In our periodical newsletter, we continue our focus on providing our national and international partners and colleagues with up-to-date information on the progress of our activities at ICHARM. (Click here for back numbers of UNESCO-PWRI newsletters)

The flags of Japan, the United
Nations and PWRI flying high in
front of the PWRI main building --What's in this issue--

1. Message from Dr. Takeuchi, Director of ICHARM
2. Activities of ICHARM
3. Signing ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters
4. ICHARM opening ceremony
5. Latest activities
(International Workshop on Flood Risk Management)
6. Organization of ICHARM and new contact numbers

Unveiling ceremony at the front entrance of the ICHARM building

1. Message from Dr.Takeuchi, Director of ICHARM

It has been three years since ICHARM was proposed by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura in agreement with the Japanese government on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference of the Third World Water Forum. I t is my great pleasure to announce the official launch of ICHARM today (March 6, 2006). I would like to express deep appreciation to those who made so much effort to establish the centre; especially, to those from UNESCO, the Japanese Ministries of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, of Foreign Affairs, and of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. I have been appointed as the founding Director of ICHARM, and I feel quite honored to be given such a responsible and challenging position. I assure that all ICHARM staff, myself included, will make every possible effort to achieve the goal of the centre, and I would like to ask all parties concerned to support us in doing so.

The idea of ICHARM originated from the worldwide necessity for taking measures against water-related disasters, which have been characterized by increasing severity in recent years. Natural disasters, such as flood, storm surge, landslide as well as drought, cause serious social problems and impede economic development in many countries. Following the efforts being made by United Nations, such as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), the preparation of the International Flood Initiative (IFI) was started by UNESCO and WMO in 2002. (At the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in 2005, IFI was formally established by UNESCO, WMO and the United Nations University.) Under such circumstances, preparatory activities of ICHARM progressed while the world showed a high expectation of the center's future contributions in the field. ICHARM, as a UNESCO category 2 centre, is the world's only institute which targets water-related disasters.

I believe that ICHARM's goal is to address the very core of individual disasters and present the best practicable solutions based on the situations of local communities. To implement activities based on localism such as this, a solid alliance is essential as well as cooperation from various organizations throughout the world. ICHARM alone may not be able to contribute much to the world. I am sure, however, that ICHARM can make a great contribution by carrying out activities that nurture synergy among each other, and by building a network of experts and organizations around the world.

We are planning to hold the first ICHARM International Symposium at the United Nations University in Tokyo on 14th September this year. It will be a great opportunity for us to introduce our activities both domestically and internationally as well as to hear any comments or proposals you may have regarding ICHARM. We greatly appreciate your continued support for our activities.

Director of ICHARM
Dr. Kuniyoshi TAKEUCHI

Profile of Dr. Takeuchi

1968 MS in Civil Engineering from University of Tokyo, Japan
1972 Ph.D in Ciyt and Regional Planning from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,USA
1982 Dr. Eng. in Civil Engineering from University of Tokyo, Japan
1982 Professor in Faculty of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Japan
2003 Professor in Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medical and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Japan
1998--2000 Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Council of UNESCO
International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
1998--2000 Deputy President of International Water Resources Association (IWRA)
2001--2005 President of International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
2000-- Chairman in Japan National Committee for the UNESCO
International Hydrological Programme (IHP)

Dr. Takeuchi,
Director of ICHARM

2. Activities of ICHARM

Goal

3. Signing ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters

Scene from the signing ceremony (Left to right:
Mr. T.Sato, Mr. K.Matsuura and Dr. T.Sakamoto)

Two agreements (between the government of Japan and UNESCO, and Japan's Public Works Research Institute and UNESCO) for the launch of the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM) were signed by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, the Permanent Delegate of Japan to UNESCO, Ambassador Teiichi Sato and the Chief Executive of PWRI, Tadahiko Sakamoto on 3 March 2006 at UNESCO Headquarters. Prior to the signing ceremony, Mr. Matsuura held bilateral talks with Dr. Sakamoto, during which he expressed his gratitude to the Japanese government and PWRI for their continued support for the establishment of the centre. He expressed the hope that ICHARM would develop links and work closely with the network of the already existing UNESCO water-related centres, and that it would be a real international hub of activity in the area of water sciences.

4. ICHARM opening ceremony

Opening address by Dr. Sakamoto

Following the signing ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters on 3rd March, The opening ceremony of ICHARM was held at PWRI's auditorium in Tsukuba, Japan, on 6th March 2006.

There were about 100 participants in the opening ceremony. Many of them were from governmental, prefectural, and municipal offices, who were invited to attend the ceremony; among them were Mr. Oshida (Deputy Director-General, River Bureau), Mr. Mochizuki (Director-General, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management), Mr. Nishida (Multilateral Cultural Cooperation Division, Public Diplomacy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr. Ishida (Chief, Planning Coordination Office, International Affairs Division, Commissioner's secretariat, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), to name a few.

At the opening of the ceremony, Dr. Sakamoto, Chief Executive of PWRI, explained how ICHARM came to be established and what contribution it will make to the world, and also expressed his gratitude to organizations and institutions that provided support for the establishment of ICHARM. Then Mr. Oshida, on behalf of Mr. Kitagawa, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation, made a congratulatory speech on ICHARM's official launch. Subsequently Mr. Nishida on behalf of Director of Multilateral Cultural Cooperation Division, Public Diplomacy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ishida on behalf of Secretary-General of Japan National Committee for the UNESCO and Mr. Mochizuki, also delivered congratulatory addresses.

Then in front of the new ICHRM building, the ICHARM plate hanging above the entrance was unveiled by the guests and executives of PWRI with others giving a congraturatory applause. Dr. Takeuchi, appointed as the founding Director of ICHARM, addressed his first speech on the goal, guiding principles, management strategies and initial activities of the new centre.

At last, the flags of Japan, the United Nations and PWRI were hoisted in front of the PWRI main building to complete the ceremony.

5. Latest activities (International Workshop on Flood Risk Management, 24-25th January 2006)

Dr. Szollosi-Nagy, UNESCO

The International Workshop on Flood Risk Management co-hosted by PWRI, UNESCO and WMO was held at the Tsukuba International Congress Center (Tsukuba, Japan) on 24-25th January 2006. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the future plan of ICHARM activities and implementation measures of IFI with experts, researchers and administrators from home and abroad, based on the present state and future trend of flood risk management in the world. The following is the summary of the workshop.

Session 1: Risk Assessment and Monitoring

Dr. Tyagi, WMO

Mr. Yoshitani, principal researcher of the Secretariat for Preparatory Activities of UNESCO-PWRI Centre (Disaster Prevention Research Team at present), presented ICHARM's plan of information networking. After his presentation, participants discussed a number of ideas about ICHARM. Some expected the center to play a role as the clearinghouse of information which are useful for both policy making and technical cooperation. Some requested that the center should collect information about not only disasters but also social situations behind them. Still others disscussed issues about alliance with other organizations and how to handle vulnerability which directly affects risk evaluation.

Session 2: Early Warning/Forecasting and Real-time Observation
Mr. Fukami, principal researcher of the Hydrologic Engineering Research Team, delivered a presentation on flood forecasting system. Then opinions were exchanged regarding flood warning and forecasting systems using satellite precipitation data for local areas where few hydrological land data is available, and about the Global Flood Alert System (GFAS), which is the framework of information service on flood risk promoted by the International Flood Network (IFNet) .

Session 3: Governance/Integrated Flood Management
As a lesson learned from the case of Hurricane Katrina, it was pointed out that quite a few people did not evacuate even though they were warned of high risk of water-related disasters, and that it is essential to enhance residents' awareness toward disaster prevention. The recommendation of “the International Master Course on Flood Modeling for Management” by Dr. Price from the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education , which is a preceding organization under the auspices of UNESCO, drew much attention from the participants.

Session 4: Capacity Building and Technical Information Sharing
Mr. Tanaka, principal researcher of the Secretariat for Preparatory Activities of UNESCO-PWRI Centre (International Technical Exchange Team at present) reported on the activities of the Flood Hazard Mapping training course , which was implemented by PWRI with support form JICA. The presentation was followed by opinions that it is important to cooperate with other related organizations and universities.

Session 5: Technical Assistance
Mr. Fukami delivered a presentation on technical transfer for flood damage mitigation, and received opinions that to transfer advanced Japanese techniques to other countries is important, but more important is to transfer techniques that are tailored to the situation of each country.

At last, the general deliberation chaired by Dr. Takeuchi was held and the workshop ended successfully. ICHARM will incorporate insightful opinions expressed by the workshop participants into its future activity plan, and continue making efforts to promote an international alliance in order to prevent and mitigate water-related disasters.

6. Organization of ICHARM and new contact number

At the reorganization of PWRI on 6th March 2006, the Secretariat for Preparatory Activities of UNESCO-PWRI Centre was removed, and the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management under the auspices of UNESCO (ICHARM) was established.

The centre consists of one Group (Water-related Hazard Research Group) and three Teams (International Technical Exchange Team, Disaster Prevention Research Team and Hydrologic Engineering Research Team). New contact numbers and e-mail addresses are as follows: