A new
Foresight project investigating how to improve anticipation of and
resilience to disasters is being announced today by the Government
Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir John Beddington.
The project ‘Improving Future Disaster Anticipation and
Resilience’ will identify actions that could be taken within the
next 10 years to reduce the impacts of disasters arising from
hazards up to the year 2040. It will call on industry and academic
expertise from the UK and explore how emerging science and
technology might improve our ability to prepare for and respond to
these impacts.
The project is part of the Government’s response to Lord
Ashdown’s Humanitarian Emergency Response Review commissioned by
the Department for International Development. It is focussed on
disasters that occur outside of developed countries, particularly
in politically or economically fragile states, and will look at
hazards including earthquakes, floods and droughts.
Speaking at the Royal Geographical Society today, Professor Sir
John Beddington will say:
“Internationally and domestically there is increasing concern for
the destructive power of disasters, and science and evidence have
a critical role to play in helping us predict and prepare for this.
“This project will build on the UK’s leading role in natural
hazard and disaster research. It will help UK Government become
more effective and efficient in dealing with disasters and will
advance the work of major international organisations.”
Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development said:
"Global disasters are increasing in scale and
complexity. They affect millions of people often in the
world's poorest countries. By preparing better for future
disasters we can save many more lives, and also save the British
taxpayer money in the long run.
"This new Foresight project will bring together, for the
first time, key UK Government Departments and the international
humanitarian community to identify how scientific evidence can
strengthen anticipation and resilience to global disasters, so
that Britain can continue to be a world leader in disaster response."
This project is the first of Foresight’s new ‘Policy Futures’
projects. These are a shorter kind of Foresight project that will
help UK policy makers deliver key agendas by providing futures and
evidence analysis to fill a specific gap in existing
understanding. The project will report its findings by the end of 2012.
The project will be guided by a group of experts from a range of
disciplines, and will be informed by the best current research
across the physical sciences, health, social sciences and
economics. Its findings will help UK and international
policy-makers navigate a challenging and uncertain future.
Notes to editors:
1. Foresight is the government’s futures think tank, based in the
Government Office for Science (GO Science). GO Science supports
the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser in ensuring that the
Government has access to, and uses, the best science and
engineering advice. It is located within the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills.
2. The UK Government’s Foresight Programme helps Government think
systematically about the future. Foresight helps Government
deliver major policy agendas by helping to ensure today’s
decisions are resilient to future uncertainties.
3. Further details about the project can be found on the
Foresight website ( http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight ).
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Sally Catmull
Phone: 020 7215 6577
sally.catmull@bis.gsi.gov.uk