UNESCO and its contribution to volcano risk mitigation

UNESCO and its contribution to volcano risk mitigation at the international scale Roberto Scarpa Kristine Tomvasyan Volcano Observatory Best Practice Workshop - Near Term Eruption Forecasting Erice, Sicily (IT), 11 - 15 September 2011

• • • United Nations Educational Scientific: natural, social, human sciences Cultural: culture, communication, information Organization

The United Nations system engaged in disaster reduction World Meteorological Organization WORLD BANK

UNESCO’s role • Identification of Hazards and Risks • Promotion of Preventive and Mitigation Measures • Post-disaster investigation, recovery and rehabilitation

The purposes of UNESCO in the field of natural disasters are • promote a better understanding of the distribution in time and space of natural hazards and of their intensity, • set up reliable early warning systems; • secure the adoption of suitable building design; • protect educational buildings and cultural monuments; • strengthen environmental protection for the prevention of natural disasters; • enhance preparedness and public awareness through education and training in communication and information; • foster post-disaster investigation, recovery and rehabilitation; • promote studies on the social perception of risks

UNESCO action is carried out through • Networking and strengthening of regional and international co-ordination systems • Direct partnership with Member States • Field implementation of operational projects • Reconnaissance and advisory missions • Preservation and dissemination of data • Seminars and training courses

UNESCO’s Potential Partners ØGovernments: National public institutions ØIntergovernmental organizations: UN Agencies, International and Regional organizations ØCivil society and NGOs ØPrivate Sector which operate at: -Local -National -Regional -International

UNESCO Field network

Social awareness Education and training development emergency search, rescue recovery

UNESCO and Disaster Reduction • • Earthquakes Tsunamis Landslides Floods Tropical Storms Volcanic Eruptions Droughts and desertification

UNESCO Science and Technology programmes in Disaster Reduction • Natural hazards programme • International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) • lnternational Hydrological Programme (IHP) • Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme • Programmes of UNESCO’s lntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) • Engineering programmes

Tsunami Warning and Mitigation Systems IOC of UNESCO

Hazard Mapping as a Tool for Effective Early Warning + Safe Evacuation Route Early Warning = Understanding of Hazardous Areas Appropriate Risk Awaweness of Local Communities Safe Evacuation

Risk mapping, El Salvador, UNESCO RAP-CA project Floods, landslides “ANALISIS DE RIESGO POR INUNDACIONES Y DESLIZAMIENTOS DE TIERRA EN LA MICROCUENCA DEL ARENAL DE MONTSERRAT, EL SALVADOR”

UNESCO’s response to natural disaster To enhance preparedness and public awareness through education and training UNESCO’s sponsored publications and training activities

UNESCO’s response to natural disaster Education: to accelerate the progress of societies toward disaster resilience

UNESCO’s response to natural disaster To protect educational buildings and cultural heritage Landslides, Machu Pichu, Peru International Programme on Landslides supported by UNESCO

UNESCO’s response to natural disaster To strengthen environmental protection for the prevention of natural disasters Planting a tree, St Vincent in the Grenadines

UNESCO’s response to natural disaster And, when catastrophes do strike, to foster postdisaster investigation, recovery and rehabilitation UNESCO post earthquake mission, Bam, Iran

VOLCANOE HAZARD MITIGATION • Guidelines on techniques for detecting and monitoring the phenomena preceding violent eruptions; • Communication between scientists, civil defense services and the general public; • Volcanic-hazard zonation and volcanic emergency management; • Promotion of the study on an International Mobile Early-Warning System for Volcanic Eruptions (IMEWS)

Worldwide monitoring of volcanoes • There are ≈ 1500 active volcanoes but only 10% are adequately monitored on land space. Approximately 70 institutions contribute to IAVCEIWOVO. • Space monitoring is realized through SAR, SO 2 and thermal with specific projects supported by spatial Agencies (NASA, ESA, JAXA). • GEO and Supersites are improving the worlwide early warning strategies from space and land but are not still well developed for volcanoes.

Main results from the 1984 UNESCO IMEWS Project • Stimulated and constituted an International forum for the debate of how to proceed during the volcanic crises and their management • Needing of international cooperation and assistance between volcanologists and their role in the society to consult the governement representatives on the role of volcanology as a practical science to reduce risks for the eruptions • First attempt to identify high risk volcanoes around the world

Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP/USAID) • Operates since 1986 • International volcano crisis response • Response to 25 worlwide crises in 12 countries, mainly in East Asia and South. Central America • Track changes at volcanoes, developing early warning plans, and monitoring technology and hazard assessment training

World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) • Development and maintaining volcano monitoring reference materials, including a directory of member observatories, their monitoring networks and staff, • Upon request, to help a member observatory to find temporary scientific reinforcement, • Refer governments, international organizations, and others seeking assistance in volcano monitoring to the appropriate member observatories.

WOVOdat • WOVOdat is an international, interdisciplinary, and nonprofit project created for the purpose of storing data on worldwide volcanic unrest and making it freely accessible through the internet. WOVOdat is presently mantained by Earth Observatory of Singapore team. • Data will be made available in an easy-to-use manner for observatories, researchers, decision-makers, and the public, in order to improve volcanic hazard assessment, enhance scientific research and facilitate international / interagency collaboration. • This will enable not only an improvement of hazard, risk, and vulnerability analysis, but also an improvement in the forecasting and mitigation of volcanic disasters. 




Operation and management of a future IMEWS project • Coordination with existing structures and organizations: WOVO-IAVCEI, WOVOdat. EOS, VDAP and other projects at national or international level (i. e. GEO-Supersites) • Creation of an International Advisory Panel • Creation of a web site dedicated on volcano hazards

Future IMEWS • Education and training of volcanic risks is the most important item to be considered for future IMEWS • The original idea of havig Mobile Team(s), initially managed by national institutions, with strict relationship with UNESCO headquartiers should be different at present time for technical reasons and for the large financial efforts required. • Of course some already existiting mobile teams such as VDAP should maintain close relationship with UNESCO. • The suggestion is that an International Advisory panel, composed by UNESCO officials, experts in volcanology and WOVO members should be formed. • This panel can also formulate, in case of crisis, with the help of statistical procedures (BET, ANN) an efficient answer for prompt decisions to government agencies about the risk involved in case of unrest episodes at worldwide volcanoes.