The Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP) is a four year USAID
- supported program designed to respond to the need for safer cities. The
purpose of the program is to establish sustainable public and private sector
mechanisms for hazard mitigation that will measurably lessen loss of life,
reduce the amount of physical and economic damage, and shorten the post-disaster
recovery time in cities-at-risk in Asia; and promote replication and adaptation
of successful mitigation measures within selected countries and throughout
the region.
The ultimate goal of the program is to reduce the natural disaster vulnerability
of urban populations, infrastructure, lifeline facilities, and shelter
in Asia. Detailed country-level goals are described in the AUDMP project
briefing documents.
Working in conjunction with collaborating institutions in each target
country, the program strategy takes a three-pronged approach:
National demonstration projects in each of the selected countries
will serve to provide a working example of urban hazard mitigation. In
a selected city, a hazard or set of hazards will be assessed, resulting
in mitigation recommendations which are then implemented.
The Information dissemination and networking component aims to
help build public and private networks as a forum for exchanging information
and experience on urban disaster management, with the goal of replicating
successful hazard mitigation practices from the demonstration projects
throughout the region.
Policy seminars and training provide an opportunity to further
institutionalize hazard mitigation practices through seminars for national-level
decision makers, as well as by using an in-country and regional "train
the trainers" approach to passing on technical skills via a core curriculum
in hazard assessment and mitigation.
Currently, the AUDMP works in five countries: India, Indonesia, Laos,
the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Preliminary negotiations have taken place
to add a 6th demonstration project in Nepal.
A range of hazard types is addressed in the current set of project activities,
individually and in combination:
- Earthquake
- Landslides
- Industrial hazards and fires
- Flood and cyclone risk
This report focuses on the information and networking component of the
project. It explores the different types of information likely to be needed,
systems required to manage that information, and the actions needed to
make sure that the information and the supporting systems and procedures
are made available where and when they are needed.
