Description
(Red Cross/Red Crescent Centre on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness)
The Netherlands Red Cross is located in The Hague. It is part of international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which consists of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The Netherlands Red Cross helps, protects and takes care of victims of war, conflict and disaster, and those who need assistance because of other circumstances. The Netherlands Red Cross Society was established in 1867, and since then has developed approximately 350 braches, covering the whole country, cooperating in 73 districts. The work in the branches is carried out by some 34,000 volunteers; they are supported by the professional staff located in The Hague.
The Netherlands Red Cross is part of the international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The Movement consists of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The Climate Centre
In 2002 the Netherlands Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) established the Red Cross/Red Crescent Centre on Climate Change and Disaster Preparedness (RC/RC Climate Centre). The organisation is located in The Hague but has a global function, in order to facilitate cooperation between national RC/RC societies, as well as between climate scientists and policy makers. The purpose of the Centre is to promote understanding of the risks of climate change and ways to address them, particularly by means of disaster risk reduction programs.
The Climate Centre coordinates programmes and provides technical advice in close cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross in Geneva and the regional delegations. Furthermore the Climate Centre�s work disseminates documentation and information and experience and helps to find financial assistance to implement regional programmes and activities. It also provides guidelines on how to integrate climate change into planning and programmes � for instance in 2007 the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Guide, which aimed at providing form a deeper understanding with regards the risks of climate change. The publication built on the Centre�s work carried out in more than thirty Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, mostly in developing countries.
As for other publications, the �Preparedness for climate change 2006-2007; understanding and addressing the risks of climate change� intended to represent the Red Cross/Red Crescent�s answer to the problem of changing climate. It calls for a better international understanding of climate change and of how extreme weather events could affect vulnerable people, which was expected to lead to stronger risk reduction programs. In conjunction with the report, a programme was implemented with voluntary participation from all the national RC/RC societies in developing countries. The programme ´Preparedness for climate change - understanding and addressing the risks of climate change´ was implemented in 2006 and 2007, with financial support from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate-General for International Cooperation. The initiative is hoped to contribute to network-building among national societies and international organisations and will lead to recommendations to address climate related risks.
Other activities of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre include the provision of regular updates on climate-related news, policy and science, of training and capacity building on climate risk management and of assistance with communication and media strategies.
Categories
Non Governmental Organisation