Disaster Management Conference in the Southern Cape

Call it coincidence or fate - but the Disaster Management Conference, taking place at the Hartenbos resort in the Eden District from 13-14 September 2006, is in the heart of an area that suffered severe damage due to extensive flooding and mudslides in the past month.

The theme of this conference is "Disaster Risk Reduction 2006" which illustrates the commitment of the Disaster Management profession to reduce the risk of disasters and the impact of disasters on communities and society.

At the 2005 world conference on disaster reduction held in Kobe, Japan, the following goals were set and became known as the Hyogo Framework for Action:

• Integration of disaster risk reduction into sustainable policies and planning
• Development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms and capacities to build resilience to hazards; and
• The systematic incorporation of risk reduction approaches into the implementation of emergency preparedness, response and recovery.

Through the conference, the Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa aims to contribute towards the fulfilment of the goals of the Hyogo Framework, as well as contribute towards a safer Southern Africa.

Disasters remain a frequent, much publicised phenomenon. Over the past 18 months the devastating Tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed approximately 300 000 people, and the destructive hurricanes on the East Coast of the USA, such as hurricane Katrina, remains vividly in our minds. More recently another Tsunami has struck Java's Southern Coast killing more than 500 people. Extensive veld and forest fires raged across Europe and Australia, reminding us that the future of our planet will be dominated by the effects of global warming.

In February this year South Africa experienced floods in the North-West, and more recently flooding events in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape resulted in major infrastructure damage. Preliminary assessments in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces indicate damage exceeding R500 million. The Southern Cape's Eden District Municipality requested the National Disaster Management Centre to classify this district as a local disaster area.

Southern Africa has suffered disasters and hazard impacts as diverse as flooding, drought and food security crises and earthquakes in the past year. The sub-continent is also faced with the silent, creeping impact of communicable diseases such as HIV/Aids and TB.

In South Africa, the effective implementation of the new Disaster Management Act provides for the necessary structures, mechanisms and systems to effectively deal with disasters, prevent and mitigate the effects of disasters, as well as to prepare for and recover from disasters. The Act became operational on 1 April 2004 for National and Provincial Government and 1 July 2004 for municipalities. The 2-year implementation period that followed the proclamation date, has now lapsed, placing a considerable responsibility on all three spheres of government to address the requirements of the Act.

Disaster Management professionals agree that they are able to respond relatively efficiently to the impact of disasters, but that much must still be done on the prevention side, where long-term development planning must become sensitive to disaster risk and the effect of disasters on critical infrastructure.

Bringing together more than 300 delegates from across Africa, the conference will focus on issues of vulnerability reduction in at-risk communities and households, with an emphasis on disaster prevention and mitigation.

Key speakers include:

• Mr Ken Westgate, United Nations Development Programme, Nairobi, Kenya
  Disaster Risk Reduction as Good Governance: The Experience of the United Nations Development Programme
• Prof Sebastian van As - Red Cross Children's Hospital Trauma Unit
  Children, Disasters and Myths
• Dr Dewald Van Niekerk - ACDS
  A holistic approach towards the integration of Environmental Management, Development Planning and Disaster Risk Management
• Pius Ncube - UFS
  How natural are "natural" disasters? Socio-economic, politics and the environment: The underlying factors for a lasting solution to disaster risk reduction
• Leigh Sonn - DiMP, UCT
  Resilient communities: Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction
• Dr Julius Muchemi - ERMIS Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
  Participatory GIS and 3-dimensional modelling: Applications in community based risk assessment and disaster risk management
• Ms Mandisa Kalako-Williams - NDMC
  A hands-on approach to achieving the National Objective of integrated and coordinated disaster risk management planning and practice.
• Mr Owen Becker - Buffalo City
  Case study: Soccer World Cup 2006, Berlin: A vision for 2010.

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Issued by:
The Disaster Management Institute of Southern Africa

Media queries:
Mr Peter Mokoto (President)
Cell: 083 289 2038
Mr Pat Adams (Deputy President)
Cell: 084 800 0733

Arrange Interviews/Added Information:
Ms Karen Muller
Cell: 083 744 5824