Experts from India and abroad will attend an international workshop and training on disaster risk reduction and world natural heritage sites in Asia and the Pacific region in Dehradun. The international workshop and training will be held from August 24 to 28 at the Unesco Category 2 Centre on World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific Region, Wildlife Institute of India.
According to Unesco C2C on Natural World Heritage Sites for the Asia-Pacific, the revised strategy for risk reduction at world heritage properties as formulated in 2007, the UN-Hyogo Framework For Action- Priority 4 and the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan recognise the role of protected areas as an instrument for ecosystem-based adaptation to disasters and climate change. Natural world heritage sites exemplify this role by adding the dimension of traditional values, ecosystem integrity, and hence contribute immensely to this strategy. There are 59 Natural and 11 mixed World Heritage Sites in the Asia-Pacific. The thematic training and workshop is intended to provide a platform to site managers and multi-disciplinary experts for training and work out on a possible action plan for disaster preparedness through the medium of World Heritage Sites in the Asia-Pacific region. The training for on-site managers will be conducted from August 24 to 26 followed by a two-day workshop and brainstorming session.
The main objectives of the training workshop in Dehradun are to identify and assess natural and man-made disaster risks at World Heritage properties in the Asia-Pacific Region; raise awareness about the need to integrate special concern for natural and mixed World Heritage properties into national disaster reduction policies and develop an action plan for disaster risk reduction in world heritage management plans and to carry out training for managers of natural and mixed World Heritage properties in disaster risk reduction and adaptation strategies.
On the inaugural day of the workshop, National Disaster Management Authority member Kamal Kishore will be the chief guest while the ADG (Wildlife) Vinod Ranjan will be the guest of honour. Margherita Fanchiotti from UNESCO Paris will deliver the keynote address. Technical sessions will focus on defining and identification of disasters in World Natural Heritage sites of the Asia-Pacific, strategies for risk reduction, sharing experiences and best practices, linking ecosystem services, disaster risk reduction and World Heritage from an evaluative perspective and other issues.
This international workshop is expected to result in preparation and launch of a customised training manual, training compendium and protocols for site managers in the Asia-Pacific to deal with disaster risk. Site-specific deliberations and documentation of disaster-risk preparedness shall be brought out as an action plan for disaster risk reduction and World Heritage sites in the region.