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disaster management programmes. He hopes that more African libraries will develop disaster management
programmes in the future through information available to national committees (Alegbeleye, G., 1999).
6.5.4 ICBS
The Blue Shield is the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross. It is the symbol specified in the 1954 Hague Convention
(see above) for marking cultural sites to give them protection from attack in the event of armed conflict. It is also
the name of an international committee set up in 1996 to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by wars
and natural disasters.
The ICBS, the International Committee of the Blue Shield,is the standing emergency coord ination and response
committee of the four principal UN ESCO -associated non-governmental professional bodies for the cultural pro perty
area, i.e. the International Council on Archives (ICA), International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA), International Council of Museums (ICOM), and International Council on Monuments and Sites
(ICOMOS). They work together to prepare for and respond to emergency situations that could affect cultural
heritage and cover museums and archives, historic sites and libraries. They respect the following principles:
• joint actions;
• independence;
• neutrality;
• professionalism;
• respect of cultural identity;
• work on not-for-profit basis.
It is vital that the international initiative is taken up and supported by local initiatives. Blue Shield Committees are
being formed in a number of countries. The work of the ICBS was recognised in the Second Protocol to the Hague
Convention, agreed in April 1999 by 84 countries. This gives ICBS a new role, to advise the inter-governmental
Committee for the Pro tection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
6.5.5 IDNDR and ISDR
At the beginning of 1990 the United Nations (UN) launched the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
(IDNDR 1990 – 2000) to make people aware of how much they can do to make themselves safer from natural
disaster. The UN programme has undoubtedly achieved much good, although it has had little impact on the average
person and little effect on reducing the severity of disasters worldwide.
The last decade of the 20 th century has seen a number of natural disasters. In the Asia/Pacific region alone there
were major floods in Bangladesh and China, an extremely severe earthquake in Japan and devastating bush fires in
Australia. In all of these cases there has been criticism of the adequacy of preparation and the effectiveness of
responses. This view is sup ported by the conclusions reached at a mid-cycle review of the programme at a Wo rld
Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in Yokohama, Japan, 23 – 27 May 1994, attended by representatives from
155 countries (Lyall, 1997). Despite criticism, the programme is continuing. In 1999 the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (ISDR) was adopted at the IDND R Programme Forum as the successor arrangement to the
IDNDR. It reaffirms the necessity for disaster reduction and risk management to become essential elements of
government policies. The ISDR will strive towards enabling all societies to become resilient to the effects of natural
hazards, in order to reduce human, economic and social losses. This vision will find its realisation by focusing on
the following six objectives:
• increasing public awareness;
• obtaining commitment from public authorities;
• stimulating interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral partnership and expanding risk reduction networking at all levels;
• improving further the scientific knowledge of the causes of natural disasters and the effects of natural hazards
and related technological and environmental disasters on societies;
• continuing international cooperation to reduce the impacts of El Niño and other climatic variables;
• strengthening disaster reduction capacities through Early Warning.
For more on IDNDR see Ingleton, 1999.
6.5.6 ECHO
Since 1994, the ECHO , the European Com munity Humanitarian Office, has been financing disaster prevention,
mitigation and prep aredness o perations throughout the developing world, in response to the requests of NGOs,
international organisations and universities/research institutes. Although EC HO’s mandate is to provide and fund
humanitarian aid, it does more than just that. It carries out studies, sets up coordination arrangements, promotes and
coordinates disaster prevention measures by training specialists, strengthening institutions and running pilot microprojects.
ECHO also organises training programmes and raises pub lic awareness about hum anitarian issues in
Europe and elsewhere.