The annual expert forums are organized to advance the production and use of disaster-related statistics for risk-informed development in support of the aim of the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Disaster-related Statistics (IAEG-DRS) of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
The Expert Forum is coordinated for statisticians, disaster management experts, geo-scientists, as well as policymakers and other decision-makers that rely on statistics to inform their decisions. This forum was organized in a hybrid format to advance in the production and use of disaster-related statistics for risk-informed development, using a platform where users and producers of disaster-related statistics collaborate and share knowledge.
The Forum is hosted by ESCAP and co-organized by ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCWA, UNDRR, and UNSD.
Objectives:
The objectives of the 2023 Expert Forum were to:
Share and discuss country experiences with the utilization of disaster-related statistics to monitor national and global disaster risk reduction commitments or guide risk-informed development.
Share and discuss country experiences with the production of disaster-related statistics with a view to identifying good practices and replication opportunities.
In pursuing these objectives, the Expert Forum was guided and informed by recent global developments, such as opportunities presented by climate change talks, advancements in the global geospatial information management community, statistical measurement development of relevance to disaster risk reduction as well as developments in technology.
Outcomes:
Identify priority needs of countries to inform capacity development and technical support.
Identify priority research topics to be pursued by the IAEG-DRS and other relevant groups.
Generate additional insights of use for the formulation of a common statistical framework on disaster-related statistics.
ECLAC led the second session “Assessing and mapping risk exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity” providing a venue to discuss country experiences on how to use emerging trends and innovative technologies such as geospatial information and Earth observations, remote sensing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data for gathering, analyzing, and visualizing disaster-related data.
4. Defining direct and indirect impacts of disasters Session Organizers: UNSD, UNDRR, ECE, ESCAP Session Chair and Moderator: James Norris
5. Measuring human impacts of disasters Session Organizers: ESCWA, UNDRR, ESCAP Session Chair and Moderator: Wafa Aboul Hosn
6. Measuring disaster impacts on the environment and cultural heritage Session Organizers: ECA, ESCAP Session Chair and Moderator: Andre Nonguierma (ECA) / Eileen Capilit (ECA)
7. Estimating direct material impact and economic loss from disasters Session Organizers: ESCAP, UNDRR, ECE Session Chair and Moderator: Teerapong Praphotjanaporn
8. Accounting for disaster risk reduction expenditures Session Organizers: ESCAP, UNDRR Session Chair and Moderator: Julie Hass (Bureau of Economic Analysis, BEA)
