OSCE Office in Yerevan holds workshop on environmental risks and security in earthquake areas

YEREVAN, 19 October 2004 - An international workshop on environmental risks and security in earthquake prone areas, organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Public Environmental Information Centre (Aarhus Centre), started yesterday in the Armenian capital.

More than 250 participants from 52 countries took part in the four-day event, which was part of preparations for the World Conference on Disaster Reduction to be held in Kobe, Japan, early next year.

The workshop also included a special session on public awareness, education and training on social consequences of earthquakes, which was conducted jointly by the OSCE Office and the Aarhus Centre as a follow-up activity to the Environment and Security Initiative by the OSCE, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP)

"The OSCE Office considers raising the public awareness and information sharing about possible disasters and risks to be part of good governance principles," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

"This can serve as a decisive link in the chain of a wide range of measures for risk reduction and protecting the lives of human beings."

"The issue of public awareness on seismic hazard and risk has a vital political, social and economic importance as it is closely linked with the provision of national security to the country and the region," he added.

Ambassador Pryakhin also commemorated the victims of the devastating earthquake in Spitak, Armenia, 15 years ago, expressing his deepest sympathy and respect to the Armenian people.