Global Survey of Early Warning Systems

The survey makes five main recommendations, as follows: 1. Develop a globally comprehensive early warning system, rooted in existing early warning systems and capacities A global early warning system will require long-term sustained action by diverse players, strong political commitment to engender public action and to make early warning a core task of national policy and disaster risk reduction strategy, strong international support and coordination, with clear roles and responsibilities and wide participation of NGO, private sector and regional organisations. 2. Build national people-centred early warning systems Country-based early warning systems are needed for the protection of citizens and also provide the building blocks of the global early warning system. The recommendation includes calls for a national multi-party roundtable on early warning, a national plan based on a survey of capabilities, a warning dissemination strategy, community-based approaches, public education and mock exercises. 3. Fill the main gaps in global early warning capacities The recommendation highlights gaps and opportunities that deserve immediate concerted action, including for tropical cyclones, floods and tsunamis for the most ill-protected populations, agreements and networking for drought, food security and wildland fire, a global survey and mobile monitoring facility for volcanoes and a major early warning project in each least-developed country. 4. Strengthen the scientific and data foundations for early warning The scientific and technical recommendation seeks action on a long-term global data plan, upgraded telecommunications, an agreement on basin-wide data exchange for floods, a pan-African project to fill major data gaps, improved hazard and vulnerability mapping, an early warning science and technology agenda and an internet portal for natural hazards, risks and warnings. 5. Develop the institutional foundations for a global early warning system This recommendation addresses the needs for underpinning mechanisms of international and regional governance, coordination and support, starting with a call for the UN system to affirm the goal of a global early warning system and including requests for various UN and international agencies in technical, humanitarian and development fields to undertake specific governance and support roles.JRC.G.2-Support to external securit