An
Historical Success Story: Mediterranean
Initiative (MedIn): Extending the Benefits of GDIN to Border Nations
on the Mediterranean
For
more information on this archive page, contact secretariat@gdin.org
the
Report
Purpose
The purpose of
the Mediterranean Workshop in 2000 was to discuss the feasibility of establishing
scope for a disaster information network for the region,
as a GDIN prototype technical demonstration project, one of a series
of such projects such as the Native American Project, which is on going
in 2007. This report is offered to show
both a success story and a potential model for future technical
collaborations.
The network
concept, which was proposed by the European Commission was to build upon existing programs sponsored by the EU, and the civil
protection, space and environmental agencies of its member countries,
UNEP, and NATO. This Mediterranean Disaster Information Network (MEDIN)
would facilitate the exchange, sharing and dissemination of accurate,
timely regional disaster information and data among European, Middle
Eastern, North African and U.S. partners, consistent with the goals,
and principles of the GDIN Ankara Declaration. A concept paper, which
included this goal, was provided to facilitate discussion.
Summary
OBSERVATIONS AND
INTERVENTIONS:
The speakers all
endorsed the concept of a MEDIN and highlighted current programs and
activities under their purviews that could support and/or enhance information
exchange, training, and other cooperative activities in planning for,
assessing, and mitigating natural and technological disasters in the
Med Basin. In the limited time for discussion, other participants commented
as follows:
- Italian Embassy
(Ankara) Ð highlighted relevant activities under the Barcelona Process,
including work on seismic risks, floods, civil protection. A meeting
in Rome in June 2000 took stock of progress.
- The European
Space Agency summarized its remote sensing work to track and monitor
oil spills.
- Israel reported
its willingness to share with a larger MEDIN community a geodetic
database currently used to facilitate cooperation with Jordan and
Turkey.
- US Mission (FEMA
representative) to NATO reported that civil protection cooperation
is underway with 5 non-NATO Med Basin countries and a conference of
collaborators is scheduled for Mauritania in October 2000.
CONCLUSIONS AND
the INTERNATIONAL CHARTER:
- Establish a
MEDIN Working Group within GDIN.
- Establish a
MEDIN node on the GDIN Website.
- Compile more
detailed observations and comments submitted during the workshop and
place them on the Website with the Concept Paper and this Synopsis.
- Prepare a contact
list, including experts from other Med Basin countries who were unable
to attend the workshop.
- Inventory relevant
programs and databases for the Med region.
- Organize follow-on
workshop(s) to be held in the Med region, before Canberra 2001. Potential
topics, locations, venues, and dates are being discussed.
- Develop proposals
for case studies to demonstrate current and/or prospective networking
in support of a MEDIN.
- Space Agencies
then got together in a summit in 2000 and formed the International
Charter on Space and Natural Disasters. Though not technically
an off shoot of GDIN, it's creation was generally understood to have
been influenced by the discussion in MEDIN and those that created
GDIN. For information on the charter, go to http://www.disasterscharter.org/charter_e.html
FACILITATOR:
From 2000 until
2002, the Facilitator was Dr. Fernando R. Echavarria, Phd.
His contact information
was:
Space and Advanced
Technology Staff
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
(OES/SAT), U.S. Department of State
SA-1, Suite H228
2401 E Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20522-0111
(202) 663-2395 (phone) (202) 663-2402 (FAX)
fernando_echavarria@hotmail.com
Other
offivers in the working group were as follow, all of whom served with
distinction in the GDIN family.
