International cooperation to reduce the impact of the El Niño phenomenon

Invites States to incorporate in sustainable development programmes to prevent, mitigate and rehabilitate the damage caused by natural disasters; calls upon States, relevant intergovernmental bodies and all others involved in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction to participate actively in the financial and technical support for Decade activities, including those related to international cooperation to reduce the impact of the El Niño phenomenon; commends the national, regional and subregional efforts of affected countries to reduce the impact of El Niño; requests the Secretary-General to facilitate, within the framework of the Decade, an international concerted and comprehensive strategy towards the integration of the prevention, mitigation and rehabilitation of the damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon; calls upon the secretariat of the Decade to continue to facilitate a concerted international approach to improvements in early-warning capacities for natural disasters and similar disasters with adverse impact on the environment, with particular reference to El Niño; welcomes the establishment of the Inter-agency Task Force on El Niño for cooperative work on the prevention and mitigation of and preparedness for natural disasters related to the El Niño phenomenon; calls upon the organizations and bodies of the UN system to contribute further to a comprehensive approach and study of El Niño; urges the Secretary-General to include the El Niño phenomenon and its consequences in the ongoing activities of the Decade; recommends that long-term public awareness and information programmes related to natural disasters, including those induced by El Niño, be integrated into comprehensive national disaster management programmes that focus on preventive strategies for risk reduction.

Adopted without vote, 77th meeting

3 p.

Adopted at the 77th plenary meeting, 18 Dec. 1997.