ITSU-XV/3 - International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, Fifteenth Session, Papetee, Tahiti, French Polynesia, 24-28 July 1995

 

The Chairman, Mr. H. Gorziglia, opened the Fifteenth Session of the IOC International Co-ordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in (he Pacific (ICG/ITSU) at 10.00 on 24 July 1995.

The Chairman welcomed the participants and pointed out that the tsunami programme of IOC is one of the most important as it is targeted to saving lives and property. The last years have seen an unusually apparent increase in the frequency of destructive tsunami events. Though all these tsunami have been local in their effects and impact, the total death toll was almost 2,000 people, and the damage presented a figure in billions of dollars (Figure 1, Tables 1 and 2). The goal of the Group is to diminish the effects of this disaster, to identify and co-ordinate efforts of Member States in the Pacific in making people’s lives safer.

The Chairman wished the participants every success and thanked the local organizers for the arrangements for the Session. He then invited the Representative of the French Government to welcome the participants.

Dr. R. Bagnis; in charge of the questions on research and technology for the French Minister of National Education, Higher Education, Research and Professional Training, and as the Representative of the High Commissioner of the French Republic in French Polynesia, acknowledged the importance of tsunami mitigation and warning for the population of French Polynesia.

He referred to the recommendation made in Paris at the Colloquium on the Environment in the South Pacific, relevant to the importance of the installation of monitoring networks on natural risks and warning systems adapted to each risk. He praised highly the international co-operative scientific efforts made by many states of the Pacific region under the auspices of IOC to improve knowledge on tsunami, to evaluate potentially tsunamigenic earthquakes and to monitor the tsunami warning activities.

A full text of the address is presented in Annex V.

Dr. I. Oliounine, the Technical Secretary of the Session, Senior Assistant Secretary IOC, thanked the Government of France and the local authorities for hosting the Meeting and providing excellent facilities. He emphasized the important input of the Laboratoire de Géophysique located in Papetee to the tsunami warning system and to ensuring the maximum preparedness of the population of the Pacific to face natural disasters and to mitigate their consequences. He reminded the participants that the system was established 30 years ago and that at this Session the Group will have an opportunity to summarize achievements, identify problems and formulate new tasks in order to respond effectively to the Recommendations of the IOC Governing Bodies and to the objectives of the International Decade on Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). He expressed satisfaction and acknowledged all the continuous efforts put into the tsunami warning system by the IOC/ITSU Member States.

In closing his welcome address, Dr. Oliounine stressed that there is no country in the Pacific which can isolate itself from inevitable dangers and effects of tsunami and it is vitally important to concentrate efforts with a view to achieve an ultimate noble goal of saving people lives and property. He called on the participants to identify and raise the necessary resources without which there will be no effective tsunami warning system, no matter how high the need is for one.

Dr. I. Oliounine, on behalf of the Executive Secretary IOC, Dr. G. Kullenberg, wished all the participants a productive Session and a nice stay in Tahiti, washed by the sun of the South Pacific and by the hospitality of its local people.

The Chairman thanked the speakers and invited the Group to adopt the Provisional Agenda, as dated of 12 January 1995. The Group adopted the Agenda as presented in Annex I.

The Group accepted the proposal of Canada to designate Mr. W. Sites (USA) as Rapporteur of the Session.

The Technical Secretary introduced the documentation and the timetable of the Session. The Group adopted the working procedures and accepted the documentation with slight modifications as presented in the List of Documents reproduced in Annex IV. It was decided to make the necessary modifications to the timetable while the Session is progressing. The List of Participants is given in Annex HI.

The Group noted with satisfaction the good representation of the IOC/ITSU Member States and warmly welcomed a new Member of the Group: the Cook Islands. The Group expressed regret that due to different reasons New Zealand, the Philippines, Fiji and some other countries were not able to attend the Session.

Finally, the head of the local organizing Committee, Dr. F. Schinde1é, informed the participants of local arrangements.


 Informational Documents

Document Title Format/Type
ITSU-XV Summary Report PDF  (2.55 MB)

 

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