Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) in ASEAN – Experience of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

November 13, 2020 12:17 pm Published by Leave a comment

  

Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) in ASEAN – Experience of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

Organizer: Singapore Civil Defense Force

Southeast Asia (SEA) is a region that is vulnerable and historically prone to catastrophic disasters ranging from earthquakes, tsunamis and meteorological disasters such as droughts, cyclones, floods and forest fires, leaving much devastation to human lives and infrastructure. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the only region in the world to sign a legal agreement to affirm the leaders’ commitment to promote regional cooperation towards managing disasters. The ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) adopted and signed by the Foreign Ministers of the ASEAN Member States (AMS) in 2005 led to the formation of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), the Sectoral body that oversees cooperation in disaster management, and the operationalisation of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) in 2011. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is Singapore’s focal point for the ACDM, and will assume the position of ACDM Chair in 2021. SCDF is the first organisation in the Asia-Pacific region to be classified as a Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) in 2008, with successful re-certification in 2013 and 2018. This classification is the highest level of recognition accorded to USAR Teams by the United Nations (UN). With this capability, SCDF maintains a dedicated contingent codenamed Operation Lionheart to provide USAR and other humanitarian relief assistance to countries afflicted by major disasters. Since its formation 1990, the contingent has been deployed 18 times throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In this session, SCDF will primarily discuss the facilitation and coordination of HADR efforts in the ASEAN context, and touch on key initiatives of the ACDM and AHA Centre in disaster preparedness and response. There will also be a sharing of SCDF’s experiences deployed to overseas humanitarian missions, and insights on emergency response communications with regards to disaster management and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).

Speakers:
Abdul Razak Bin Abdul Raheem, Director, Corporate Communications Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force

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Using “adaptation technologies” to improve policy and planning at national level

November 13, 2020 10:37 am Published by Leave a comment

  

Using “adaptation technologies” to improve policy and planning at national level

Organizer: Practical Action / IIED *this session is part of the Development & Climate Days

This session is part of the Development & Climate Days.This session will look at how community-based innovation and implementation of ‘adaptation technologies’ could improve the impact of national policy and planning. The discussion will include how the ‘business case’ is built for government to invest in certain adaptation technologies and/or create the enabling environment for uptake of other adaptation technologies – e.g. smart subsidies, PPPs and incentives. It will also explore the fact that uptake requires technologies to be viable, so evidence and examples of relevant ‘business models’ are also needed.

Speakers:
Chris Henderson, Head of Agriculture, Practical Action
Maria-Claudia Valdivia Verde, Agriculture Thematic Lead, Practical Action Peru
Dhamam Uprety, DRR Thematic Lead, Practical Action Nepal
Aditya Bahadur, Principal Researcher, in IIED’s Human Settlements Group.
Nga Ha Thi Quynh, Policy Advocacy and Public Relations, CARE Vietnam
Maria Goss,

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Understanding Nature and Risk: Modelling of nature-based solutions for flood risk reduction and analytics

November 12, 2020 8:18 pm Published by Leave a comment

  

Understanding Nature and Risk: Modelling of nature-based solutions for flood risk reduction and analytics

Organizer: JBA Consulting

Nature-based Solutions (NBS) can reduce flood risk and provide more resilient and lower-cost mitigation. NBS can be applied as green infrastructure strategies that work in harmony with gray infrastructure systems. NBS can also support community well-being, generate benefits for the environment and make progress on the Sustainable Development Goals in ways that gray infrastructure systems alone cannot. NBS are being incorporated into Distaster Risk Management as well as in addressing water security and urban sustainability. Different challenges arise in planning, design and optimisation of NBS depending on scale. At a national or catchment scale, including that of the wider urban system, the optimal mix of green and gray can be economically optimised through risk analytics. At the scale of an individual structure or ecological unit, parameterisations of small scale physical processes must be considered. At all scales in between trade offs and uncertainties need to be understood and considered in the context of perspectives ranging from economics to public and stakeholder engagement to complex hydraulics and ecological processes. The aim of this technical session is to draw attention to the different scales and functions hydrological, hydraulic and coastal modelling can be used in the design and assessment of nature-based solutions. We will demonstrate model approaches and analytics that facilitate decision making along the design continuum between green and grey infrastructure at national, regional and local levels. Examples that use innovative modelling tools will be drawn involving the practical perspectives of the session speakers. This will include both model tools and the basis on which they can be used is workflows for optioneering, design and communication. We have bought together leading consultants and academics from JBA, Arup, Deltares and Imperial College London to present engaging examples of NBS planning and design in action, and the tools and methods involved in their evaluation and optimization over the full range of spatial scales required to mitigate flood risk.

Speakers:
Blair Spendow, Technical Director, JBA
Mark Lawless, Director at JBA Consulting and JBA Risk Management
Bregje van Wesenbeeck, Expert Nature-based Solutions for DRR and CCA at Deltares
Ali Mashayek, Lecturer at Imperial College London
Vincent Lee, Associate Principal, Arup

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Virtual Reality and Training for Emergency Responders in a Post-COVID-19 Era

November 12, 2020 6:09 pm Published by Leave a comment

  

Virtual Reality and Training for Emergency Responders in a Post-COVID-19 Era

Organizer: Singapore Civil Defense Force

The landscape of training for the emergency response fraternity has evolved in parallel with the development of technology, from the advent of computers and the proliferation of digital and immersive technologies. Innovation in the area of tactical and command training continually enhances safety and operational outcomes of emergency responders – training and learning now transcend spatial and temporal boundaries, and is increasingly data-driven and digitalised with new training technologies and tools for training delivery. Inevitably, global disruption brought about by COVID-19 has accelerated the pace and degree at which training and learning – even for the traditionally physical domain of emergency response – has had to “go digital” and virtualise training programmes en masse. Amid the challenges of such acute changes, the opportunity has emerged to broach a new paradigm in this future of training and learning for emergency response. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has come a long way since introducing computer-based learning and testing into the training programmes in the 1990s in the 1990s for both professional emergency responders as well as the extended ecosystem of industry and community partners. In this session, SCDF will share the key learning points from the journey of continual transformation in training and learning, having developed and employed a spectrum of new technologies over the years, with many lessons learnt along the way. This is complemented by a showcase of the Advanced Command Training System (ACTS) which provides simulation training for command and control in conjunction with XVR, a partner of SCDF in the area of developing and implementing training and simulation technologies. SCDF will also share how COVID-19 has been a catalyst in digitalising training and learning in the rapid scaling-up of VR and other digital and immersive training platforms in the context of SCDF, as well as the roadmap of development for the future of training in SCDF through close collaboration with a strong ecosystem of partners. The session will discuss the benefits, implications and challenges that emergency response organisations may experience as this new paradigm of training and learning for emergency response looks to carry forward strongly into the post-COVID era. Lastly, the session will conclude with a panel discussion with key senior members of the training and learning fraternity in SCDF, who will be sharing their experience and vision for the transformation and future of training in emergency response.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has come a long way since introducing computer-based learning and testing into the training programmes in the 1990s in the 1990s for both professional emergency responders as well as the extended ecosystem of industry and community partners. In this session, SCDF will share the key learning points from the journey of continual transformation in training and learning, having developed and employed a spectrum of new technologies over the years, with many lessons learnt along the way. This  is complemented by a demonstration of the Advanced Command Training System (ACTS) which provides simulation training for command and control in conjunction with XVR, a partner of SCDF in the area of developing and implementing training and simulation technologies.

SCDF will also share how COVID-19 has been a catalyst in digitalising training and learning in the rapid scaling-up of VR and other digital and immersive training platforms in the context of SCDF, as well as the roadmap of development for the future of training in SCDF through close collaboration with a strong ecosystem of partners. The session will discuss the benefits, implications and challenges that emergency response organisations may experience as this new paradigm of training and learning for emergency response looks to carry forward strongly into the post-COVID era. Lastly, the session will conclude with a panel discussion with key senior members of the training and learning fraternity in SCDF, who will be sharing their experience and vision for the transformation and future of training in emergency response.

Speaker:
Soon Huat Lee, Head of Responder Performance Centre

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Building Radical Collaborations for Just, Climate-resilient Futures

November 12, 2020 12:37 pm Published by Leave a comment

  

Building Radical Collaborations for Just, Climate-resilient Futures

Organizer: YCL / IIED *this session is part of the Development & Climate Days

Unusual, unexpected, and often risky connections are needed to spark transformative climate action. Yet, partnerships can be demanding, difficult to find the right fit, and sometimes provide more obstacles than opportunities. As youth leading climate action in our communities, we ask: how might we build together the just, climate-resilient futures that we deserve? In this hands-on session, we will explore how to foster effective and meaningful partnerships that centre climate justice. By hosting time and space for these considerations, we hope to codesign principles which incorporate risk and resilience, and equip participants with a map that may guide their radical collaborations beyond the digital workshop.

Speakers:
Shalaka Jadhav, Design & Community Manager (Youth Climate Lab)
Dominique Souris, Co-Founder & Executive Director (Youth Climate Lab)
Dakota Norris, Program Manager
Mayumi Sato, Social Policy Research Coordinator

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Monitoring Compound Risks in the Covid-19 Era

November 12, 2020 12:20 pm Published by Leave a comment

  

Monitoring Compound Risks in the Covid-19 Era

Organizer: World Bank Group (WBG); United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO); Centre for Disaster Protection (CDP)

Complex crises threaten development gains. The impact of a single shock—an earthquake, a severe weather event, or a disease outbreak—can amplify existing stressors or potentially initiate a cascade of shocks, leading to larger and more sustained impacts on lives, livelihoods, and ultimately development outcomes. The ongoing COVID pandemic is a prime example of a compounding threat – one that has the potential for considerable adverse consequences on economies in both high- and low-income countries. Not only will the pandemic reduce the ability of countries to respond to wider threats, the occurrence of any additional shocks (whether natural, political or economic) during the COVID crisis is likely to hinder the recovery process and further entrench existing vulnerabilities. Tracking compounding risks, understanding their drivers, potential impacts and interactions, is therefore essential to supporting risk-informed development. Despite this, risks are often assessed and monitored in isolation – with monitoring tools focused on singular issues (such as food security, conflict or seasonal hazard). This can lead to incomplete understanding of where risk is concentrated, and potential biases in estimates of the probability and severity of adverse shocks. Based on joint work by the World Bank, United Nations and Centre for Disaster Prevention, this session will highlight state-of-the-art tools for tracking compound risk. It will explore ways of promoting the uptake of multi-dimensional risk monitoring efforts in policy and practice, and reflect on windows of opportunity for designing and implementing effective Early Warning Systems (EWS) for compound risk. It is hoped that insights from the session can be used to support the ongoing development of an operational working group on tracking multi-dimensional risk – aimed at sharing and promoting best practices in support of early action and crisis prevention. Questions to be explored during the session: What is the state-of-the-art in tracking compound risk? How can real-time risk information guide global and regional decision makers to prepare for complex crises? How can efforts to track compound risk be scaled up and financed globally? What windows of opportunities existing for supporting early action? What lessons exist from WBG, UN and CDP efforts to develop a global Compound Risk Monitor (CRM)?

Speakers:
Angeliki NIKA Nissen, Senior Analyst & Methodology Advisor, ACAPS
Lindsey Jones, Senior Risk Analyst, World Bank Group
João Bevilaqua T Basto, Consultant, UN-OCHA and World Bank Group
Ahmed Amdihun, Technical Advisor on Disaster Risk Reduction, IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Center
Irene Amuron, Technical Advisor on Forecast based Financing, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre
Conor Meenan, Lead Risk Finance Specialist, Center for Disaster Protection
Dirk-Jan Omtzigt, Chief Economist & Head, Humanitarian Financing Strategy and Analysis Unit, United Nations OCHA
Nicola Ranger, Senior Consultant, World Bank Group
Bianca Adam, Senior Operations Officer and Team Lead for Compound Risk Analytics and Crisis Preparedness, World Bank Group

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Fine tuning instruments at times of instability: crisis and disaster risk financing in concert

July 23, 2020 1:21 pm Published by Leave a comment

  

Identifying the vulnerable and helping them build resilience

Showcasing, demonstrating and launching a tool-kit

Disasters play an important role in preventing households from moving out of poverty and in pulling back into poverty households that were able to escape. Research exploring the link between poverty and disaster risk has helped inform policies to increasingly consider the vulnerable, in addition to the chronically poor. In several countries, this research has helped inform the development of adaptable social protection systems to prevent people from falling into poverty. However, a challenge has been to identify those that are most likely to suffer and least likely to recover from disasters, especially in data poor environments. With a better understanding of who and where the vulnerable are, and the benefit of protecting them, post-disaster responses can be designed and targeted to minimize the acute and long-term impacts of shocks. This session will provide an overview of research that contributes to the understanding of disaster risk and vulnerability to poverty, and the benefits of risk-informed development policies. Participants will learn about tools that have been applied in several countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia/Pacific, and South Asia regions to identify the vulnerable, inform ex-ante targeting criteria, and measure the benefits of post-disaster support, particularly adaptive social protection systems.

Organizer: World Bank

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Understanding how impact-based forecasting can support forecast-based action

February 17, 2020 12:14 am Published by Leave a comment

  

 

Understanding how impact-based forecasting can support forecast-based action

 

Organizer: Kartoza and Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

Partner Organizations: Climate Centre

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    Nature-based solutions: Balancing risk and reward

    February 16, 2020 7:52 pm Published by Leave a comment

      

    Nature-based solutions: Balancing risk and reward

    use · nature-based solutions · flood · landslide · drought

    The increasing frequency and severity of hydro-meteorological events on land and sea have a high impact globally. The science behind these phenomena is complex and multi-disciplinary as the international scientific community explores solutions that not only mitigate the impact of hydro-meteorological events but also can contribute to disaster risk reduction and achieve the broader goals of the Sendai Framework, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS), solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, have the potential to reduce the risk of extreme hydro-meteorological events and simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help build resilience. 

    This Focus Day event therefore aims to i) explore how balancing perspectives can improve the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) to reduce hydro-meteorological risks; and ii) promote and share experience currently being developed in Europe and Asia with the best available science and knowledge to establish a coherent approach towards risk management.

    Examples will be presented from NBS Hydro-Met Task Force supported by the flagship European Union’s Horizon 2020 Work Programme, which comprises four research and innovation action projects (NAIAD, OPERANDUM, PHUSICOS and RECONECT, with a total funding amounting to some 40 million euros) that design, implement and evaluate innovative and locally-attuned NBSs for hydro-meteorological risk reduction at the watershed and landscape scale.

    NBSs are being implemented that range from urban to rural and from mountain to coastal areas, counting more than 30 demonstration sites in Europe and 10 sites outside Europe including Asia, Australia, North America and South America. Further to these H2020 initiatives, examples of NBS for landslide risk mitigation in Hong Kong as well as Sri Lanka (to be confirmed) will be presented to showcase additional expertise in Asia. Sharing the experience from these NBSs will facilitate more effective protection of exposed population and environment from hydro-meteorological perils such as landslides, floods, droughts, and soil erosion.

    Organizer: Norwegian Geotechnical Institute

    Partner Organization: University of Bologna, IHE Delft, ICATALIST

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    Disruptive tech for Africa

    February 16, 2020 7:45 pm Published by Leave a comment

      

    Disruptive tech for Africa

    identify · AI-Machine Learning · Emerging technologies

    Organizer: World Bank

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