Resolution XXIII-13

ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL COORDINATION GROUP FOR TSUNAMI AND OTHER COASTAL HAZARDS WARNING SYSTEM FOR THE CARIBBEAN AND ADJACENT REGIONS

The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,

Extending our solidarity with, and support to the people affected by the devastating tsunami that occurred on 26 December 2004 in the Indian Ocean, and recognising the urgent need to develop a Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System as an integral part of a multi-hazard approach,

Recalling IOC Resolutions XX-14, July 1999, EC-XXXV.1, EC.XXXV.5 (recommendation SC-IOCARIBE-VII.2) June 2002, and EC-XXXVII.7, approving and supporting the establishment of a Tsunami Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions and IOCARIBE-GOOS,

Noting directions and guidance provided by the Mauritius International Meeting on Small Island Developing States held at Port Louis from 10 to 14 January 2005; UNGA Resolution 59/279 adopted in New York on 19 January 2005; the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe on 22 January 2005; the Communiqué of the 3 rd Earth Observations Summit (GEO) adopted in Brussels on 16 February 2005; the Paris Communiqué adopted on 8 March 2005; and the contributions from several regional technical meetings,

Noting further the Communiqué of the International Conference for the Establishment of a Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions adopted in Mexico City on 3 June 2005, as annex 1 to this Resolution,

Acknowledging the important role that the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC) has played, particularly in capacity building,

Recalling the long experience of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) as the operational centre for ITSU, and that PTWC is already providing tsunami warning guidance to some Central American countries, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, with the Atlantic Tsunami Warning Center (ATWC) providing back-up and warning guidance for Atlantic regions, and noting existing facilities and capabilities in Puerto Rico and in other countries of the region,

Further recalling that the Assembly through Resolution XXII-6 approved the IOC Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy, which states that the timely, free and unrestricted international exchange of oceanographic data is essential, among others, for the preservation of life,

Acknowledging the role of GLOSS and GOOS, as an essential component of GEOSS, and particularly the contribution of IOCARIBE-GOOS to the development of a Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions,

Invites the PTWC to extend its warning guidance to the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions on an interim basis until such time as this capability can be managed independently within the region, developing the regional concept by strengthening and integrating existing capacities and capabilities;

Decides :

1. to establish an Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions with the Terms of Reference as annex 2 to this Resolution;
2. that the IOC shall provide the Secretariat of the ICG for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions;
3. to support through its ITIC the development of communications and capacity building activities to assist communities to be resilient in the region;

Instructs the IOC Executive Secretary to provide support as needed for this urgent and critical activity;

Urges Member States of the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions to submit to the IOC Executive Secretary in writing the name of the designated authority acting as National Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Focal Point, with responsibilities to officially receive tsunami and other coastal hazards related information bulletins and warning guidance, and the name of the institution or organization acting as National Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning Centre to issue warnings and related products, or responsible for the development of such capabilities;

Further urges Member States and international and regional organizations to provide voluntary contributions to the IOC in order to assist the Commission in the effective provision of secretariat services for the assessment, planning and implementation of the regional early warning and mitigation system.

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Identified funding (2006–2007): US$ 20,000 from MLA3

US$ 360,000 from Extra-budgetary resources to be identified

Annex 1 to Resolution XXIII-13

 International Conference for the Development of a Tsunami and Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions

(Hotel Sevilla Palace, Mexico DF, 1–3 June 2005)

The participants of the International Conference for the Development of a Tsunami and Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions, after an intensive three days of work and reflection and being aware of the immediate need to create and implement a tsunami warning system which facilitates the application of adequate and effective measures for the protection of the population and the economies of our countries to cope with the hazards and effects of the tsunamis and other natural phenomena, decided to issue the following:

COMMUNIQUÉ

Express our solidarity and support to the people affected by the devastating tsunami that occurred on 26 December 2004 in the Indian Ocean, as well as recognize the need to urgently develop a Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System.

Noting the results of the meetings recently held in Paris, Barbados, Managua and Jamaica where initiatives and ideas were sought towards the implementation of a global system and other sub- regional systems respectively.

Recognizing the leadership of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO in the historical development of the International Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific (ITSU) and its status as a coordination mechanism for international cooperation, development, and implementation of a Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System and its respective regional components, among them the Caribbean system.

Further recognizing the long experience of the Richard H. Hagemeyer Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) in Hawaii as the operational center for ITSU, and the fact that PTWC is already providing limited tsunami warning guidance to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands;

Considering that , besides ongoing sub-regional and regional initiatives, it is necessary to address the mandate of all our member states for the development of a technical and political process facilitating the implementation of an integrated, coordinated, and sustainable regional system, which guarantees an adequate programme for detection and alert, mitigation, risk-evaluation, training, education and capacity building for all levels of society, as well as for scientific research.

Acknowledging that , despite present gaps of knowledge about tsunami risks and other natural hazards in our region, we have the obligation to act accordingly, bearing in mind that the essential problem is not a matter of “if” such natural phenomena will occur but “when” it will occur, considering that “when” could be any time in the future.

Acknowledging further that the impacts of tsunamis and other natural hazards can be drastically reduced through the development of adequate legal, policy, and institutional mechanisms, including the strengthening of education and community involvement.

AGREE TO

Recognize and support the creation of an integrated, and sustained regional system for the detection, forecasting, warning, and mitigation of tsunami and other coastal hazards, that could contribute adequately to other international programmes such as GOOS of IOC (UNESCO) and through this, to GEOSS.

Approve and support the preliminary IOCARIBE Action Plan prepared by this meeting.

Submit for consideration by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the IOCARIBE Integrated Regional Programme as a contribution to the ongoing Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System.

Recommend that the IOC Assembly establish, in accordance with its rules of procedure, an Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Caribbean Tsunami and Coastal Hazards Warning System, which will govern the system. Such a group will be composed of IOC Member States and regional organizations from the Wider Caribbean Region (WCR). All the other Members of the IOC, as well as concerned international and regional public and private sector organizations, will be welcome to participate.

Request the Secretariats of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and the IOCARIBE Sub-Commission to allocate and search for necessary resources to implement the Action Plan as outlined at this meeting.

Recommend to expand the IOCARIBE Tsunami Steering Group of Experts into an interdisciplinary Tsunami and Coastal Hazards Group of Experts, and to organize a meeting of this group before the end of this year.

Further Request that the Group of Experts present to the IOCARIBE Sub-Commission the Action Plan mentioned before, with the special instruction to identify those actions that can be executed in the short term with the available resources at national and regional level including the support of possible donors.

Recognize that Member States have the responsibility to issue warnings within their respective territories.

Request PTWC to extend its warning guidance to the WCR on an interim basis until such time as this capability can be managed independently within the region, and request IOC (UNESCO) to provide support as needed for this urgent and critical activity.

Request IOCARIBE to ask Member States to provide by July 1, 2005 their contact points and contact methods for receiving the interim tsunami warning guidance bulletins.

Mexico City, 6 p.m., 3 June 2005

Annex 2 to Resolution XXIII-13

Terms of Reference for the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions

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 tsunami and other coastal hazards system;
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 tsunami and other coastal hazards system;
3. To promote the sharing of experience and expertise related to tsunami warning and mitigation for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Basin;
4. To promote tsunami and other coastal hazards research;
5. To promote the establishment and further development of national tsunami and other coastal hazards warning and mitigation capacities in accordance with standard protocols and methods;
6. To develop, adopt and monitor implementation of work plans of the tsunami and other coastal hazards warning system in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions, and to identify required resources;
7. To promote implementation of relevant capacity building;
8. To liaise and coordinate with other tsunami and other coastal hazards warning systems;
9. To liaise with other relevant organizations, programmes and projects;
10. To promote the implementation of the ICG 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 shall:

1. Support meetings of the ICG in the region;
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 and the ICG/ITSU, with the PTWC, ATWC and with other tsunami warning centres to facilitate best practices in tsunami warning;
5. Initiate and support, in coordination with ITIC, training activities and enhance and enrich tsunami and other coastal hazards warning in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions.

Membership :

1. Member States of the IOC from the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions
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.