UN ESCAP and the Government of Thailand have announced that the scope of the trust fund supporting early warning systems will be broadened to include disaster preparedness and climate change.
3 March 2011: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) has announced that the UN ESCAP trust fund supporting early warning systems for tsunamis will be expanded to include disaster preparedness and climate change activities in Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia countries.
The trust fund, supported by contributions from the Governments of Thailand and Sweden, was initiated in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Activities supported so far under the trust fund included the establishment of the Regional, Integrated, Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES). UN ESCAP and the Government of Thailand will host a signing ceremony on 7 March 2011, at UN ESCAP headquarters, to mark the broadened scope of the fund. [UN ESCAP Press Release]