EMI organized a panel session entitled "Coping with Disasters in Megacities and Complex Urban Areas" at the 7th IIASA/DPRI Forum on Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) in Stresa, Italy on 19-21 September 2007. This year's IDRiM forum has the theme "Coping with Disasters: Challenges for the 21st Century and Beyond."
The panel session aimed to discuss various initiatives in disaster risk reduction at the city level, as well as exchange experiences on the use of technological tools for urban DRR. Mr. Kristoffer Berse of EMI presented their major programs for megacities particularly the 3cd Program in Metro Manila and Kathmandu Valley; while Mr. Aloysius Rego of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) discussed disaster preparedness and mitigation in urban secondary cities in Asia. The other presenters were Dr. Omar Cardona (UNC-Manizales) who elaborated on the methodology and application of the Urban Seismic Risk Index (USRi), a component of the megacity indicators system (MEGA-Index) being promoted by EMI; and Dr. Nathalie Stephenne (JRC) who presented their findings on using VHR satellite imagery for disaster risk assessment of built-up areas.
Dr. Aniello Amendola of IIASA moderated the whole session, with Prof. Toshio Fujimi of Kumamoto University as rapporteur. In the moderated discussion, among the points raised were as follows:
1. Enhancement of grassroots involvement to drum up support and create demand for urban DRR;
2. Availability and affordability of satellite data for risk assessment and capacity building;
3. Need for evidence-based DRR, especially in megacity and urban context; and
4. Need for a holistic land use planning policy which takes into account both natural and technological hazards.
The official session summary and forum proceedings will be uploaded on the Forum's website soon.
