Enhancing Education and Training for Disaster Prevention & Mitigation at SYMET-X Symposium

1. Education and Training Activities in Support to DPM ProgrammeI. K. Al-AtwiChief, Training Activities DivisionEducation and Training Department-WMODISASTER PREVENTION & MITIGATION COORDINATION MEETING OF WMO PROGRAMMES AND CONSTITUENT BODIESFIRST SESSION GENEVA, 4 – 6 DECEMBER 2006

2. ETR Activities in Support to DPM Programmea- Recent activitiesb- Current activitiesc- Future activities

3. Recent activitiesTenth WMO Symposium on Education and Training (SYMET-X), held from 18 to 22 September 2006 in Nanjing, China The theme of the Symposium Meteorological and hydrological education and training for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

4. Topic 1: Preparedness – Prevention and Early Warning:(15 Plenary sessions)·The “climatology” of climate change; statistics of extreme events ·Use and interpretation of ensemble prediction systems ·Infrastructures for early warnings (e.g. hurricane forecast, drought monitoring) ·Cost, loss and risk -based decision-making using probabilistic forecasts; SYMET-X Main Topics

5. Topic 2: Mitigation – Emergency, Relief and Rehabilitation: (11 plenary sessions) • Meteorological and hydrological products for emergency measures • Use of satellite data and imagery to identify and monitor disasters • Reduction of the impact of disaster occurrences • Outreach activities in meteorology and hydrology

6. Topic 3: Interdisciplinary training (15 Plenary sessions) • Meteorology for non-meteorologists • Hydrology and flood forecasting for non-hydrologists • Popular and school education in meteorology and hydrology • Public awareness raising education for disaster risk reduction

7. SYMET-X Overview140 Training Experts from 54 countries 41 Plenary presentations and29 Poster presentations

8. Noted Facts;1- Most natural disasters are meteorological or hydrological in origin and are increasing in intensity and frequency2- NMHSs have key role in DPM3- There is a gap in training and education relating to the disaster prevention and mitigation

9. Recommendations:1.Encourage meteorological / hydrological education and training for targeted user groups, including public, media, schools, emergency responders and others, through:a)Engaging other WMO and UN groups and making use of the potential of partnershipsb)Sharing of existing resources including those relating to meteorology/hydrology and natural disasters;

10. 2.Promote:a)The development of training on the use of ensemble forecasts for meteorologists and hydrologists, with special emphasis on the support for risk assessment by decision- makers; b)The use of probabilistic forecasts by agriculture groups, emergency managers, health authorities, aviation operators and regulators, and other economic sectors;

11. 3.Further enhance the capacities of the WMO Regional Training Centres and training units of NMHSs through:a)Special training modules on disaster prevention and mitigation;b)The development of guidance for short courses on risk assessment of natural disastersc)Emphasis on training on the use of remote- sensed datad)Addressing the need for NMHSs to train in areas such as management and communicatione)The use of computer-aided distance learning (CADL) for large and geographically dispersed groups including real-time weather discussion

12. Current activitiesa) Introduction of the DPM as a standing topic (One day training ) in ETR’s Regional Seminars for the Training of Trainersb) Developing a plan for the implementation of SYMEX-X recommendationsc) Promotion of Distance Learning and improving communications with Technical and Scientific Departments, WMO-RTCs and others.

13. Future activitiesa) Endorsement of the Symposium Recommendations by the EC-Panel of Experts on Education and Training and the Executive Council during the forthcoming meetingsb) Production of a new Supplement for WMO-No-258 on DPMc) Compile and Develop as needed, public education and outreach materials for Schools, Disaster Risk Managers, Authorities and also for Ministers.

14. Thank you