About 200 government officials, researchers and practitioners came from 20 of the world's biggest cities to the three-day Third International Workshop on Earthquakes and Megacities, which started here Thursday.
The agenda consists of discussions on reducing megacities' vulnerability to disaster and on management techniques for a sustainable environment.
The workshop is scheduled to address four components of the issues: community participation, public policy, land-use planning and infrastructure strengthening, and the implementation of a culture of prevention.
"The workshop constitutes a platform for sharing thoughts and experiences that further our common efforts to reduce the vulnerability of the population and the infrastructure of megacities," said Fouad Bendimerad, chairman of the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMI).
EMI, organizer of the event, is an international non-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to earthquake preparedness, mitigation and recovery in large urban areas.
Fouad said attempts to reduce the pace of urbanization have not been successful and cities keep growing at an alarming rate - especially in developing countries - thus increasing the risks.
Any reduction in vulnerability must therefore be drawn from engagement in and commitment to risk mitigation, he said.
By now, half of the world's population is crammed onto 3 percent of its land. By 2025, predictions say 80 per cent of the world's population will live in the cities.
"The Chinese Government has been attaching great significance to the prediction and prevention of, and rescues related to, earthquakes," said Song Ruixiang, director general of China Seismological Bureau.
(China Daily November 1, 2002)
