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INTERNATIONAL

"Effective response

to a disaster includes

timely information and

early warning of

potential hazards.

International Monitoring and
Coordination Centre (IMCC)

protect populations, property, and the environment. The natural and man-made disasters (NMMDs).
opening of the centre was a landmark in ICDO history. The NDMC can provide information support for deci-
sion-making using space technology, to help prevent and
This was a first step to creating a management informa- mitigate disasters, to ensure the protection of the popula-
tion system, as the basis for establishing an international tion, economic structures and the environment, and to
network of disaster-management centres under the aus- limit material losses and damage.
pices of the ICDO. This will greatly enhance the efficiency The unified information exchange format for NMMD
of cooperation and coordination among Member States management provides a unified technological base for in-
to protect populations, property and the environment. tegrating the activities of the country's national, regional,
sub-regional and local structures in the field of NMMD
The Centre is providing Member States with information prevention and mitigation.
on all the disasters and major accidents occurring in the
world. In addition, this ICDO centre will maintain con- The establishment of unified principles for NMMD man-
stant contact with UN agencies and other international agement provides a basis for the integration of informa-
organizations and national disaster management centres. tion systems to facilitate the timely, coordinated response
It is creating reliable opportunities for coordinating such and action of civil defense, fire and rescue, police, medi-
structures to provide effective protection to populations cal and other services.
in the event of natural or man-made disasters. The use of space technology (Earth remote sensing and
global navigation systems) by the NMDC contributes to
The second stage of programme implementation includes greater NMMD-management efficiency at the national,
assisting in the establishment of National Disaster Man- regional and local levels.
agement Centres (NDMC) in ICDO Member States and The overall benefits of establishing a national disaster
in the support of activities of national disaster response management centre (NDMC) can be summarized as fol-
teams. lows:
• Contributes to sustainability of the economic activity
What is the purpose of establishing such a centre? of the country.
The NDMC will permit operational services Loordina- • Facilitates efficient management of natural and man-
tion of national ministries or departments and other gov- made disasters and other crisis situations, as well as sup-
ernment agencies. It will also integrate and coordinate ports decision-making process on economic issues.
disaster management activities government agencies and • High degree of technical capabilities permits better in-
national and municipal services, in cooperation with re- teragency NMMD management at the national, regional
gional disaster management centres. and local level.
• Supports to the provision of timely and efficient assist-
The NDMC automated information system will allow the ance to the population and to collaborating organizations
centre to accomplish the following tasks: in the event of NMMDs, as well as to mitigate the result-
The NDMC hardware-software system enables uninter- ing human, social and economic damages and loss.
rupted, sustainable management of human and technical • Improves ability to forecast natural and man-made dis-
resources involved in the prevention and mitigation of asters and other crisis situations of any nature.
NMMDs. The NDMC will be able to play an important • Identifies disturbances in economic activity and moni-
role in providing territorial entities with information on tors the use of natural resources.

34 DIVA - INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT