The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies thanks the committee for the opportunity to address the issue of sustainable development including as it applies to Small Island Developing States, with an emphasis on disaster reduction and climate change.
The IFRC is an active participant in the ISDR, such as the Mauritius Strategy and various other bodies, examining and implementing programmes around these issues.
On Sustainable Development.
Through our over 180 Red Cross/Red Crescent member national societies, in coordination with governments and the UN, the IFRC has initiated a number of projects and programs that are contributing to the MDG goals on sustainable development and risk reduction, specifically at the community level.
The scale of the Indian Ocean Tsunami challenged all who responded. Equally the unprecedented generosity of so many will allow us the rare opportunity of doing more than just meeting immediate survival needs.
All too often funding needs are not met resulting in less than complete humanitarian programs and a lost opportunity to build community resilience. In this case we can help restore shattered lives and more sustainable livelihoods. We can rebuild community infrastructures and maintain programming for longer than we have been able to do in many other disasters.
Health promotion is just one of the means to reduce risk and vulnerability. Within the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit Sustainable Development, our programs in health awareness, primary health care, water and sanitation and hygiene education contribute to improving the health of vulnerable communities around the world.
Wherever funding permits, RC/RC national societies provide sustainable long-term financial resources, technical assistance and knowledge at the community level.
The "Women's Empowerment Program" implemented by the Ghanaian RC's Mothers Club's rapidly resulted in a drastic reduction in the occurrence of measles and other diseases. 360 such clubs now strengthen communities throughout Ghana, providing women's leadership training, prevention of communicable disease prevention, community family planning, environmental health and income generation.
On Small Island Developing States.
SIDS are among the most vulnerable to natural disasters, climate and environmental risks and requires special attention. RC/RC societies on these island nations can positively support national development with plans that are well-anchored in disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
This year the IFRC participated with governments and NGOs of 14 Pacific countries and the UN in the 12th Pacific Regional Disaster Management Meeting coordinated by SOPAC (South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission) in Papua New Guinea.
The meetings have given impetus to further develop our programs in the Pacific and in strengthening national disaster management plans and legislation. RC/RC societies of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Caribbean often take a lead role, even national responsibility, for disaster management training and communication, pre-positioning of containerised disaster relief stocks, community awareness and early warning.
In the Caribbean and Central America the IFRC annually hosts a hurricane contingency planning workshop with donors, governments, the UN, EU and NGO well before the hurricane season began.
In 2005 from Hurricanes Adrian, Katrina, and Wilma to Beta, the IFRC was able to play an important role supporting governments with disaster response teams and pre-positioned resources throughout the region.
On International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISRD)
As a member of the ISDR we view risk/vulnerability reduction not as a cost, but as an investment - it pays back. Disasters are not only a humanitarian but also a development concern and the vital task of saving lives must start earlier.
The international debate and action to develop early warning systems in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami is welcome, as it increases public awareness of the importance of disaster preparedness. Even so, to focus only on satellite technology and telecommunications could overshadow the key to successful disaster preparedness - the people living in high risk areas themselves.
Consider for a moment the earthquake in Bam, the Mozambique floods, the Guatemala landslides and so many others. Images of people in the affected communities themselves undertaking the very first response and providing emergency relief to others. Early warning support requires a combination of 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' approaches.
While often overshadowed, community involvement from the bottom up is essential in order to identify needs, patterns of vulnerability and to ensure that warnings are in fact acted upon. Information and directives relating to a specific risk need to flow down from regional and global monitoring systems to civil society networks.
Warning systems cannot be fully effective unless supported by joint messaging by trusted partners including government, scientific, academic and aid agencies.
RC/RC staff/volunteers are invaluable participants in awareness raising, training, risk assessments, contingency planning, and are capable of receiving and disseminating warnings and supporting communities to react to those messages.
Our contribution to ISDR is through increased preparedness, response activities, small-scale mitigation, education, advocacy and partnerships.
These must be linked to development plans and take the form of emergency and post emergency relief, tracing and re-establishing family links, health, livelihoods and reconstruction.
They are gender sensitive and mindful of any impact they may have on local conditions, tensions and conflicts.
On Climate Change.
IFRC remains profundly concerned about global climate change and the prospect of an increasing number of climate-related disasters that yet again impact most heavily on the poor.
Pilot activities have been initiated in several national societies, with assistance from the Netherlands Red Cross hosted by the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Centre on Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change.
These have demonstrated how local activities can make a concrete and practical contribution to climate risk reduction, for example through better awareness, preparation of evacuation plans, or local water management solutions.
Facing increasing numbers of natural hazards, we believe that a specific e-strategy on disasters has merit. We are calling it e-preparedness.
The IFRC hopes that Member States taking part in the World Summit on the Information Society, in Tunis in mid-November will commit to both Information & Communication Technology capacity and human resource building as means for disaster management.
In Summary
The IFRC fully supports the outcomes and the international commitment to such efforts, as agreed in the Hyogo Framework of Action and reflected in several decisions of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
We would call for all states to engage in partnerships with their Red Cross/Red Crescent societies in addressing the issues we are debating today. in the most critical emergency situations.