Transcript some of our global opportunities to prevent “checkmates”

SOME OF OUR GLOBAL
OPPORTUNITIES TO PREVENT
“CHECKMATES” DURING 2013
AND BEYOND
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for
Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
PREMISE: A GLOBAL
PROBLEM IS ALSO A
GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY
BACKGROUND
USING THE PAINTING,
“CHECKMATE”
TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT WE MUST
DO IN 2013 AND BEYOND
“CHECKMATE”
THE PAINTING
• A story that illustrates the point.
• As a tour guide took a group through an
art gallery, he stopped before a painting
entitled Checkmate. The guide talked
about the painting, and then moved on.
,
“THE DEVIL VS FAUST”
• The chess game was between the
devil and Faust, who had sold his
soul to the devil. It appears as if the
devil had won. The devil has a smirk
on his face, as if waiting for the final
verdict, Checkmate!
HOPE, WHEN THERE IS NO HOPE
• But one of the group stayed behind,
staring at the chess pieces on the
chessboard in the painting.
“THE KING HAS ANOTHER MOVE”
• The young man who stayed to study the
painting was a world class player. When
the tour group was two corridors away,
they suddenly heard their stray member
running down the marble hallway to
catch up, shouting,
• "It's a lie! It's a lie! The king has another
move. Another move!“
WE ALWAYS HAVE ANOTHER
MOVE TO PREVENT
OUR CHECKMATES
PRESENT STATUS OF OUR
WORLD
• 7 billion people, and counting, --• Living and competing in an
interconnected global economy,--• Producing $60 trillion of products, --• And, facing many complex problems.
OUR WORLD IS AT RISK
• FLOODS
• SEVERE
WINDSTORMS
• EARTHQUAKES
• TSUNAMIS
• DROUGHTS
• VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
• LANDSLIDES
• WILDFIRES
OUR “CHECKMATE” TYPE
PROBLEMS IN A NUTSHELL
• Rapidly increasing annual socioeconomic impacts from natural,
technological, and environmental
hazards
MEDITERRANEAN REGION’S
HAZARDS
•
•
•
•
•
•
EARTHQUAKES
FLOODS
DROUGHTS
LANDSLIDES
TSUNAMIS
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
• ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION
SUB-SAHARA AFRICA’S
PROBLEMS AND HAZARDS
• POLITICAL
INSTABILITY
• FLOODS
• DROUGHTS
• ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS ON AIR,
WATER, AND SOIL
• ENDANGERED
SPECIES
• HEALTH CONCERNS
EUROPE’S HAZARDS
• FLOODS
• CLIMATE CHANGE
• SEVERE
WINDSTORMS
• EARTHQUAKES
• ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION
LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN
BASIN’S HAZARDS
• HURRICANES
• EARTHQUAKES/TSUNAMIS
• FLOODS
• CLIMATE CHANGE
• LANDSLIDES
• VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
• ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS
SOUTH AMERICA/CARIBBEAN
BASIN’S HAZARDS
• HURRICANES
• EARTHQUAKES/TSUNAMIS
• FLOODS
• CLIMATE CHANGE
• LANDSLIDES
• VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
• ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS
PACIFIC REGION’S HAZARDS
• SEVERE
WINDSTORMS
• FLOODS
• EARTHQUAKES/TSUNAMIS
• WILDFIRES
ASIA’S HAZARDS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
FLOODS
EARTHQUAKES
TSUNAMIS
CYCLONES/TYPHOONS
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
LANDSLIDES
DROUGHTS
ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION
INDIAN OCEAN AREA’S
HAZARDS
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•
•
•
FLOODS
EARTHQUAKES
TSUNAMIS
CYCLONES/TYPHOONS
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
LANDSLIDES
DROUGHTS
ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION
NORTH AMERICA’S HAZARDS
•
•
•
•
•
•
FLOODS
HURRICANES
EARTHQUAKES
TORNADOES
ICE STORMS
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
• LANDSLIDES
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA’S
HAZARDS
•
•
•
•
•
•
FLOODS
HURRICANES
EARTHQUAKES
TORNADOES
ICE STORMS
LANDSLIDES
ACTION NEEDED: Protecting
people, buildings, infrastructure, and
enterprise in communities in every
region that are at risk from floods,
severe windstorms, earthquakes,
landslides, tsunamis, volcanic
eruptions, and wildfires.
OUR “CHECKMATE” TYPE
PROBLEMS IN A NUTSHELL
• Conflict, terrorism, and large-scale
migration of people
ACTION NEEDED:
Maintaining and renewing
aging infrastructure (city
lifelines) in cities and
megacities that are
experiencing rapid growth in
population with associated
demand for services.
START DECREASING THE RISK
STOP INCREASING THE RISK
OUR “CHECKMATE” TYPE
PROBLEMS IN A NUTSHELL
• Education and training
ACTION NEEDED: Using
computer technology and
disaster scenarios to create
innovative education and
training programmes.
INNOVATION
FUNCTIONAL
NETWORKING
CHANNELS
GOAL:
DISASTER RISK
REDUCTION
EDUCATION
INFORMATION
NETWORKING
CHANNELS
ORGANIZATION
NETWORKING
CHANNELS
COMMUNITY
STAKEHOLDERS
ACADEMIA
Stratec Consulting
OUR “CHECKMATE” TYPE
PROBLEMS IN A NUTSHELL
• Universal health care needs;
increasing risks from pandemic
diseases
ACTION NEEDED: Identifying
the site-independent and sitespecific factors affecting
wellness and illness.
OUR “CHECKMATE” TYPE
PROBLEMS IN A NUTSHELL
• Chronic hunger in many regions
and a universal need for clean water.
PROBLEM: Conserving and
managing the short supply of
potable water in many areas
of the world needing water for
personal use as well as for
industrial use and agricultural
use.
THE REALITY
The quality of our life on Planet
Earth depends on our ability to
devise, implement, and sustain a
realistic, set of policies and
programmes to solve our
complex problems.
2013 is the time for
a concerted and sustained
international effort to solve our
problems.
A LEGACY FOR 2013 - - AND BEYOND
We solved our global “CHECKMATE”
TYPE problems.