Kobe Meet Adopts Declaration & Action Plan World Unites to work for Disaster Reduction	Nations at the U.N. World Conference on Disaster Reduction, united in shock over the Indian Ocean catastrophe, adopted a declaration and a 10-year action plan that committed them to strengthening global disaster reduction efforts, during their historic meeting held in the Japanese port city of Kobe from 18 to 22 January 2005. In the first concrete step four weeks after an earthquake-triggered tsunami killed more than 250,000 people, the Conference laid the groundwork for the first tsunami early-warning system in the Indian Ocean, expected to be in place in 2006. In terms of overall disaster prevention measures, they emphasized the importance of integrating technologies to detect oncoming hazards, systems for notifying countries and for states to disseminate information to communities, and the education of citizens to be aware of what they should do when they receive such warnings. In the closing session, the delegates adopted the "Hyogo Declaration" and the "Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015," which are aimed at assessing ongoing efforts to lessen the effects of natural hazards and determining what further action is needed. The declaration derives its name from the Hyogo province where Kobe is situated. The conference secretariat also produced a statement summarizing the intentions of parties willing to support the establishment of a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean and a review of the 1994 Yokohama Strategy on disaster reduction as reference material. "This conference commenced in the shadow of the Indian Ocean disaster and ends with a strong message of hope and promise in the form and the shape of the Hyogo Declaration and the Framework of Action document," U.N. Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland said in the closing session. "It is my personal conviction that through the faithful implementation of this action plan, in the next 10 years, the number of deaths caused by natural disasters should be halved compared to the last decade. This will mean the saving of hundreds of thousands of lives and many millions of livelihoods," he said, adding, “but "we must not fail in the implementation challenge." The 168-nation Conference went through dozens of workshops and a final night of closed-door negotiation before adopting a "framework for action," resolving to pursue "substantial reduction" of disaster losses in the next 10 years. This is "one of the most critical challenges" facing the world, the final declaration said, because cyclones, floods, earthquakes and other events set back human progress, especially in poor nations. The international Red Cross said it will continue to advocate for firm targets and more aid for disaster preparedness in poor countries. "The international community has 2005 to make concrete its promises," said the relief agency's Eva von Oelreich. The Conference brought together 4,000 diplomats, development specialists, scientists, economists, aid workers and others to Kobe, the city that was struck by a crippling earthquake 10 years ago, in an effort to channel experience and resources into building better human defenses against the worst of nature. Each day, delegates could see the need - in the latest news video from coastlines ravaged by the giant waves spawned Dec. 26 by the great Sumatra earthquake. "It heightened our awareness of the importance of stepping up our joint efforts," said Marco Ferrari of Switzerland, drafting committee chairman for the conference, which was planned months before the Indian Ocean tsunami. In sideline meetings, richer nations pledged at least $8 million toward the estimated $30 million cost of a tsunami early-warning network for the Indian Ocean, like the one in place in the Pacific. With U.N. coordination, they hope to deploy the alert system by mid-2006. The 24-page overall action plan calls on states and international organizations to "take into consideration" and "implement as appropriate" a lengthy series of steps to reduce vulnerability and guard against natural hazards. They range from establishing national disaster agencies, developing risk maps and collecting better statistics on disaster effects to building disaster-resistant hospitals, schools and other critical facilities to teaching schoolchildren about disaster risks and establishing alert systems easily understood by large, poor populations. The framework also cites "a need to enhance international and regional cooperation and assistance in the field of disaster risk reduction." Although the world has pledged some $4 billion in relief aid for the Indian Ocean victims, the Kobe conference did not commit richer nations to boosting financial aid in the long-term for disaster prevention. Some aid organizations sharply criticized the lack of concrete commitments. "Disaster prevention is not an optional extra. It's an urgent necessity," said Marcus Oxley of Britain's Tearfund group. The drafting committee needed lengthy negotiations to reach a compromise in another area: climate change. The United States, oil-producing countries and some others resisted mentions in the final documents of the fact that a scientific consensus warns that global warming is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. In the past 10 years, natural disasters have killed almost 700,000 people, affected more than 2.5 billion and cost an estimated $690 billion in economic losses, says Belgium's university-based Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. The first World Conference on Disaster Reduction was held in May 1994 in Yokohama, Japan, and resulted in the “Yokohama strategy”.