DISASTER SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM WOULD HAVE PREVENTED MASS DEATH TOLL, SAYS ESCAP

(Reissued as received.)

BANGKOK, 12 January (United Nations Information Services) -- Current losses from the tsunami would have been much lower if the Indian Ocean had a similar disaster warning system to the Pacific, said Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Mr. Kim Hak-Su at an International Meeting on Small Island Developing States.

“If the disaster surveillance system that already covers the Pacific region had existed in the Indian Ocean, let me assure you that the tone of this International Meeting would have been considerably brighter”, he said.

Mr. Kim said that ESCAP is committed to establishing a Task Force Team for Tsunami Disaster Management.  ESCAP will also assist governments in integrating environmental considerations into economic and social policy-making and strengthening institutions to address poverty and urban squalor.

The statement was delivered at the International Meeting for the 10-year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States hosted in Port Louis by the Government of Mauritius from 10-14 January 2005.  UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will be attending the high-level segment of the meeting.

The Barbados Programme of Action recognizes that small island developing states (SIDS) have “unique vulnerabilities and challenges to achieving sustainable development”.

Almost half of the 51 SIDS worldwide are members or associate members of ESCAP.

“Small island developing States, despite their implementation of the Plan, continue to be environmentally as well as economically and socially vulnerable”, Mr Kim said. 

“Economic growth varies considerably and foreign investment and assistance have declined in many of these States.  National economic strategies and development frameworks need to focus on stabilizing long-term economic growth”, he said.

“It is, therefore, essential that measures to ensure the economic resilience of these islands are effective and can respond to the challenges faced by them.”

Mr. Kim urged governments to provide tangible assistance to SIDS including technical expertise and resources.

For further information, please contact:  UN Information Services Bangkok, tel:  +(66-2) 288-1861-69, fax:  +(66-2) 288-1052, e-mail:  unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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