2nd International experts' symposium on multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS–II)
Background
Early warning systems have received significant international attention over the past few years, including (i) three International Early Warning Conferences hosted by Germany (1998, 2003, 2006)1, (ii) recognition of early warning systems as an integral part of disaster risk reduction within the G8 Summit (2005) and UN General Assembly Resolutions, (iii) Report of the Global Survey of Early Warning Systems (2006)2, (iv) First Experts’ Symposium (May 2006) on Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS-I), convened by WMO and co-sponsored by six international agencies. Second International Conference on Early Warnings specified the four operational components of early warning systems, including:
- Observation, detection, monitoring, analysis, forecasting and development of hazard warning messages;
- Assessing potential risks and integrating risk information into warning messages ;
- Dissemination of timely and reliable and understandable warning messages to authorities and public at-risk ;
- Community-based emergency planning, preparedness and training programmes focused on eliciting an effective response to warnings to reduce potential impact on lives and livelihoods.
Based on these components, MHEWS-I identified criteria for “good practices” in early warning systems (EWS), further discussed major gaps within these components, as revealed by the Global Early Warning Survey, and identified a number of such good practices in early warning systems.
MHEWS-I further stressed that:
- Development and sustainability of EWS would require political commitment and dedicated investments;
- EWS should be an integral part of national and local disaster risk management plans and budgets;
- Enforceable legislation must define explicitly roles and responsibilities of various authorities and agencies ;
- Implementation of EWS requires clear concept of operations and standard operating procedures enabling effective coordination among agencies across the components of EWS, at national and local levels ;
- Systematic feedback and evaluation at all levels are needed, to ensure improvements of the system over time.
Following the MHEWS-I, WMO Congress (XV) and Executive Councils (LVIII, LX) requested that WMO in collaboration with other key partners initiate EWS projects, particularly demonstrating National Meteorological and Hydrological Services’ (NMHS) institutional cooperation and coordination with disaster risk management agencies and other stakeholders. Furthermore, these projects should determine whether economies and synergies could be achieved through a multi-hazard approach. In this regard,
# WMO in collaboration with the NMHS and their national partner ministries and agencies has initiated multi-hazard EWS projects in China (Shanghai) and France. In addition, WMO is facilitating the documentation of the Tropical Cyclone Warning System in Cuba and Bangladesh, with specific focus on the role of NMHS in EWS including, their operational coordination and cooperation with other technical and disaster risk management agencies at national to local levels.
# WMO is working with ISDR System partners4 to facilitate national early warning system projects aimed at strengthening operational coordination and cooperation of the NMHS, with their national partners such as disaster risk management agencies and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (RCRC) for meteorological, hydrological and climate-related hazards. These projects would address requirements of disaster risk management agencies for warnings and information, development of standard concept of operations and a feedback mechanism for improving the coordination and operations among the NMHS and their stakeholders. First set of such pilots are being initiated in Central America.
The ability to scale up these capacities would require effective sharing of experiences and lessons learned and provision of guidelines to support capacity development through training and development projects overtime.
In this regard, WMO is convening the “Second Experts’ Symposium on Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems with focus on the Role of National Hydrometeorological Services (MHEWS-II),” to be hosted by Météo-France, in Toulouse, France on May 5-7, 2008.
Goals and expected outcomes of the 2nd symposium
MHEWS-II will bring together experts from NMHSs, disaster risk management authorities, RCRCs and other international and regional agencies, with the goals to:
- Review and synthesize lessons learned from documented “good practices” in EWS, focusing on specific roles of NMHS and how they can best support disaster risk management agencies and other stakeholders within the EWS operational framework at national to local levels;
- Review and provide expert input into the draft guidelines on the “Role of NMHS in Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems with Focus on the Governance, Institutional Coordination and Cooperation,” which would be developed based on the synthesis of good practices in - Provide recommendations to improve coordination and collaboration among agencies responsible for different aspects of early warning systems (national to local levels) for hydro-meteorological and climate-related hazards.
Expected outcomes include:
- Detailed documentation of four “good practices” including, (i) Shanghai Multi-Hazard Emergency Preparedness Programme; (ii) France “Vigilance” System; (iii) Cuba tropical cyclone early warning system; and (iv) Bangladesh Cyclone Preparedness Programme, particularly focusing on the role played by their NMHS in supporting various EWS stakeholders and components ;
- First Guidelines on the “Role of NMHS in Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems with Focus on Institutional Coordination and Cooperation”;
- Recommendations on concrete initiatives that can be undertaken by WMO and its international and regional partners to improve coordination and collaboration among NMHS and other agencies (national to local levels) to improve early warning systems for hydro-meteorological and climate-related hazards.