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Transcript of Sri Lanka Ict Eews Goodsfwf
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Author: Kanchana Wickramasinghe
ClimatechangeisnowincreasingandwillfurtherincreaseinfutureboththefrequencyandintensityofnaturaldisastersinSriLankaincludingcyclones,floodsandlandslides(MoE2010).Whileanumberofstrategiesarenecessarytoaddressgrowthinclimaterelatednaturaldisasters,aneffectiveearlywarningsystemcanplayacrucialroleinlesseningtheprobablenegativeimpacts.Moregenerally,theneedforsuchasystemwashighlightedfollowingthehugedevastationcausedbythe2004tsunami.Afterfouryearsofresearch,developmentandpilotingactivities,theDisasterEarlyWarningNetwork(DEWN)waslaunchedinSriLankaon30thJanuary2009.Itaimstoprovidetimely,reliableandcosteffectivemassscaledisasterearlywarnings.DEWNrepresentsamultipartiteeffortandacaseforpublicprivatepartnershipsindeliveringICTbasedearlywarnings.
CASE STUDY Category: ICTs,ClimateChangeandDisasterManagement
Climate Change, Innovation & ICTs Project
Centre for Development Informatics (CDI), University of Manchester, UK With the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
Initiative Overview
Figure1:OverviewoftheDEWNSystem
Source:Wijesingheetal(2008)
DEWN'salertsaremultimodalthatis,makinguseofmultipletechnologiestodisseminateinformationtothelastmile.AsshowninFigure1,theenddevicesarenormalcellularphonesandalarmdeviceswhichwerespeciallydevelopedforthisinitiative.DEWNcangeneratemass,personneldirectedorlocationbasedalertstotheenddevicesusingthetwocommonlyavailablemobilecommunicationtechnologies:cellbroadcast(CB)andshortmessageservice(SMS)1(Wijesingheetal2008).
Application Description
Role of ICTs in Early Warning of ClimateRelated Disasters: A Sri Lankan Case Study
TheDEWNserverislocatedinSriLanka'sDisasterManagementCentre(DMC),theresponsibleagencyontheislandforalldisastermanagementissues.TheDMCreceivesearlywarninginformationfromrecognisedtechnicalagencies.Accordingly,informationregardingfloods,landslides,earthquakesandtsunamisisprovidedbytheIrrigationDepartment,NationalBuildingResearchOrganisation,GeologicalSurveyandMinesBureau,andMeteorologicalDepartment,respectively.TheDMCholdstheresponsibilityforverifyingtheemergencysituationandthenissuingalerts.Emergencypersonnelarealertedfirstinthecaseofapotentialdisasterandpublicalertsareissuedafterthethreatisfurtherverified(DMC2009).
1CBispointtomultipoint/broadcasttechnologybywhichmessagesarebroadcasttoallhandsetswhicharelisteningtotheappropriateCBchannel.CBcanreachmillionsofhandsetsinamatterofsecondsiftheyarelistening.Incontrast,SMSispointtopoint,wheremessagesareindividuallysenttoaknownnumber,oneafteranother.CBremainsentirelyfunctionaleveninthecaseofnetworkcongestionwhereSMSservicesareimpossibletouse(O2M2010).
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CASE STUDY Category: ICTs,ClimateChangeandDisasterManagement
Figure2:AnAlarmDevicePlacedinaHospital
Inaddition,alertscanbesenttothespecialisedDEWNalarmdeviceswhicharedesignedtobekeptinthepublicplacessuchaspolicestations,religious/communitycentres,markets,hospitalsetc.(seeFigure2).ThealarmdevicecanbetriggeredeitherbySMSorCBandincludesanumberoffunctionalitieswhichareessentialinemergencycommunications.Theseincludeanaudiblealarm,visuallightalert,callbackfacilitytoahotlinenumber,backupbattery,remotelyandlocallytunableFMreceiver,andtheabilitytobeusedasaportableradioindaytodaylife.Itsdesignthusprovidesafunctionalitybefore,duringandafteradisastereveninsituationswheretherearepowerdisruptionsandtherequirementsforpopulationmovement(ibid).Thedevicehasbeensuccessfullytested,thoughfurtherstudyandimprovementsareongoingsothatthedeviceisnotyetoperationalatnationallevel.
DEWNwasspecificallyinitiatedinresponsetoabsenceofaneffective,lastmilewarningsystemforSriLanka,followingthetsunamidevastationin2004.However,itwasalsodesignedtoaddressclimaterelateddisasterscyclones,floods,landslidessinceitwasexpectedthatclimatechangewouldaggravatealloftheseintermsofintensityandfrequencyovercomingyears(Parryetal2007,Solomonetal2007).Inallcases,themostimportantmissinglinkindisastermanagementwasseentobethedifficultyofgettingearlywarninginformationouttokeyemergencypersonnelandtothegeneralpublic.Thiselementoftheinformationsystemisseenastheonemostabletominimisethenegativeimpactsofclimaterelated(andother)disasters.
SMSbasedalertsaresenttothecontacts,mainlyemergencypersonnel(currentlynumberingaround1,500people).SinceSMSisnotimmunetopossiblenetworkcongestionthatmayoccurduringdisasters,itisnotusedformassalerting.InsteadCB,whichisimmunetonetworkcongestion,isusedtosendmassalerts.ThecontentofthemessagefollowstheinternationallyacceptedCommonAlertingProtocol(CAP).Customisedmessagesaretrilingual(English,Sinhala,Tamil)andcanfollowanumberofformatsincludingalert,orderforevacuationand'nothreat'1.Theycanbesenttoindividualorgroupsortothegeneralpublicinidentifiedareas.
2 'Nothreat'messagesareusedtoinformpeoplethatthedangerfromthedisasterisover.
Formal Drivers
ThetraditionalwaysofdisseminatingdisasterearlywarningsinSriLankahavebeenthroughradioandtelevision,militaryforcesandearlywarningtowers.However,duringadisastersituation,thereareimportantlimitationsmassmediachannelsarenotalwaysswitchedon,andotherchannelshavelimitedreach.IndesigningDEWN,then,theintentionwasviathecombinationofcellphones(manyofwhichareconstantlyswitchedon)andalarmdevicestoenableearlywarninginformationtoreachthelastmilemoreeffectivelybutalsoatrelativelylowcost.
Objectives/Purpose for ICT Usage
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TheDEWNinitiativeisamultiagencycollaborationwhichincludesthegovernment'sDisasterManagementCentre,DialogTelekomLtd.(aprivatemobiletelecommunicationoperator),Microimage(Pvt)Ltd.(aprivatesoftwaredevelopmentcompany),andtheUniversityofMoratuwa(UOM).ThemobileoperatorinitiatedresearchanddevelopmentactivitiesincollaborationwiththeuniversityintheDialogUOMMobileCommunicationResearchLaboratory.Allfundingandsometechnicalassistanceforthiswasprovidedbythecompany.Mostsoftwaredevelopmentactivitieswereundertakenthesoftwaredevelopmentcompany.LikeDialogTelekom,Microimagegotinvolvedintheinitiativeonnoncommercialgrounds.Theultimatestakeholdersaretheemergencypersonnelandgeneralpublicwhowillbenefitfromthewarnings,thoughcellbroadcastalertmessagestoindividualphonesareonlyavailabletothosewhoareDialogTelekomsubscribers.
DEWNisexpectedtobeasuccessfulexampleofanearlywarningsystemsuitableforaddressingthegrowingthreatofclimatechangerelatednaturaldisasters.However,sincenosuchmajordisasterhasbefallenSriLankasinceDEWN'simplementation,nofullevaluationcanbegivenonlytheassessmentofpilotandtrialexerciseswhichhaveshownthevalueofmobiletelecommunicationsinthisareaofclimatechangeadaptation.
GiventheinnovativenessofDEWN,itreceivedanumberofpreimplementationawardsincludingaNationalBestQualitySoftwareAwardandNationalAwardforScienceandTechnologyinSriLankain2006,aVodafoneWorldAroundUsWorkshopAwardinCairoin2006,andCommendationattheGSMGlobalAwardsin2007.Thealarmdevicehasalsobeenpatented.
ThecostsoftheDEWNinitiativeareveryhardtoestimatesincetheyhavebeenundertakenasanintegralpartoftheactivitiesofallthestakeholders,withoutseparateandexplicitcosting.Oneofthefewcoststhatisknownisthatofthealarmdevices,withinitialversionscostingaroundUS$190eachtoproduce.Atthetimeofwriting,DEWNhadnotbeenusedinanactualdisasterincident.However,thebenefitscanbeexpectedtomuchhigherthanthecosts.Themainbenefitofanyearlywarningsystemisthesavingofhumanlife.Itishardtoprovidemonetaryestimatesforthisandsuchestimatesasexistvaryconsiderably.However,usingfiguresfromHongKongandadjustingfordifferencesinGDPpercapitagivesaveryroughestimateofUS$150,000perlifesavedinSriLanka(Siebert&Wei1998).Therewillalsobebenefitsintermsofanymovablegoodsandassetsthatmightbesavedfromdisasterduetotheearlywarning,withestimatesofa1:7ratiobetweenoverallcostsandbenefitsofinvestmentindisasterearlywarningsystemsandotherpreventivemeasures(DT2010).Therearealsosomemorequantitativebenefits,fromgreaterfeelingsofsecuritywithincommunitiesthatcanaccessthewarnings,toreputationalandotherbenefitsforthemobileoperator.
Impact: Cost and Benefits
Publicprivatepartnershiphasanimportantpartofthesuccessofthisproject.ThepublicsectormustbeinvolvedsincetheDMCistheresponsibleagencyforearlywarning,anditprovidesthesolelegitimatenodethatcandrawonotherpublicagenciesfortheearlywarninginformation.However,itlacksmanykeyresourcesmoney,knowledge,skills,andanationwidemobileinfrastructure.ItwasallofthesethattheprivatepartnersDialogTelekomespeciallycouldprovide.
CASE STUDY Category: ICTs,ClimateChangeandDisasterManagement
Stakeholders
Evaluation: Failure or Success
Enablers/Critical Success Factors
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CASE STUDY Category: ICTs,ClimateChangeandDisasterManagement
Thetechnologyhasbeenachallengeinthreeways.First,thecostofthealarmdeviceswasinitiallyquitehighforadevelopingcountrycontextlikeSriLankamorethanUS$400limitingitsdiffusion.Ongoingdevelopmentworkhasreducedthiscostbymorethanhalf,butthemoneyforthisascomparedtousingtheexistingmobilenetworkhastobefoundfromsomewhere.Inaddition,therehavebeenproblemswithsomephonesinuseintheSriLankanmarket,whichdonotadheretointernationalstandards.Asaresult,ithasbeenverydifficulttogetCBmessagesdeliveredtothesephones.Technologyhasalsoprovenachallengetonetworkinterconnection.Atpresent,onlyDialogsubscribersreceivethealertmessages.Discussionshavebeenheldwithothermobileoperatorstoenablecrossnetworkconnectivitybutthiswillonlybepossiblewiththenecessarytechnologyandinfrastructure(andpoliticalwill)toenablethisinterconnection.
NotyetaprovenissueinSriLanka,buttherearereportsthatmassalertsincertainothercontextshavegeneratedpanicandchaosamongtherecipientsattimesofdisaster(Jayasingheetal2006).
Thefollowinglessonswerelearnedfromthiscasestudy:
1)Publicprivate partnerships can play a valuable role in ICTenabled climaterelateddisastermanagement. ThesituationwithDEWNisnotuntypicalwhereearlywarningsystemsareneededduetoclimatechangeandothercauses:thepublicsectorhaslegitimacy,institutionalcapitalandreachtheprivatesectorhastechnology,innovativecapacityandotherresources.Eachprovides what the other lacks and if collaboration is well thoughtthrough each can bemotivatedtosuccessfullyworktogether.
Buildingonexistingtechnologieshasbeencentraltotheproject.Ratherthantrytosetupanew,separateinformationsystemtodealwithclimatechange/disasters,DEWNwasbuiltontheexistingmobilenetworkinSriLanka.Thishasbroughtmanyadvantages.Ithasreducedcosts.IthasensuredlongtermviabilitysincethemobilenetworkanditsphonesexistirrespectiveoftheDEWNproject.Ithasensuredstrongpenetrationofthewarningsgiventhatmobilesubscriptionrateshavebeengrowingbynearly50%peryearduringthefirstdecadeofthe21stcentury,with82subscriptionsper100citizensby2011accordingtodatafromtheSriLankanTelecommunicationsRegulatoryCommission.(MorespecificallyDialogisthemarketleaderwitha39%shareamountingtomorethan7millioncustomers,andcoverageof75%oftheisland'slandareaand95%ofitspopulation.)ThehighpenetrationrateandhighmarketshareforDialogandthefactthatmanypeoplehavetheirmobilesonatanygiventimedayornight(unlikeradioandTV)meanthatvirtuallyallcommunitiesarelikelytoreceiveatleastonewarning,andmostwillreceivemany.
Integratingclimatechangeintobroaderapplicationshelps.Thiswasnotasystemdesignedspecificallyforclimatechange.Instead,itintegratesthedangersofclimatechangeitsexacerbationofnaturaldisastersintoamoregenericinformationsystem.Indeed,DEWNisbroaderalsothanjustanearlywarningsystemsinceitcanalsobeusedtocontradicterroneousmessagesaboutdisasters,andtodisseminateinformationonpostdisasteroperations.
Specificdisasterrelevantdesigncomponentshavebeenincluded.SounlikesomeotherearlywarningsystemsDEWNincludesanaudiblealarmwarning.Bybeingtrilingual,italsominimiseslanguagebarriersthatwouldoccurif,forexample,warningswereonlysentoutinEnglishorinSinhala.
Constraints/Challenges
Recommendations/Lessons Learned
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CASE STUDY Category: ICTs,ClimateChangeandDisasterManagement
2)Mobiletechnologycanbeusednowwithlimitedadditionalinvestment.Although,asseen,technologyremainsachallengeforearlywarningsystems,thosechallengeswouldbefargreaterifprojectsrequiredinvestmentsinnewinfrastructuresandrequireduserstomakeuseofnew,unfamiliartechnologies.Mobilenowprovideaready,increasinglyubiquitous,increasinglyfamiliartechnologyindevelopingcountriesaroundwhichtobasenotjustearlywarningsystemsbutotherICTsandclimatechangeapplications.
3)Multioperatorcollaborationisnecessaryforfullercoverage.Already,DEWNlikelyreachesintovirtuallyeverycommunityinSriLanka.However,toensurethefullestpossiblecoverageandtoavoidconcernsabouteconomicorothergainsbeingsoughtbyoneoperator,itwouldbesensibleformobilebased,climatechangerelatedICTapplicationstobebasedaroundamultioperatorcollaborationsomethingonwhichgovernmentpartnerscouldinsist.
4)Technologymustbecomplementedbyotheractions.Justrollingouttechnologyisnotsufficientforearlywarningsystems.Instead,theremustbeawarenessraising(viamassmediaand/orviaphone)amongthegeneralpublictheremustbespecifictrainingforthoseusingspecialistdeviceslikethealarmandallthismustbepartofmuchwidertrainingofemergencypersonnelforbothearlywarninganddisasterinterventionresponse.
5)Buildclimatechangeintoexistingdisasterapplications,don'tbuiltstandaloneapplications.DEWNdoesnotgiveanyseparateconsiderationtoclimatechangeitfocusesoneffectsandisthus"causeblind".Itthusaddressestheeffectsthatclimatechangemayexacerbatebutwithinageneralpurposeapplication.Considerationofclimatechangethuscomesatinitialplanningstagesforearlywarningapplications,toensurethatthetypeofdisastersclimatechangemayexacerbateareincorporatedintotheoverallsystemdesign.
ThecasestudyisbasedonpublishedmaterialspluskeyinformantinterviewswiththeDMC,mobiletelecommunicationoperator(Dialog),softwaredevelopmentcompany(Microimage)andthemobiletelecommunicationresearchlaboratory,whoarethestakeholdersofDEWNwhich,inturn,isseenasanintegralcomponentoftheclimatechangeresponseprocessinSriLanka.
Author:KanchanaWickramasingheInstituteofPolicyStudiesofSriLanka100/20,IndependenceAvenue,Colombo07SriLanka
Forfurtherinformation:Email:[email protected]
Data Sources & Further Information
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EDITORS:
RichardHeeksAngelicaValeriaOspina
PhotoCredits:DT(2009)
2011
TheClimateChange,InnovationandICTsProjectisaninitiativeledbytheCentreforDevelopmentInformatics(CDI)ofthe
UniversityofManchester,UK,withfundingsupportfromCanadasInternationalDevelopmentResearchCentre(IDRC).
Furtherinformationabouttheprojectandrelatedresourcescanbefoundat:http://www.niccd.org
DMC(2009)Newsletter,SecondQuarter,DisasterManagementCentre,Colombo.
DT(2009)InnovationforInclusion,DialogTelekom,Colombohttp://202.69.200.131/en/responsibility/dewn/dewn.html
DT(2010)DisasterandEmergencyWarningNetwork,DialogTelekom,Colombohttp://www.dialog.lk/about/responsibility/outreachcr/dewn/
Jayasinghe,G.,F.Fahmy,N.GajaweeraandD.Dias(2006)AGSMAlarmDeviceforDisasterEarlyWarning,paperpresentedattheFirstInternationalConferenceonIndustrialandInformationSystems,811Aug,Peradeniya,SriLanka
MoE(2010)NationalClimateChangeAdaptationStrategyforSriLanka:2011to2016,MinistryofEnvironment,Colombo
O2M(2010)CellBroadcastSystem,one2many,Deventer,Netherlandswww.one2many.eu/content/bestanden/faqcbspwso2mv1.2.pdf
Parry,M.L.,O.F.Canziani,J.P.Palutikof,P.J.vanderLindenandC.E.Hanson(eds)(2007)ContributionofWorkingGroupIItotheFourthAssessmentReportoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange,CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,UK
Siebert,W.S.andX.Wei(1998)Wagecompensationforjobrisks,AsianEconomicJournal,12(2),171181
Solomon,S.,D.Qin,M.Manning,Z.Chen,M.Marquis,K.B.Averyt,M.TignorandH.L.Miller(eds.)(2007)ContributionofWorkingGroupItotheFourthAssessmentReportoftheIntergovernmentalPanelonClimateChange,CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge,UK
Wijesinghe,L.,P.Siriwardena,S.Shanmugarajah,S.Wijeratne,R.Wijesinghe,M.deSoyza,H.PurasingheandD.Dias(2008)DEWNII:ATrilingualDisasterAndEmergencyWarningNetwork,paperpresentedattheInternationalInformationTechnologyConference,2829Oct,Colombo
References
CASE STUDY Category: ICTs,ClimateChangeandDisasterManagement