UN members negotiate on managing disasters and climate risks
Over 150 UN Member States are expected in Geneva today to negotiate the final text of a new agreement on disaster and climate risk management. It’s almost ten years since the first such agreement was adopted following the Indian Ocean tsunami which claimed over 220,000 lives. The Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015) – Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters has been under revision for over two years based on the experience of trying to reduce disaster losses over the last ten years. Margareta Wahlström of the UN says: “The world is struggling to cope with existing levels of exposure and vulnerability to disasters. Despite much success in spreading a culture of disaster risk reduction around the world, conservative estimates are that at least two billion people were affected by disasters over the last ten years and over one million died. Alongside that, economic losses since 2000 are in the range of $2 trillion.” The revised Hyogo Framework for Action will be adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction which will convene in Sendai, Japan, from March 14 to 18, 2015.
Insurer warns of risk to SMEs from unprepared suppliers
A new survey by Zurich has found that many small and medium businesses fail to assess the risk that a new supplier could present to their business. Specifically the report focused on how the supply chain would be affected if a key member of the supplier’s staff was not available. A quarter of respondents said their business would be affected if just one member of a supplier’s staff was absent; for example through long term illness or death. If 2-5 staff members were unavailable, the figure rises to 42 per cent. The issue is amplified where a business relies on one main supplier. Zurich’s risk report suggests that businesses should check what contingency plans and insurance cover a new supplier has in place; although the survey found that 58 per cent of suppliers do not have a contingency plan and only 11 per cent have key person insurance.
Cyber attack hits US State Department
As further evidence that no organization is immune from the threat of a cyber attack, the US State Department has confirmed that it has been the victim of “activity of concern”. A senior department source said on Sunday that the entire unclassified email system had been shutdown following the suspected attack. No further details of the incident have been given, however the State Department is expected to make a statement in the next 24 hours. It’s reported that additional security measures have been implemented over the weekend.
