BEIJING— Bill Nicol, independent management strategist and former senior adviser to the Indonesian Government’s 2004 tsunami reconstruction efforts, will give a keynote speech at the Integrated Research and Disaster Risk (IRDR) Conference 2014 in Beijing, China from June 7-9, 2014. Nicol will present on “The Politics of Disaster Recovery”.

Nicol oversaw the recovery of Aceh following the 2004 tsunami as Senior Adviser to the Indonesian Government. His contributions included writing the overarching recovery strategy, designing key elements of the coordinating architecture, and supporting the Indonesian Government in managing its international relationships. He is author of Tsunami Chronicles: Adventures in Disaster Management (2013), a six-volume study of Aceh’s recovery and subsequent lessons. His earlier books include an investigation of the man-made humanitarian disaster that followed East Timor’s rushed decolonisation Timor: The Stillborn Nation (1978), which was later updated and republished as Timor: A Nation Reborn (2002); and an exposé of scientific fraud and mismanagement, McBride: Behind the Myth (1989).

The IRDR Conference 2014 will place emphasis on the importance of science as a tool to address hazard risks and issues of resiliency. The sessions will address the range of environmental hazards, vulnerability, and sustainability, in both global and local contexts.  To learn more about the 2014 IRDR Conference and register, visit our website at http://www.irdrinternational.org/conference-2014/.

The IRDR Conference 2014 is being organized by IRDR International Programme Office and China Association for Science and Technology.

For media credentials, please contact Charina Cabrido at charina.cabrido@irdrinternational.org.