Giri Prakash: Candidacy for CODATA Executive Committee

This is the fifth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 15-16 November, 2021. Giri Prakash is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by the USA.

Giri Prakash serves as the Section Head for Earth System Informatics and Data Discovery Section at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. I am responsible for overseeing a data group that manages two WDS member data centers: Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility (ARM) Data Center and ORNL NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for Biogeochemical Dynamics. As the director of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility (ARM) Data Center, I am responsible for the leadership and management of that center. My primary focus is on operational activities and engineering necessary to sustain and advance excellence in the data management field. Specifically, the ARM Data Center Archive currently holds over 3 petabytes of data for 11,000 diverse observational data products. I lead the development and execution of multi-year plans that adapt the next-generation computing architecture to the increasing demands of data volume, rates, complexity, and the challenges of high-resolution modeling.

I have over 19 years of experience in scientific data management, discovery, metadata and data interoperability, FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data principles, data citation, computing-as-a-service, web services, and visualization. 

My latest research interest includes enabling open science by adapting AI/ML capabilities in scientific data center operations. I have been an active participant in CODATA conferences and led many data management sessions.  Most recently, I led a session on making data centers ready for AI during the SciDataCon 2021. In addition, I actively participate in various international data sharing and interoperability working groups, data management workshops, and conferences. Enabling data interoperability using ontologies, standards, and protocols helps research activities to solve complex questions such as Earth System predictability and climate change. By establishing this activity, I expect to contribute to CODATA to extend its visibility to data-intensive cross-domain research activities related to earth sciences.

I have extensive experience in working with multi-national projects such as MOSAIC, polar data integration, and bio-diversity networks across continents. I am currently serving a four-year term on the U.S. National Committee for CODATA(USNC/CODATA). 

I  received a master of science degree in environmental sciences from Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada in 2000 and also hold a diploma in object oriented software technology from the University of Calgary in Canada. In addition, I have a master of science degree in soil science and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, India.

Richard Hartshorn: Candidacy for CODATA Executive Committee

This is the sixth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 15-16 November, 2021.  Richard Hartshorn is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Positions in CODATA:

Member of the CODATA Executive Committee 2018-2021
Executive Committee Liaison to Digital Representation of Units of Measure (DRUM) Task Group 2018-2021

Statement:

Professor Richard Hartshorn, Secretary General of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) will continue to be an excellent member of the CODATA Executive Committee, should he be re-elected. In his role as Secretary General, and through others within IUPAC, he has demonstrated strategic leadership and gained significant experience in governance of an international science-based organization. This experience has been brought to bear as a member of the CODATA Executive Committee, particularly through providing a scientific union perspective to committee deliberations.

As you know, IUPAC has created and maintained a common language for chemistry, for over one hundred years, via the development of standards in nomenclature, terminology, weights, symbols, etc. Such activities involve reaching international consensus among experts from around the world. This requires skills of diplomatic negotiations in situations where a very small staff need to work with a global membership, coping with the limitations of small organizations and yet still maintaining the global impact that satisfies the wider membership. In this context, Professor Hartshorn has been involved in nomenclature activities for many years and led the IUPAC Division of Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation (2010-13). He is also significantly involved in the International Chemical Identifier (InChI) Trust, both at a governance level as a member of the InChI Trust Board, and in InChI-based projects [the InChI is and will be a key tool in making chemical data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR)].  

IUPAC is committed to continued innovation in nomenclature, terminology, other intellectual infrastructure, and particularly to developing tools for the use, global exchange, and archiving of digital chemical data. Professor Hartshorn has taken a strategic role in this area, including initiation and support of work that will lead to development of standards for data repositories, building on the platform of the JCAMP spectral data standard and the InChI. Both JCAMP-DX and InChI are globally-accepted standards currently used in major scientific databases and publications.  We believe that a continuing close working relationship with CODATA will be mutually beneficial as the Missions of both organizations are in alignment – working to support the free exchange of scientific information and facilitating global collaboration for the advancement of scientific discovery. 

IUPAC’s interest in digital data standards accelerated in 2013 when Jeremy Frey, the current IUPAC representative to CODATA, put forth a proposal for the creation of a “Digital IUPAC,” recommending that IUPAC develop standards in collaboration with other scientific organizations and governments for the creation of a consistent global framework for Human and Machine-readable (and “understandable”) chemical information.  This proposal resulted in the creation of the IUPAC Committee on Publications and Cheminformatics Data Standards (CPCDS) whose members have since been involved in collaborative efforts with the Research Data Alliance, the InChI Trust, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Allotrope Foundation, and others, including CODATA. IUPAC members are making a significant contribution to the Digital Representation of Units of Measure (DRUM) Task Group, and Professor Hartshorn, as the Executive Committee Liaison to the DRUM Task Group has been heavily involved in its work, and has essentially become a member.

While IUPAC, through its Divisions and Standing Committees, has other digital data initiatives underway, we listed just a few above to demonstrate our commitment to the development of standards for digital chemical information. Professor Hartshorn is a major force in moving IUPAC forward in this arena. We believe that having an experienced, data-oriented IUPAC Senior Executive serve as a member of the CODATA Executive Committee will reinforce the already strong relationship that exists between our organizations and allow us to collaboratively move forward in building standards for the digital future of science. 

Professor Christopher
IUPAC President Chair

Brett Leah McEwen
IUPAC CPCDS

Professor Jeremy Frey
IUPAC Delegate to CODATA

Disaster Risk Reduction and Open Data Newsletter: November 2021 Edition

Youth set stage for Americans and Caribbean Regional Platform 
Young people from across the Americas and the Caribbean have asked for a greater role in preparing and implementing policies to reduce disaster risk in one of the most hazard-prone regions of the world. The Youth Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction is an opportunity for some of the region’s 106 million young people to share priorities, concerns and make proposals over four hours of presentations, plenary sessions and panels.

Climate risk assessment gaps: seamless integration of weather and climate information for community resilience
Understanding climate and weather impacts is essential for risk assessment and building resilience. In this blog, Bapon Fakhruddin and Jana Sillmann examine how collaborative digital platforms to integrate and share weather and climate information could support risk assessment.

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction with Bapon Fakhruddin
October 13 marked the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction – a UN observed day that highlights the importance of international cooperation to reduce disaster risk and save lives. For Tonkin + Taylor Technical Director – DRR and Natural Hazards, Bapon Fakhruddin, protecting communities vulnerable to disaster became his life’s work. In recognition of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, we asked Bapon to reflect on his journey in DRR, how DRR has interfaced with climate change, and advice to share with the emerging generation of DRR practitioners.

UNDRR-ISC Hazard Definition & Classification Review – Technical Report
The UNDRR/ISC Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review Technical Report supports all other agreements such as the Sendai framework, sustainable development goals-agenda 2030 and the Paris agreement 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”

COP26: Special report on Climate Change and Health
Extreme heat, floods, droughts, wildfires and hurricanes: 2021 has broken many records. Health and equity are central to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and to making COP26 a success. Protecting health requires action well beyond the health sector, in energy, transport, nature, food systems, finance and more. The ten recommendations outlined in this report – and the action points, resources and case studies that support them – provide concrete examples of interventions that, with support, can be scaled up rapidly to safeguard our health and our climate.

How Atma and The Nature Conservancy Joined Forces to Share Resources for the Disaster Risk Reduction Community
The Atma Connect tech team landed a contract to build a robust learning platform to serve this audience, the team leapt into action. Here’s a look at how the tech team quickly created a platform for The Nature Conservancy to support DRR professionals and humanitarian organizations in how to use nature to reduce coastal disaster risk

New report offers concrete steps for risk-informed investment
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) launched a new report this week – Delivering risk-informed investment: addressing the barriers – which offers eight concrete areas where stakeholders can take immediate action to incorporate disaster risk into their investment decisions.

International Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction: Target F
This report highlights low levels of investments in disaster prevention and disaster risk reduction for the world’s most vulnerable countries. The costs benefits of investing in prevention and resilience have been demonstrated time and time again, but for every US$100 of disaster-related Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), only 50 cents are invested in protecting development from the impact of disasters.

USA: Federal Climate Adaptation Plans 
As directed by President Biden’s January 28, 2021, Executive Order 14008, major Federal agencies are required to develop an adaptation and resilience plan to address their most significant climate risks and vulnerabilities. On October 7, 2021, the White House announced the release of more than 20 Federal Agency Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plans

1-12 November – COP26 – Glasgow
COP26 Summit runs from the 31st October till the 12th of November. The aim is to bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris agreement and the UN framework on climate change.

Fifth Arab Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 8 November 2021 – 11 November 2021 Online Rabat Morocco
Hosted by the Government of Morocco, the Fifth Arab Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction will be organised under the theme “From Risk to Resilience: Accelerating Local Action for Disaster Risk Reduction” from 8 to 11 November 2021.

International Data Week 2022, 8-11 Nov 2021, Seoul, South Korea
The International Science Council’s Committee on Data (CODATA) and World Data System (WDS), and the Research Data Alliance (RDA) are delighted to announce that the 2021 edition of International Data Week (IDW 2021) will be held on 8–11 November 2021 in Seoul, South Korea.

Eighth Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 
The Government of the Republic of Kenya will host the Eighth Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Seventh High-Level Meeting on Disaster Risk Reduction from 16-19 November 2021. The Africa Regional Platform will be held under the overarching theme: “Towards disaster, Risk informed Development for a Resilient Africa in a COVID-19 Transformed World.”

World Tsunami Awareness Day 2021: Pacific Webinar
In 2021, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) will position the World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) as an opportunity to advocate for reducing tsunami risk globally in the context of the “Safe Ocean” outcome of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) and the promotion of International Cooperation to Developing Countries, the chosen target for this year’s edition of the Sendai Seven Campaign.

October 2021: Publications in the Data Science Journal


Title: Towards Globally Unique Identification of Physical Samples: Governance and Technical Implementation of the IGSN Global Sample Number
Author: Jens Klump, Kerstin Lehnert, Damian Ulbricht, Anusuriya Devaraju, Kirsten Elger, Dirk Fleischer, Sarah Ramdeen, Lesley Wyborn
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2021-033
Title: Application Profile for Machine-Actionable Data Management Plans
Author: Tomasz Miksa , Paul Walk, Peter Neish, Simon Oblasser, Hollydawn Murray, Tom Renner, Marie-Christine Jacquemot-Perbal, João Cardoso, Trond Kvamme, Maria Praetzellis, Marek Suchánek, Rob Hooft, Benjamin Faure, Hanne Moa, Adil Hasan, Sarah Jones
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/ds,j-2021-032
Title: A Survey of Researchers’ Needs and Priorities for Data Sharing
Author: Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, James Harney, Lauren Cadwallader
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/ds,j-2021-031
Title: Do I-PASS for FAIR? Measuring the FAIR-ness of Research Organizations
Author: J. Ringersma , M. Miedema
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/ds,j-2021-030

September 2021: Publications in the Data Science Journal


Title: Time-Series Trend of Pandemic SARS-CoV-2 Variants Visualized Using Batch-Learning Self-Organizing Map for Oligonucleotide Compositions
Author: Takashi Abe, Ryuki Furukawa, Yuki Iwasaki, Toshimichi Ikemura
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2021-029
Title: Open Access and Data Sharing of Nucleotide Sequence Data
Author: Masanori Arita
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/ds,j-2021-028
Title: Public Health Benefits and Ethical Aspects in the Collection and Open Sharing of Wastewater-Based Epidemic Data on COVID-19
Author: Ryo Honda, Michio Murakami, Akihiko Hata, Masaru Ihara
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/ds,j-2021-027

Disaster Risk Reduction and Open Data Newsletter: October 2021 Edition

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.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Open Data Newsletter: September 2021 Edition

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.

August 2021: Publications in the Data Science Journal


Title: On the Application of Principal Component Analysis to Classification Problems
Author: Jianwei Zheng, Cyril Rakovski
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2021-026
Title: Research Data Management Challenges in Citizen Science Projects and Recommendations for Library Support Services. A Scoping Review and Case Study
Author: Jitka Stilund Hansen, Signe Gadegaard, Karsten Kryger Hansen, Asger Væring Larsen, Søren Møller, Gertrud Stougård Thomsen, Katrine Flindt Holmstrand
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/ds,j-2021-025

July 2021: Publications in the Data Science Journal


Title: SASSCAL WebSAPI: A Web Scraping Application Programming Interface to Support Access to SASSCAL’s Weather Data
Author: Tsaone Swaabow Thapelo, Molaletsa Namoshe, Oduetse Matsebe, Tshiamo Motshegwa, Mary-Jane Morongwa Bopape
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2021-024
Title: Capacity Development and Collaboration for Sustainable African Agriculture: Amplification of Impact Through Hackathons
Author: Karel Charvat, Bente Lilja Bye, Hana Kubickova, Foteini Zampati, Tuula Löytty, Kizito Odhiambo, Kiringai Kamau, Suchith Anand, Paul Kasoma, Maximilien Houël, Elias Cherenet, Akaninyene Obot, Felix Kariuki, Antoine Kantiza, Ronald Ssembajwe, Samuel Njogo, Winnie Kamau
URL: http://doi.org/10.5334/ds,j-2021-023

Disaster Risk Reduction and Open Data Newsletter: August 2021 Edition

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.