University
- Disaster Management and Private Sectors: Private Civil Partnership from Business to Community Resilience, 16 March 2015, Tohoku University
- Excursion to Tohoku Disaster “Yuriage Area”, 11:00 – 15:00