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Commonwealth Seeks To Strengthen Advance Warning Networks

20 January 2005

The Commonwealth and three regional intergovernmental organisations have agreed to work together to examine ways to reduce the future impact of natural disasters by strengthening advance warning networks across international borders.
 
In a statement issued on 13 January 2005, the Secretaries-General of the Commonwealth, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Indian Ocean Commission and the Pacific Islands Forum extended their sympathies to all those affected by the earthquake and tsunami which struck the Indian Ocean region on 26 December 2004. They said the disaster was "a reminder to all states, large and small, of their vulnerability and of the importance of building resilience to cope with natural disasters. Small island developing states are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and this has a significant impact on their sustainable development."
 
The Commonwealth Secretariat will facilitate the work of developing inventories of the advance warning resources and systems available in each of the Caribbean, Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, and identifying aspects of these systems which need strengthening. The Secretaries-General will consider concrete proposals at their next meeting in London in July 2005.
 
"The intergovernmental organisations which we represent have already contributed in a variety of ways to the relief and reconstruction efforts. We are committed to exploring other ways of contributing in a manner that is forward-looking and sustainable. Natural disasters have global impacts and require global responses. In particular, given our strength in working across international borders, we have decided to examine ways in which we can collectively reduce the future impact of natural disasters by strengthening advance warning networks across international borders," the statement said.
 
The statement was agreed in Mauritius during the International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, the first major international gathering since the disaster struck. It was signed by Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington, Indian Ocean Commission Secretary-General Monique Andreas-Esoavelomandroso, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Greg Urwin, with the support of Anwarul K Chowdhury, United Nations Under Secretary-General, who was Secretary-General of the International Meeting.
 
The full text of the statement, entitled 'Natural Disaster Impact Mitigation: Strengthening Natural Disaster Warning Systems Across Vulnerable Regions', can be seen at http://www.thecommonwealth.org/.

 

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 218  19 January 2005

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