Resolution XXIII-12

INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION GROUP FOR THE INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION SYSTEM

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,

Extending its deepest sympathies and condolences to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, their families, the people and governments of the countries affected, and expressing its deepest concern over the negative economic, social, psychological, environmental and other consequences and impacts of the tsunami disaster,

Recalling the many directions and guidances provided by: the Special ASEAN Leaders’ meeting adopted in Jakarta on 6 January 2005; the UN Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Port Louis, Mauritius, from 10 to 14 January 2005; the UNGA Resolution 59/279 adopted in New York on 19 January 2005; the Common Statement of the Special Session on Indian Ocean Disaster and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, both adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe on 22 January 2005; the Ministerial Declaration in Phuket adopted on 29 January 2005; the GEO Communiqué adopted in Brussels on 16 February 2005; and the technical meetings held in India, China and Indonesia,

Recognizing the unique tectonic plate structure of the Indian Ocean and that there are primarily two tsunamigenic sources that could affect the coastlines of the Indian Ocean, namely the Indonesian seismic zone and its extensions, about 4000 km in length, and the Makran source,

Reaffirming that the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWS) will be a coordinated network of national systems and capacities, and will be part of a global network of early warning systems for all ocean-related hazards,

Reaffirming further that each Member State should have the responsibility to issue warnings within their respective territories,

Recalling its commitment to an open, free and unrestricted sharing of tsunami-relevant real-time observational data in accordance with the UNESCO/IOC Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy and without prejudice to the sovereignty of Member States,

Welcoming :

(i) the plans and intentions of Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to develop their national capability to detect, analyse and provide timely warning of tsunami generated along the Indonesian seismic zone and its extensions as well as the plans of India, Iran and Pakistan to cover the Makran source,

(ii) the plans and intentions of all countries of the Indian Ocean to enhance their abilities to receive tsunami advisory information and warnings and issue appropriate warnings within their respective territories on a twenty-four-hours/seven-days-a-week basis,

(iii) the many generous offers of financial and technical assistance made by countries across the globe to help establish an IOTWS, particularly the contributions of Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, United States of America and the European Union,

(iv) the continuing support of the IOC/ITIC (International Tsunami Information Centre) to assist the ICG/IOTWS and its Secretariat in development of communications and capacity- building activities,

(v) the fact that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) have started to provide interim tsunami advisory information to authorized contacts in the Indian Ocean States within and bordering the Indian Ocean,

Emphasizing the importance of the media in avoiding panic by responsibly reporting this information,

Endorses the Paris Communiqué (attached as Annex 2 to this Resolution) adopted on 8 March 2005 by the International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean within a Global Framework, held in UNESCO headquarters, and the Mauritius Declaration (attached as Annex 3 to this Resolution) adopted on 16 April 2005 by the Second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System, held in Grand Baie;

Decides :

(i) to create an IOTWS and establish an Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWS), as a subsidiary body of IOC, with the final Terms of Reference attached as Annex 1 to this Resolution;

(ii) that the IOC shall provide the Secretariat of the ICG/IOTWS;

(iii) that the IOC shall develop a comprehensive programme of capacity-building on tsunami protection for the Indian Ocean, in order to assist all countries of the region, including the coastal African countries and Middle-Eastern countries, to have the capacity to protect their populations;

Invites Member States in the Indian Ocean region to submit to the IOC Executive Secretary, in writing and as early as possible, the name of the institution acting as the National Tsunami Warning Centre, or responsible for its development, and thus having responsibilities to officially receive tsunami-related information bulletins and warnings;

Welcomes and accepts the generous offer of Australia to (i) support the Secretariat of the ICG/IOTWS, which will be located within the IOC Perth Regional Programme Office; and (ii) provide ongoing and dedicated financial and other support for the Secretariat of the ICG/IOTWS;

Invites all Member States and other countries, international and regional organizations to provide financial, technical and other kinds of assistance for the establishment of the IOTWS, including voluntary contributions to the IOC Trust Fund in order to assist the Commission in the effective provision of secretariat services for the ICG/IOTWS.

_________________________

Identified funding (2006–2007): US$ 50,000 from extra-budgetary resources to be identified

Annex 1 to Resolution XXIII-12

Terms of Reference of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWS)

The ICG will be established as a subsidiary body of the IOC and will report to, and seek guidance from, the IOC Assembly.

Objectives:

1. To coordinate the activities of the IOTWS;
2. To organize and facilitate as appropriate the exchange of seismic, sea level and other data at or near real-time and information required for the interoperability of the IOTWS;
3. To promote the sharing of experience and expertise related to tsunami warning and mitigation for the Indian Ocean basin;
4. To promote tsunami research;
5. To promote the establishment and further development of national tsunami warning and mitigation capacities in accordance with standard protocols and methods;
6. To develop, adopt and monitor implementation of work plans of the IOTWS, and to identify required resources;
7. To promote implementation of relevant capacity-building;
8. To liaise and coordinate with other tsunami warning systems;
9. To liaise with other relevant organizations, programmes and projects;
10. To promote the implementation of the IOTWS within a multi-hazard framework;
11. To keep under constant scrutiny the status of the system and how it satisfies the needs.

The secretariat for the ICG/IOTWS shall:

1. Support meetings of the ICG;
2. Facilitate the liaison among the various national contact points and national tsunami warning centres;
3. Maintain a current list of operational national contact points and facilities and make it available on request to all Member States;
4. Organize the liaison between ICG/IOTWS and the ICG/ITSU, with the PTWC and with other tsunami warning centres to facilitate best practices in tsunami warning;
5. Initiate and support training activities and enhance and enrich tsunami warning in the Indian Ocean.

Membership of the ICG/IOTWS:

1. Member States of the IOC within and bordering the Indian Ocean
2. Observers from other IOC Member States
3. Invited observers from other organizations (including NGOs), programmes and projects, in accordance with the IOC rules and procedures.

Annex 2 to Resolution XXIII-12

Communiqué of the First International Coordination Meeting for the Development
of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean within a Global Framework and Draft Terms of Reference of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWS)

UNESCO, Paris, 3–8 March 2005

We, the participants at the International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean within a global framework held in Paris on 3–8 March 2005:

Recognising that the recent Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, considered to be one of the strongest in the world, resulted in devastations amounting to national calamities in the Indian Ocean. This has been the deadliest tsunami of all time by an order of magnitude, and has led to a call for action for the entire global community;

Recalling the direction and guidance provided by the Special ASEAN Leaders’ meeting in Jakarta on 6 January 2005, the UN Conference on Small Island Developing States held at Port Louis on 14 January 2005, the UNGA Resolution 59/279 in New York on 19 January 2005, the Common Statement of the Special Session on Indian Ocean Disaster and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 both adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe on 22 January 2005, the Ministerial Declaration in Phuket on 29 January 2005, the GEO Communiqué in Brussels on 16 February 2005, and the technical meetings held in Indian and China;

Recognising the need to develop a tsunami warning and mitigation system in the Indian Ocean with the purpose of enhancing all aspects of tsunami disaster mitigation, including hazard assessment, detection and warnings, preparedness, and research through international cooperation and coordination of activities;

Noting that, despite the infrequent occurrence of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, tsunamis could occur at anytime and can be very devastating as was the case on 26 December 2004. Therefore, to be effective, a tsunami warning and mitigation system for the Indian Ocean must be durable;

Noting it is important to improve the science of issuing tsunami warnings to reduce false alarms given the inordinate inconvenience and disruptions to normal life caused by false alarms, especially given the high population densities and intensive operations in coastal areas in the Indian Ocean, and also to continuously improve forecasting;

Recognising that the impact of tsunamis can be substantially reduced through institutional and legislative frameworks as well as community participation, and that this requires that tsunami warnings must reach local communities by various means and be understood at all levels, so that people are well informed and motivated towards safety measures and actions;

Recognising that national tsunami disaster mitigation programmes will benefit from partnerships between governmental institutions, the private sector and civil society organizations;

Recommend that the IOC Assembly establish, in accordance with its rules of procedures, an Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWS), which will govern the system. Such a group will be composed of interested IOC Member States from the Indian Ocean region. All the other Members of the IOC, as well as relevant concerned international and regional organizations, will be welcome to participate as observers;

Recommend that the IOC Secretariat act as the secretariat to the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the IOTWS;

Agree that the IOTWS should consist of a coordinated network of national systems and capacities, and that all associated assets should be owned and operated by the Member States hosting or otherwise taking responsibilities for them;

Agree that the Member States should have the responsibility to have control over the issuance of warning within their respective territories;

Agree that the Member States build public awareness through education and capacity building to ensure effective community awareness of the risks posed by tsunami, so that their population is prepared for, and knows how to act in the event of a tsunami warning;

Recommend that, to facilitate durability, the IOTWS should utilise or build on, where possible, existing organisations and institutions and complement existing warning frameworks, including within a multi-hazard approach where appropriate;

Recommend that each Member State in the Indian Ocean quickly identify and establish a National Tsunami Warning Centre or operational contact point in the relevant responsible agency, along with a response plan, to be able to receive and react to warnings on a 24x7 basis and further rapidly disseminate warning information;

Recommend that each Member State in the Indian Ocean identify a disaster management national focal point for increasing public awareness of tsunami, within a multi-hazard approach as appropriate;

Recommend that all Member States make every endeavour to share seismic, sea-level and other data relevant to tsunamigenic events at or near real-time with interested Member States;

Recommend that all Member States make every endeavour to share national assessments and warnings of tsunamigenic events and tsunamis with interested Member States in a timely manner;

Welcome the various intentions and plans of Member States in the Indian Ocean to establish effective and durable national systems for tsunami early warning;

Welcome the intentions and plans of Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to establish systems and capacities to detect potential tsunamigenic events, detect and measure tsunami, and issue appropriate warning to forecast their impacts and to provide such information and warnings to other interested Member States;

Welcome that other centres may be established to act as dissemination points for the relay of information and for technical support and training, such as the one proposed by France for the South West Indian Ocean;

Recommend that efforts to establish an IOTWS be appropriately consistent with efforts to implement the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the Hyogo Framework for Action;

Welcome the many generous offers of financial, technical and other kinds of assistance made by key countries across the globe to help establish an IOTWS;

Encourage all Member States to provide financial, technical and other kinds of assistance in order to promote national capacity and cooperation as well as preparedness, mitigation and prevention, if so requested by the Member States in the Indian Ocean;

Welcome that, in addition to the steps taken, or to be taken, by countries of the Indian Ocean, the UNESCO/IOC and ISDR for interim tsunami warning, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the Japan Meteorological Agency have agreed to provide, if requested, reliable interim tsunami advisory information to authorized contacts in the Indian Ocean States. Member States are requested to provide to UNESCO/IOC their official 24x7 contact information (prime and alternate) for receiving this information by 1 April 2005;

Welcome also the attention and intention to address tsunami disaster mitigation in other oceans and seas, such as South-East Asia and the South China Sea, within the global framework;

Note the need to develop mechanisms for effective coordination of tsunami warning systems for all at-risk regions on a global basis;

Appreciate the financial contribution made by Japan through the UN Flash Appeal to help make the first meeting possible;

Agree to consider, inter alia, at the Second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of an IOTWS the following issues: (a) keep under constant scrutiny the status of the system and its performance (b) the coordination of donor activities and other tsunami related activities;

Recommend that the IOC Secretariat enter into consultation with Member States with the view to addressing the feasibility of constituting ad hoc technical working groups on: (a) measurement systems, including data management, standards and interoperability; (b) risk management, including assessment and modelling; and (c) warning systems, including dissemination and communications. The IOC Secretariat will report to the April meeting on the progress of this recommendation.

Welcome and accept the generous offer of the Republic of Mauritius to host the second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System at high level to be held at Port Louis on 14–16 April 2005.

Paris, 8 March 2005

Annex 3 to Resolution XXIII-12

Declaration of the Second International Coordination Meeting
for the Development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System
for the Indian Ocean

Grand Baie, Mauritius, 14–16 April 2005

We, the participants of the Second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System held in Grand Baie on 14–16 April 2005:

Recall the many directions and guidance provided by the Special ASEAN Leaders’ meeting in Jakarta on 6 January 2005, the UN Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Port Louis on 14 January 2005, the UNGA Resolution 59/279 in New York on 19 January 2005, the Common Statement of the Special Session on Indian Ocean Disaster and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, both adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe on 22 January 2005, the Ministerial Declaration in Phuket on 29 January 2005, the GEO Communiqué in Brussels on 16 February 2005, and the technical meetings held in India, China and Indonesia;

Endorse the communiqué adopted by the International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean within a global framework held in Paris at UNESCO Headquarters on 3-8 March 2005;

Reaffirm that the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) will be a coordinated network of national systems and capacities;

Reaffirm also the need for the establishment of an Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Assembly to govern the IOTWS;

Recognize the unique tectonic plate structure of the Indian Ocean, and that there are primarily two tsunamigenic sources that could affect the coastlines of the Indian Ocean, namely the Indonesian seismic zone and its extensions, about 4000 km in length, and the Makran source;

Welcome the plans and intentions of Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to develop their national capability to detect, analyse and provide timely warning of tsunami generated along the Indonesian seismic zone and its extensions, as well as the plans of India, Iran and Pakistan to cover the Makran source;

Encourage these countries to continue to cooperate closely in developing their national systems to ensure effective coverage of the above-mentioned tsunamigenic zones;

Reaffirm that each Member State should have the responsibility to issue warnings within their respective territories;

Urge the ICG, as the governing body of the IOTWS, to develop and coordinate appropriate arrangements for the effective and timely dissemination of tsunami advisory information and warnings;

Reaffirm that all regional efforts should serve the purpose of strengthening international cooperation aimed at the creation of a global multi-hazards warning system;

Welcome the plans and intentions of all countries of the Indian Ocean to enhance their abilities to receive tsunami advisory information and warnings and issue appropriate warnings within their respective territories on a 24x7 basis;

Welcome the efforts by countries of the Indian Ocean to, jointly or individually, enhance their capacity to build knowledge, public awareness, preparedness, including through the use of traditional knowledge, and exchange good practices globally;

Recognize the many generous offers of financial, technical and other kinds of assistance made by countries across the globe to help establish the IOTWS, including the further generous pledges of assistance made at the Mauritius meeting;

Invite the countries of the Indian Ocean to complete by July 2005, where necessary with the support of UNESCO/IOC, an assessment of their requirements and capacity needs for an effective and durable national tsunami warning and mitigation system, to be followed by the development of appropriate national strategic plans;

Welcome the readiness of Member States and other donors to provide further financial, technical and other kinds of assistance to promote national capacity, and in this context request UNESCO/IOC to develop a mechanism to coordinate donor assistance in relation to assessed needs;

Note with appreciation that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) and Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) have started to provide interim tsunami advisory information to authorized contacts in the Indian Ocean States, that many Member States have already provided information on their designated contact points and that the remaining Member States will provide this information as soon as possible;

Express our determination to enhance regional and national capacities for tsunami detection, including through further upgrading of existing observation facilities;

Reaffirm our commitment to an open, free and unrestricted sharing of tsunami-relevant real-time observational data in accordance with the UNESCO/IOC Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy and without prejudice of the sovereignty of Member States;

Call for the formal creation of the IOTWS and the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the IOTWS by a resolution at the Assembly of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to be held in Paris on 21-30 June 2005;

Request Indian Ocean Member States to report to the forthcoming IOC Assembly on national progress made in establishing IOTWS;

Recommend that the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group of the IOTWS be held in the second half of 2005 and, among other matters, develop a strategic plan to implement the IOTWS;

Request the UNESCO/IOC Secretariat to finalize the technical plans for the detection systems of the IOTWS through the convening of the technical working groups identified at the Paris meeting, for consideration by the first meeting of ICG/IOTWS;

Appreciate the financial contribution made by Japan to make the Second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System possible;

Express appreciation to UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission for its strong coordination role, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Secretariat for its guidance and support, and the World Meteorological Organization for its infrastructure and technical support;

Also express appreciation to the Government of Mauritius for hosting the Second International Coordination Meeting for the Development of an Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System.

Grand-Baie, Mauritius, 16 April 2005