UNDRR Sendai Hazards Report Launched
“We believe the report, which classifies over 300 types of hazard across the extended range of risk identified in the Sendai Framework, namely natural and man-made hazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks, will be an important stepping stone for the international community to achieve sustainable development within the increasingly complex, interconnected and systemic risk landscape”, says head of UNDRR Mami Mizutori.

An update from Mami Mizutori, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction — 30 July 2020
Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, shares an update on response, recovery, prevention, partnering and sharing, and advocacy.

UNDRR: Haiti approves a new Risk and Disaster Management Plan
In an important step towards creating a more resilient region and better prepared to face disasters, the Government of the Republic of Haiti approved the National Risk and Disaster Management Plan 2019-2030, a result of an inclusive, multisectoral and participative process.

New Zealand’s White Island is likely to erupt violently again, but a new alert system could give hours of warning and save lives
Tourists visiting Whakaari/White Island on December 9 last year had no warning of its imminent violent eruption. The tragedy prompted the development of an early alert system from David Dempsey and Shane Cronin from the University of Auckland. Their research shows patterns of seismic activity before an eruption that make advance warning possible.

New Open Access Timely Data Portal Launched
In partnership with Esri and National Geographic Society, SDGs Today: The Global Hub for Real-Time SDG Data, is a new data platform developed by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). This one-of-a-kind open access data platform aims to provide a snapshot of the state of sustainable development around the world right now, while enabling users to access and engage with timely data on sustainable development, obtain GIS training and resources, and learn how to use the data effectively to drive action on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its set of 17 SDGs. All datasets were curated and validated by SDSN’s Thematic Research Network on Data and Statistics (TReNDS).

UNDRR: Hazard definition and classification review
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (‘the Sendai Framework’) was one of three landmark agreements adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The other two being the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The UNDRR/ISC Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review Technical Report supports all three by providing a common set of hazard definitions for monitoring and reviewing implementation which calls for “a data revolution, rigorous accountability mechanisms and renewed global partnerships”.

International Science Council Hazard Definition & Classification Review: Technical Review
Supported by the Integrated Research for Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme of the ISC, a dedicated technical working group which brought together scientists, technical UN agencies and other experts from the private sector and civil society developed a detailed report including six targeted recommendations.

First national climate change risk assessment for New Zealand
New Zealand’s first national climate change risk assessment has identified 10 significant areas that need to be urgently addressed in the next six years to reduce their impacts. The risk assessment is an overview of how New Zealand may be affected by climate change-related hazards, and will be used to develop a national adaptation plan over the next two years.

ISC Webinar: Launch of a new scientific report on hazards definition
The UNDRR-ISC Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review Technical Report was officially launched online on 29 July 2020. This webinar launched and presented the detailed report, including six targeted recommendations.

Using Mobile Data For Health Monitoring: A Case Study of Data Sharing
A new case study from SDSN TReNDS documents a data collaboration between the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Vodafone Ghana, and Flowminder. The collaboration enabled the GSS to access insights from mobile phone data to plan public health and sustainable development policies, and it is a useful example of how a government and a private company were able to work with an intermediary partner to gain insights from sensitive data. The mobile data being used by the GSS as a result of the collaboration has proven especially valuable during the current COVID-19 pandemic to document the impact of restriction measures in Ghana.

United Nations comprehensive response to COVID-19: Saving lives, protecting societies, recovering better​
The overview recounts the UN’s key guidance, lessons and support so far – and points the way to the crucial steps that must follow to save lives, protect societies and recover better. It amounts to a recipe for a comprehensive response to and recovery from COVID-19 that will leave no one behind and address the very fragilities and gaps that made us so vulnerable to the pandemic in the first place.

Webinar – 11 Aug: Create resilient communities with medium-range hazard warning systems
Early warning systems are a major component in disaster risk reduction. Despite forecasting system advances, hydro-meteorological and geo-hazards continue to claim thousands of lives, while wreaking irreparable damage upon homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. Key issues to be discussed include policy + political issues, ensemble-based guidance and decision-making.

Webinar – 04-06 Aug – Climatological, Meteorological and Environmental factors in the COVID-19 pandemic
This international virtual symposium will help elucidate what is known, understood, and can be reliably predicted about environmental variables’ influence on the trajectory of the COVID-19 epidemic, from global, hemispheric, regional and local perspectives. Symposium outcomes will include a synthesis of the information presented and recommendations for further research at local to global scales.

Call for contributing papers: The UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2022
The UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) is the flagship report of the United Nations on worldwide efforts to reduce disaster risk. The GAR main report is published every three years by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and is the product of the contributions by nations and public and private science and research partners, amongst others.

International Symposium “Global Collaboration on Data beyond Disciplines”, 23-25 Sept 2020; Presentation submission deadline: August 15​
The goal of this symposium is to build consensus on various aspects of research data management by all stakeholders in alignment with Open Research policies and initiatives. It will explore new paths for activities significant in promoting interdisciplinary and collaborative research and data reuse under different scientific disciplines based on evidence and feedback from data communities.

CODATA Webinar – 13 Aug: Thinking Reproducibility in Your Research Work
In this session, participants will be introduced to the landscape of reproducibility in scientific research and the main tools required for the implementation of reproducibility in their own research work. The session will present some case studies to highlight the issues being discussed.

28-30 Sept: 2020 Annual CAP Implementation Workshop
CAP Implementation Workshops focus on emergency alerting as enabled by the CAP standard, ITU-T Recommendation X.1303. At the Workshops, implementers of CAP and other associated organisations discuss common issues and how best to leverage the expanding adoption of CAP. At this 2020 Workshop, 21 presentations will address a wide range of topics, presented by experts from around the world.