UNDP launches new Insurance and Risk Finance Facility
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), a new initiative that aims to build financial resilience and bridge a $1.4 trillion global health, mortality, and disaster protection gap, with support from the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market expected in future.

NASA Test Satellite Provides Insight into Hurricane Ida
In 2022, NASA will launch a constellation of six small satellites (smallsats) to improve our understanding of tropical cyclones and support NASA’s TROPICS mission. But before then, NASA launched the TROPICS pathfinder, a test satellite that aids the TROPICS mission by enabling full testing of the technology, communication systems, data processing, and data flow to application users in advance of the constellation’s launch next year.

Global citizens and scientists on how to achieve a thriving net-zero future
This article is part of the ISC’s new series, Transform21, which will explore the state of knowledge and action, five years on from the Paris Agreement and in a pivotal year for action on sustainable development.

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic – achieving resilience for the next health emergency
A new strategic document was officially presented at the “Lessons learned from COVID-19: getting ready for the next pandemic” event, on 13 September – part of the 71st session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (RC71).

Climate change threatens sustainable development
If the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved by 2030, the risks posed by human-induced climate change must be understood and addressed. The World Meteorological Organization has published a new report on Climate Indicators and Sustainable Development: Demonstrating the Interconnections.

The data side of leaving no one behind
An approach called data landscaping has been developed –  its scope covers the political economy of data within a country; the structures and standards that govern the collection, production and sharing of data; the information systems themselves; and the culture that drives the demand for, and use of data.

Country Hydromet Diagnostics 
Global threats and challenges related to climate change and the impact of extreme weather events are rising, and demand to provide high-quality weather, climate, hydrological, and related environmental information services – referred to as HYDROMET – is rapidly increasing.

Financing the UN Development System: Time to Meet the Moment
In 2020, the global extreme poverty rate rose for the first time in over 20 years, with hundreds of millions of people pushed back into extreme poverty and chronic hunger. Member States and UN entities have a mutual responsibility to demonstrate proactive and transformational leadership in ensuring an adequate multilateral response, while also looking ahead to strengthen global and regional risk reduction..

The Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970–2019)
The Atlas is WMO’s most exhaustive compilation to date of fatalities and economic costs from natural hazards. It provides comprehensive details of recorded disasters and their impacts, both at the global and regional levels.

Creating Resilient Communities With Medium-Range Hazard Warning Systems
Resilience to natural hazards requires integrated risk management – from hazard identification and risk register, hazard warnings and risk communication, to preparation for and response when an event occurs. Medium-range hazard warnings play a vital role in strategic and tactical planning for resilience to natural hazards.

The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor for Early Warning
The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor for Early Warning (CM4EW) is an international and transparent multi-source, consensus assessment of the crop growing conditions, status, and agro-climatic conditions that are likely to impact global production. The CM4EW reports on climate hazards, such as drought, flood, and extreme weather, as well as pests and crop diseases, as part of its monitoring of countries at risk of famine and to provide early warnings of impending crop shortfalls.

Podcast: Data-Knowledge-Action for Urban Systems
The Data-Knowledge-Action for Urban Systems podcast series explores systems used to build intelligent urban systems. The series reflects on the systematic changes required for cities to become adaptive and intelligent for handling urban wellbeing.

Pacific Prepared – How the tragedies of the past can help protect us in the future.
An Advanced Tsunami Hazard Assessment has been recently conducted in Fiji – the assessment and findings from Fiji also present several factors to consider for the entire Pacific. Technical Director – DRR and Climate Resilience Dr Bapon Shm Fakhruddin recently featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio show ‘Pacific Prepared’, sharing his perspective on the assessment and what authorities need to do now to make communities better prepared and protected from the threat of a tsunami.

Auckland Climate Change Festival
The Auckland Climate Festival will converge around five themes – Collective Vision, Systems Change, Individual Action, Just Transitions and lastly, Beyond Tamaki.

United Nations World Data Forum 2021 – 3-6 October 
The ​​UN World Data Forum brings together data and statistical experts and users from governments, civil society, the private sector, donor and philanthropic bodies, international and regional agencies, the geospatial community, the media, academia and professional bodies.

Virtual SciDataCon 2021
CODATA and WDS are pleased to announce that the REGISTRATION IS OPEN for Virtual SciDataCon 2021.

Webinar Series: Modern Technologies for Disaster Management 
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is hosting a series of webinars on these 4IR technologies presenting a chance to learn from and engage with leading experts from around the world as they discuss opportunities and challenges associated with these technologies and their use in disaster management.

Conference on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States: Focus on the Caribbean 
The Conference on Climate Change and Health in Small Island Developing States is an immersion in the science of climate change and health in the Caribbean, identifying knowledge gaps, posing solutions, resource sharing, networking, and empowerment.

2021 CAP Implementation Workshop
The 2021 Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Implementation Workshop will be conducted as an online Webinar. Everyone interested in emergency alerting is welcome: managers, technical staff, media, including those in government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and commercial organisations.

IPCC Report: 10 Innovative ways people around the world are tackling climate change
The IPCC report said global warming of about 1.1 degrees Celsius has brought changes worldwide, from droughts and storms to melting glaciers. But it is not too late to cut climate-heating emissions and keep the temperature rise within internationally agreed goals of “well below” 2C and ideally 1.5C – which would help stop or slow down some of the impacts, the report said.

CCRIF to make US$40 Million Pay out to Haiti Following Devastating August 4 Earthquake.
CCRIF SPC will make a pay out of approximately US$40 million to the Government of Haiti following the devastating magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Haiti on August 14th, 2021, significantly impacting the city of Les Cayes.

Extreme Weather: Malaysia’s Flood Woes To Worsen
While Malaysia appears unaffected by the most extreme weather events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and forest fires, it remains vulnerable to the threat of floods, landslides, haze and water pollutions.

Disaster-mapping drones often neglect deadliest, costliest events and hardest-hit areas
Every year, disasters kill an average of 60,000 people, affect 200 million and cause US$150 billion in damage. To combat these devastating impacts, governments and other stakeholders routinely rely on images captured by satellites and crewed aircraft for crucial tasks such as identifying and monitoring areas most at risk, evacuation routes, damage severity and extent, and recovery progress.

UNDRR announces annual award to celebrate women reducing disaster risk in their communities
The Women’s International Network on Disasters Risk Reduction (WIN DRR) will award two cash prizes to highlight the work of women who are changing the field of disaster risk reduction by using inclusive approaches and demonstrating leadership in a previously male-dominated field.

The role of data and information quality during disaster response decision-making
The current paper addresses these issues by identifying how certain features of data and information quality function, to support specific, naturalistic decision-making processes during disaster response. These functions are used to revise and consolidate extant definitions of data and information quality, for use in the disaster response domain.

Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2021
The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2021 addresses the complexity of converging and cascading risks by analysing natural and biological hazards simultaneously.

Assessing post-disaster recovery using sentiment analysis: The case of L’Aquila, Italy
This article uses sentiment analysis (SA) to assess post-disaster recovery on the 10th anniversary of L’Aquila’s earthquake using Twitter data.

Increasing global resilience to systemic risk: emerging lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic
This report outlines the importance of applying a systemic risk lens to help prevent the escalation and reduce the impact of future pandemics. It also outlines a number of key reforms required within global governance systems to facilitate this change. This includes not only strengthening and integrating health agendas into governance systems but also looking more holistically to address the root causes of zoonoses spillover.

Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems with Dr. Bapon Fakhruddin
Multi-Hazard early warning systems for potential disasters can mean the difference between life and death for local residents. Dr. Bapon Fakhruddin, an expert who has been involved with implementing early warning systems in more than 25 countries, shares his thoughts on reducing disaster risk, adapting to climate change, and keeping communities safe on the Multi-Hazards podcast.

Disaster governance in the Asia-Pacific: future pathways for South and Southeast Asia
This policy report traces developments in disaster governance in South Asia as an area of cooperation for Southeast Asia. South Asia is highly exposed and vulnerable to the impacts of natural hazards. It has been affected by several large-scale disasters over the past two decades, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

2-3 September – 2021 Aotearoa SDG Summit Series
Collaborating, connecting, and working together has never been more important than right now. SDG Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, is our collective way forward. Join us for the next part in the 2020-2021 Aotearoa/New Zealand SDG Summit Series and see how by working together, we can create the world we want, and the world that we need.

6-9 September – 1st International Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals
The 1st International Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals will be held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 8, 2021.

RemTech Europe, 20th-24th September 2021
The aim of the Conference is to share information on knowledge, innovation and case histories, to encourage the development of remediation processes and the application of new and sustainable technologies and bring together experts, problem owners and suppliers of available services and technologies

ISC workshop: Inclusive and accessible science communication 14+15 September 
As part of the continuous workshop series by and for the ISC Science Communications Network, the ISC invites all staff members, office bearers and representatives of organisations that are part of the ISC community to join us for an interactive session to discuss best practices in accessible and inclusive science communication.

Fijian Government: Ministry prepares for 2021-2021 Cyclone Season
The Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management has been diligently preparing its facilities and mobilising its resources for the impending 2021-2022 Cyclone Season. Part of these preparatory works was the total renovation and improvements in the current warehousing assets and processes maintained at the Walu Bay based yard.

WMO: Water-related hazards dominate disasters in the past 50 years
Water-related hazards dominate the list of disasters in terms of both the human and economic toll over the past 50 years, according to a comprehensive analysis by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)..

Oxford researchers develop tool to predict human displacement post-disaster
An open-source software package to estimate displaced populations post-disaster has been developed, with a current focus on earthquakes and cyclones.

Planned retreat from flood-prone Westport and its stoic history
As the New Zealand Prime Minister visits Westport, the town faces the difficult decision of whether to rebuild or withdraw after the recent devastating floods. Government intervention and insurance can help if it chooses a planned retreat.  Tonkin + Taylor Natural Hazards Specialist, Nick Rogers QSO, and Sector Director for Natural Hazards Resilience, Richard Reinen-Hamill reflect on the Westport floods and planned retreat in this article with Newsroom NZ.

Catching fire: AI is helping scarce firefighters better predict blazes
With climate change driving worsening U.S. wildfires, machine learning and statistical models let firefighters map out ahead of time how and where blazes might spread.

GAR Special Report on Drought 2021
The GAR Special Report on Drought 2021 explores the systemic nature of drought and its impacts on the achievement of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the SDGs and human and ecosystems health and wellbeing.

Probabilistic tsunami hazard and exposure assessment for the Pacific Islands – Fiji
This paper presents the results of a tsunami exposure assessment of the population, assets and critical infrastructure vulnerable to tsunami inundation from Tonga-Kermadec and South New Hebrides tsunami sources.

Willingness-to-pay for hazard safety – A case study on the valuation of flood risk reduction in Germany
This paper focuses on the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for public investments in safety measures, in particular for reducing the risk of natural flood hazard. The study uses the method of contingent valuation to collect individual data from a nationwide sample of German households.

UNEP: Becoming #GenerationRestoration: ecosystem restoration for people, nature and climate
This report makes the case for why nature-based solutions, such as environmental restoration in particular, is so important and outlines how the UN Decade can catalyse a movement to restore the world’s ecosystems.

UNEP – A practical guide to climate-resilient buildings & communities
This practical guide demonstrates how buildings and community spaces can be constructed to increase their resilience to climate change, especially in developing countries where structures are largely self-built. The publication provides an overview of the fundamental types of interventions at the building scale, including the use of nature-based solutions.

Asian Development Bank: Creating liveable Asian cities
This book makes the case for five priorities to create liveable and resilient cities and realize a sustainable urban future in Asia: Smart and inclusive planning; sustainable transport; sustainable energy; sustainable finance; and resilience and rejuvenation.

23-27 August – World Water Week
World Water Week is the leading conference on global water issues and in 2021 it will be held as a digital event 23-27 August. The Week attracts participants from more than 130 countries and with many different professional backgrounds. It offers an unusual mix of participants and perspectives, with sessions on a broad array of water-related topics, ranging from food security and health, to agriculture, technology, biodiversity, and the climate crisis.

2-3 September – 2021 Aotearoa SDG Summit Series
Collaborating, connecting, and working together has never been more important than right now. SDG Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, is our collective way forward. Join us for the next part in the 2020-2021 Aotearoa/New Zealand SDG Summit Series and see how by working together, we can create the world we want, and the world that we need.

6-9 September – 1st International Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals
The 1st International Forum on Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals will be held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China, from September 6 to 8, 2021.

1 September – Space Health and Disaster Risk Reduction symposium
This symposium is an exploration of the interrelations between space health, disaster risk reduction and other related topics. The aim is to establish a consensus on the provision of healthcare by an interdisciplinary healthcare practitioner during a deep space mission to another planetary body, and how this practice can inform remote health systems on Earth.

August 6 – CONVERGE Collecting and Sharing Perishable Data Training Module: A Demonstration Webinar
This webinar will provide a demonstration of the recently released CONVERGE Collecting and Sharing Perishable Data Training Module. This module provides an overview of what perishable data is, how to ethically collect it, and why such data is vital for advancing hazards and disaster research.

New NASA Earth System Observatory to Help Address, Mitigate Climate Change
NASA will design a new set of Earth-focused missions to provide key information to guide efforts related to climate change, disaster mitigation, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes. With the Earth System Observatory, each satellite will be uniquely designed to complement the others, working in tandem to create a 3D, holistic view of Earth, from bedrock to atmosphere.

Early warning initiative advances in a pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated impacts of extreme weather and climate change in vulnerable countries but also highlighted the need to build resilience against a multitude of hazards through better early warnings and risk information. This is one of the key messages of the 2020 Annual Report of the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative (CREWS), a unique climate action programme that helps saves lives, livelihoods and assets in the world’s most vulnerable countries.

WMO: New climate predictions increase likelihood of temporarily reaching 1.5 °C in next 5 years
There is about a 40% chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level in at least one of the next five years – and these odds are increasing with time, according to a new climate update issued by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

New international expert panel to address the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases
A new One Health High-Level Expert Panel to improve understanding of how diseases with the potential to trigger pandemics, emerge and spread has been launched. The panel will advise four international organisations – the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO); the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE); the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

WMO joins Emergency Alerting Call to Action
The WMO has joined with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to issue a joint Call to Action to improve the availability and use of standardised emergency alerts.

The World Bank – Applying a gender lens to climate actions: why it matters
This brief explores the gender-specific effects of climate change and how inequality can exacerbate the impacts of climate-induced disasters. Gender inequalities, fueled by societal norms and defined gender roles, affect not only women’s exposure to hazards, but also limit their resilience and adaptive capabilities. Therefore, governments are urged to examine the impacts of climate change through a gender lens to address key barriers to gender-responsive climate actions, and increase the roles that women play in decision-making to close such vulnerability gaps.

British Ecological Society: Nature-based solutions for climate change in the UK
The main focus of this report is the joint role of nature-based solutions (NbS) for addressing the climate and biodiversity crises currently facing the UK. Nature-based solutions address societal problems in ways that benefit both people and nature.

WHO: Review of health in National Adaptation Plans
As part of the response to the threats posed by climate change across all sectors, the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process was established to build resilience to climate change across economies, societies and ecosystems over the medium and longer term.

The World Bank: Climate Change Institutional Assessment
The Climate Change Institutional Assessment (CCIA) identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the institutional framework for addressing these climate change governance challenges. The audience for the assessment is officials of centre-of-government agencies responsible for policy, planning, and finance, agencies with leading roles in climate change policy, and inter-ministerial climate change bodies.

Responsible artificial intelligence for disaster risk management: working group summary
This document is intended to help practitioners and project managers working in disaster risk ensure that the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) in particular, is done in a manner that is both effective and responsible. The content of this report was produced as part of a 6-month interdisciplinary collaboration between experts from intergovernmental organizations, non-profits, academia, and the private sector.

Parallel Session: Geospatial data for climate resilience and disaster risk reduction – June 22
Join this parallel session on Geospatial data for climate resilience and disaster risk reduction in the GEO Virtual Symposium 2021. We will discuss good practice, lessons learned on EO data and solutions for risk assessment, damage mapping and the development of plans.

UNECE: First Expert Forum for Producers and Users of Disaster-related Statistics – June 7-10
The importance of setting up mechanisms to ensure collaboration and coordination of work on disaster-related statistics across disciplines and organizations has been recognized on national and international level, including the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) and the Conference of European Statisticians (CES). The first Expert Forum for Producers and Users of Disaster-related Statistics will take place as an online meeting on 7, 8 and 10 June 2021

The Integrated Research on Disaster Risk 2021 International Conference – June 8-10
The overall purpose of the 2021 Conference is to reach a renewed consensus on the mission of STEI and put forward a novel proposal on the Global Research Agenda for disaster risk reduction and risk-informed development toward 2030 and beyond.

UN Food Systems Summit: Science Days – July 8-9
Recognising the pivotal role of science, technology and innovation for food systems transformation, the Science Days, organized by the Scientific Group of the UN Food Systems Summit and facilitated and hosted by FAO, offer an important opportunity to support the agenda setting process with scientific evidence and perspectives.

Data for Policy Conference 2021 – Sept 14-16
The sixth International Data for Policy Conference will take place in London on September 14-16, 2021. The Data for Policy conference series is the premier global forum for multiple disciplinary and cross-sector discussions around the theories, applications and implications of data science innovation in governance and the public sector.