Action Line C7 e-environment background
The WSIS Geneva Plan of Action defined three goals for Action Line C7, e-environment:
- Use and promote ICTs as an instrument for environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources;
- Initiate actions and implement projects and programs for sustainable production and consumption and the environmentally safe disposal and recycling of discarded hardware and components used in ICTs; and
- Establish monitoring systems, using ICTs, to forecast and monitor the impact of natural and man-made disasters, particularly in developing countries, LDCs and small economies.
In follow up to the outcomes of the UN General Assembly Overall Review of the Implementation of WSIS Outcomes (Res. A/70/125) and with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Res. A/70/1), the WSIS Forum is constantly evolving and strengthening the alignment between the WSIS Action Lines and the Sustainable Development Goals.
As the WSIS Forum serves as a key forum for discussing the role of ICTs as a facilitator in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and remain as a global mechanism for follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UNGA Resolution A/70/1).
As the WSIS process continues to be a platform for sharing and caring, the action line facilitation meeting for AL C-7 e-Environment will discuss the contributions that ICTs make to achieve a sustainable environment and sustainable development goals. While we are looking for solutions and benefits there are new elements, challenges and considerations that should be incorporated into WSIS forum. The facilitation meeting for Action Line C7, e-environment will be a roundtable discussion among key stakeholders involved in the implementation of this action line along with experts from the sustainability community.
Session description
Early-warning messages about impending hazards that could or may cause disasters must reach all citizens including emergency response organizations, communities-at-risk, public safety organization, and others. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are an important and integral component of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, that manage and deliver alerting messages to those in affected areas and wider at national or international level which allows them to take action to mitigate the impacts of the hazard.
It is critical to ensure availability of infrastructures to manage early-warning and alerting, create and to effectively disseminate early-warning messages and alerts about different types of hazards over diverse communication networks and platforms – including radio, television, mobile networks, satellite networks and the Internet – ICT infrastructure including social media networks and other similar platforms. In order to ensure the above, the international community has developed and periodically updates a set of requirements that are organized into a checklist document about the components and establishment of MHEWS.
This session will highlight the importance of this checklist and launch its updated version. Also, during the session participants will highlight some of concrete solutions and discuss the importance of MHEWS checklist for a better coordination on national level, addressing better collaboration among various stakeholders, including disaster risk management agencies, meteorological and geological services, ICT regulators, NGOs, IGOs, and operators.
It will discuss examples of how countries have built (interoperable warning networks) MHEWS and developed functional and effective communication strategies, platforms, and standardized communication protocols, in particular the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), an international standard for exchanging multi-hazard emergency alerts and public warnings over different types of networks.
The session will further discuss existing and innovative technologies, remote monitoring tools to assess the availability of networks and readiness of communities-at-risk to receive information on time, including through social media.
This session will allow participating delegates to learn about the latest updates of the MHEWS checklist, advances in ICT technologies, as well as good practice experiences on the communication and dissemination of warnings and alerts.
The session will address the following questions/issues:
- Launch of the MHEWS Checklist[1]: Going Forward - Relevance and Importance.
- What steps could governments take to establish Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems and what is the role of national coordination? Who are the stakeholders to be involved and what are their roles?
- Importance of Early Warning Systems in dealing with Disaster Risk Reduction – what would be the best ways to start implementations?
- Is data sharing on early warning messages openly be of benefit to a wider community? What is recommended: institutional partnerships, enlarged the circle of partnerships including citizens or mix of both? Why?
- What actions related to MHEWS contribute to the attainment of targets and goals related to Sendai Framework and SDGs?
- What policies and tools for the implementation of MHEWS should be considered?
- What initiatives, frameworks and projects/activities are there that should be considered for promoting easier access to the existing funds for implementation of MHEWS?
- What is the Common Alerting Protocol and how using standards can enhance warning effectiveness and simplify the tasks of issuing warnings?
- How important are various communication mediums and what is the changing role of social media in reaching those at risk?
- What could WSIS community do to support the promotion and implementation of MHEWS?
- How important are EWS for the work of local and international NGOs?
Session Format
- Introduction to the meeting. Presentation of objectives of the meeting by action line facilitator and other present participants.
- MHEWS Checklist - Highlights of the MHEWS conference outcome in 2017 and launch of checklist.
- Open debate on “Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems and Role of ICT;
- Conclusions and next steps: recommendation of this action line on MHEWS and its role for WSIS process.
[1] MHEWS Checklist is a key outcome of the Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference (MHEWC) held from 22 to 23 May 2017 in Cancún, Mexico. It updates the original 2006 document Developing Early Warning Systems: A Checklist which was developed as an outcome of the Third International Conference on Early Warning: From concept to action (EWC III) held from 27 to 29 March 2006 in Bonn, Germany[1]. Through the lens of the Sendai Framework, it incorporates the acknowledged benefits of multi-hazard early warnings systems, disaster risk information and enhanced risk assessments.