Dear reader,

Thank you for being an avid subscriber of the DRR and Open Data Newsletter.

We hope that you have enjoyed the content and found value in the information we’ve shared over the past year.

On behalf of IRDR, Public Health England, CODATA, SDSN and Tonkin + Taylor, we wish you a Happy Holiday season.

See you in 2020!

UNDRR SRSG Mami Mizutori speaks in Auckland
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction and the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, recently spoke on resiliency and sustainable development at Tonkin + Taylor’s Auckland office. Click above for a link to the livestream video.

Fiji: Cyclone Early Warning System for Pacific goes live
An operational system has been developed and implemented for the Fiji Islands to produce and disseminate new early warning information on coastal flooding, which will help save lives and protect property in low-lying, populated coastal areas. For more on the CIFDP click the link above, and to listen to an interview with Bapon Fakhruddin on the development of the system, click here.

Countdown starts for Sendai 2020 deadline
Target (e) of the Sendai Framework’s seven targets, sets a 2020 deadline for developing national and local strategies for disaster risk reduction. The same deadline applies to UN member states finalising National Adaptation Plans under the Paris Agreement on climate.

Data For Now Inception Workshop in Rwanda
SDSN TReNDS recently joined the World Bank, the UN Statistics Division, The Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and representatives from eight very diverse countries (Bangladesh, Columbia, Ghana, Mongolia, Nepal, Paraguay, Rwanda, and Senegal) in Kigali, Rwanda to discuss priority data needs as part of the new Data For Now initiative.

Bangladeshi farmers reap the benefits of new weather forecasts
Customised weather forecasts delivered to smartphones and rural meeting halls are helping farmers in Bangladesh better manage crops in the field as rain becomes more erratic.

Asia and the Pacific set priorities for accelerated disaster risk reduction
In the face of growing disaster losses and risk in the Asia-Pacific region, government disaster risk management agencies, international organizations, and civil society groups met in Brisbane to agree on priorities for accelerating action for reducing the risk of disasters.

NASA Space Data Can Cut Disaster Response Times, Costs
According to a new study, emergency responders could cut costs and save time by using near-real-time satellite data along with other decision-making tools after a flooding disaster.

Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2019
The Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2019 takes stock, highlighting climate action success stories and the need for conditions conducive to stepped-up climate action, while the Climate Action Pathways suggest transformational actions and milestones towards neutrality in key areas, such as energy, industry, transport, human settlements, water, land use, and resilience to the inevitable effects of climate change.

Protecting our world heritage, insuring our sustainable future
The economic and social costs of natural disasters are escalating, and the insurance protection gap is widening. Protecting World Heritage Sites through their core business activities has been unclear to insurers. This guide shows that collaboration is essential and highlights the increasingly important role that the industry needs to play in protecting World Heritage Sites.

Climate Extremes and their Implications for Impact and Risk Assessment
Climate Extremes and Their Implications for Impact and Risk Assessment describes challenges, opportunities and methodologies for the analysis of the impacts of climate extremes across various sectors to support their impact and risk assessment.

UNDRR: Work Programme 2020-2021
The UNDRR Work Programme 2020-2021 outlines the plans to accelerate the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The plans are developed in line with the existing Strategic Framework covering 2016-2021 and focuses on the key results under each Strategic Objective of UNDRR.

Total Warning System for Tropical Cyclones
The IWTC is one of the WMO’s major quadrennial workshop series organised by its World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) and Tropical Cyclone Programme (TCP). The main objectives of these workshops were to examine current knowledge, forecasting and research trends on tropical cyclones from an integrated global perspective, and to report on these aspects while offering recommendations for future forecasting studies and research with special regard to the varying needs of different regions.

EGU General Assembly 2020 –  3-8 May, Vienna, Austria
The EGU General Assembly 2020 will bring together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary and space sciences. The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists, especially early career researchers, can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience.

4th Arab Partnership Meeting for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) – 9-10 December – Cairo, Egypt
The 4th Arab Partnership meeting for Disaster Risk Reduction will be held in Cairo, Egypt. The two-day meeting will focus on updating governments and stakeholders on the progress in DRR in the region and will provide an opportunity for governments and partners to discuss the way forward for the region in implementing the Sendai Framework and achieving target E of the Sendai Framework by 2020.

Regional Assessment Report (RAR) on DRR for Arab States 2nd Editorial Committee Meeting (ECM) – 11 December – Cairo, Egypt
The Regional Assessment Report is an important initiative of the UNDRR – Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) that contributes to the achievement of the Sendai Framework through monitoring risk patterns and trends and progress in disaster risk reduction in the Arab region while discussing various challenges and opportunities for development of Arab countries in DRR. The objective of developing this Regional assessment report is to give an overview on disaster risks in the region based on evidence-based analysis.