Two years have passed since the terrible earthquake in Haiti, killing more than 200,000 people. The reconstruction of the country comes under whose only slowly in response: In particular, the ongoing political crisis along with intrigues in Parliament so far prevented the return to normality.

Over 500,000 homeless earthquake victims are still living in tents and shacks. The survival and development prospects of 4.3 million children and adolescents are lagging behind. Most Haitians do not have running water, a toilet or access to a doctor; cholera has claimed thousands of lives and remains a major threat to public health; and more than 70% of the workforce is under or unemployed.
Many millions of dollars of aid money was spent; schools, homes and hospitals have been rebuilt. But aid is still struggling to reach the streets and the 3 million people affected by the earthquake.

Figures released by the UN special envoy for Haiti show that only 53% of the nearly $4.5bn pledged for reconstruction projects in 2010 and 2011 has been delivered. >>>read more

At times, the international response to disasters has revealed highly questionable practices in the delivery of emergency medical assistance. This contrasts with a broader tendency in recent years to improve standards of humanitarian intervention.

In collaboration with the AO Foundation, the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery ESTES and the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute HCRI, GRF Davos has addressed this issue in a workshop with over 50 experts from 20 countries. Emergency surgeons have reported their experiences and helped to improve guidelines with their profound knowledge in dealing with such medical emergencies throughout and in the immediate aftermath of large catastrophic events. They have demonstrated efficient treatment methods, and how to take the right decisions under extreme conditions and great pressure. All presentations are available as video stream.>>> See the presentations now

The Partnership for Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction PEDRR, in which GRF Davos is an active Partner, has developed  a training course on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction for Sustainable Development. The aim of the training course is to strengthen resilience at national and local levels. The training course is expected to result in an Agenda for Action to integrate ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction into development planning at national and/or sub-national levels. 

This video provides an overview about the aims, objectives and the target audience of the training course. It includes statements of participants from a training of trainers workshop that has been held in Bangkok from the 6-8 December 2011. >>> Watch the video here

At this weeks „Managing Alpine Future II Conference“, organized by the Center for Climate Change Adaptation Technologies alpS GmbH Innsbruck/ Austria , the AlpS Managing Director Dr. Eric Veulliet (picture - right) and GRF Davos President Dr. Walter J. Ammann (picture - left) signed a Memorandum of Understanding for future close cooperation in integrative risk management and climate change adaptation. Sharing common goals and policies, successful cooperation in the past, and being based in the alpine region are best prerequisites for a fruitful cooperation to achieve the common goal to cope with challenges and risks ahead.

Registration and abstract submission is on-going! Among all submitted abstracts 2 free admissions to the summit will be raffled.

Submit your abstract now! Closing deadline is the 30 November 2011.

Detailed information is availble at http://onhealth.grforum.org

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake which struck eastern Turkey on Sunday, 23 October 2011 has killed 500 to 1,000 people, the head of a seismological institute in Istanbul said.

"Five hundred to 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the quake," Professor Mustafa Erdik, director of the Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul.

The powerful quake, the strongest to hit the country in years, and its aftershocks struck Van, a large eastern city populated mainly by Kurds.
Hundreds are feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings and officials warned they were struggling to assess the extent of the damage.
Aftershocks rattled the region. Local officials have appealed for tents and supplies to look after those made homeless by the disaster. >>>read more

The 10th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification started today on the 10 October 2011 in Changwon, Republic of Korea and will last until 21 October 2011. GRF Davos is represented at the conference by its President Dr. Walter Ammann. Today, Dr. Ammann gave a presentation in the ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability session on “Rio Conventions’ Ecosystems and Climate Change” entitled “Preparing for change in cities: The importance of ecosystems’ integrative management”.

Additionally, Mr. Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, and Dr. Walter Ammann signed a memorandum of understanding to agree that GRF Davos will organise the 2nd UNCCD Scientific Conference  to be held in 2012, under the theme, ‘Economic assessment of desertification, sustainable land management and resilience of arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas’

The working programmes for 2012 of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for the funding of research and technological development in Europe (FP7) have been published this summer. GRF Davos is looking for project partners that are already in the process of setting up a proposal and still looking for a strong consortium partner. We offer ample experience in Integrative Risk Management in various areas, as well as profound capacity for dissemination and knowledge transfer activities. >>> Further Information.
 

On Monday, 20 June 2011 Ms. Irina Bokova, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO and the GRF Davos Foundation’s President Dr. Walter Ammann met in Paris, France to formalize and extend the long-standing cooperation between the two institutions.

A Letter of Intent was signed with the purpose to provide a framework of cooperation and to facilitate collaboration between the Parties, advocating a strong link between research and policy practice to enhance disaster risk reduction through partnerships between government, civil society, the private sector and academia. The future collaboration of the parties will focus on disaster reduction research applications for the benefit of society and the environment, and to promote learning and capacity-building in disaster and risk management, notably in developing countries. >>>read more