Sunday, September 15, 2013

Gallery of Peace Efforts: Southern Philippines 6

Seasoned, veteran MNLF fighters and their young male children, living peaceful lives in Sulu, allowed themselves to be mobilized and utilized by the government in the rescue of ICRC hostages from criminal civlians gangs in league with the Abu Sayyaf. Some of these 'civilian' volunteers were nearly almost smaller than the high powered guns they brought with them to fight alongside government forces against the Abu Sayyaf.

Jolo, Indanan, Parang, Talipao, Maimbung - all of Sulu Province, along with nearby towns. The theater of operations during the rescue of ICRC hostages.

Photos of the saturation drive on May 7 2008. During this operation the Provincial Commander died along with several civilian volunteers (MNLF).

Shown below, are the casualties of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf that were accounted for. Information provided by sources revealed that the actual number of Abu Sayyaf casualties was in the range of 30-40 dead or seriously, terminally wounded. One of the casualties was Abu Sayyaf Commander Dahim, who commanded the unit that engaged the government in battle on May 7, 2008 at Maimbung, Sulu.

Abu Sayyaf Commander Dahim

United States Armed Force personnel, risked life and limb alongside their Philippine counterparts during the ICRC crisis. They brought in mechanized warfare equipment, contributed GPS devices and provided advisory and other technical assistance to government forces.

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The Distraction brought by fighting Climate Change

After the 2005 Hyogo Conference, scientists urged the United Nations to consider that the various conflicting issues surrounding Climate Change is "distracting governments" from providing solutions to threats of disasters worldwide.

"The current UN focus on "fighting climate change," as illustrated in the Nov. 27 UN Development Programme's Human Development Report, is distracting governments from adapting to the threat of inevitable natural climate changes, whatever forms they may take. National and international planning for such changes is needed, with a focus on helping our most vulnerable citizens adapt to conditions that lie ahead. Attempts to prevent global climate change from occurring are ultimately futile, and constitute a tragic misallocation of resources that would be better spent on humanity's real and pressing problems."

A letter written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon ventilated sentiments of scientists and technology experts on the issue of focusing deeper into finding means to adapt to the threat of climate change.

A network of connected hazards

The Global Geohazard System

Crisis Mapping

In 2008 we determined to create a full-function Crisis Mapping project. This was borne out of the persistent eruption of hostilities in Southern Philippines between both communist - Islamist groups on one side and. government on the other side. Fresh from the experience at confronting an incorrigible troublemaker such as the Juma'a Abu Sayyap, or more popularly known as Abu Sayyaf, we resolved to push stakeholders to join in formulating the Philippine conflicts crisis map.

This is modeled after the U.S.-Euro academe's successful crime and peace keeping mapping efforts that had led to wide acceptance and invited broad-based support from as many sectors and as many countries as possible.

After all, the value of life is such that people and institutions, states and combines will pay as high a price as possible for the safety of both individuals and enclaves of people.

Changed Parameters

One year later, the entire universe for the crisis mapping project had changed. It cannot be called a drastic change since the new directions fell within range of long-held advocacies and persistent efforts. We had began such efforts by provoking officials at the Department of National Defense to modernize.

Among the sources for concepts and ideas of our papers given to the department was an executive formerly engaged as part of a service provider group at a Saudi Arabia military base. The Saudi military and government, thanks to their foreign high-tech service providers in the late 80s were already advanced in the use of GIS, the digitization of all documents, exploiting satellite information among many things.

With various other inputs from visiting colleagues, the advocacy for a fully functional satellite research, GPS and GIS-ready system was pushed at defense department, the National Security Council and at the Department of Transportation and Communications through the suggestion of the administrative officer of the defense secretary. More > >

Environment Hazards. Crisis Mapping. Forecasting.

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Sunday, September 15, 2013

Gallery of Peace Efforts: Southern Philippines 6

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