Author: Digital Services

National Capacity Building Working Group

The INSARAG National Capacity Building Working Group (NCB WG) was established to enhance national capacity building in disaster response, transitioning from the earlier National Accreditation Working Group formed in 2020. This group aligns with INSARAG’s Strategic Plan for 2021-2026, particularly its goal to localize emergency response coordination and improve national-level Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capacities. The NCB WG focuses on adapting INSARAG’s coordination methodologies to local contexts, fostering community preparedness, and supporting national accreditation processes. Its scope includes providing technical guidance for establishing national USAR frameworks, helping countries integrate international USAR teams, and developing customized capacity-building strategies for member states.

 

The NCB WG will operate for three years with members from all three INSARAG regions, who possess extensive USAR and INSARAG experience. It will review and update important documents such as the INSARAG Guidelines and the Technical Guidance Note on the INSARAG Recognized National Accreditation Process (IRNAP). Additionally, it will offer support in training national experts and technical groups involved in accreditation. The working group reports to the INSARAG Steering Group and will conduct both virtual and in-person meetings, aligned with global or regional INSARAG events. Key deliverables include updates to INSARAG guidelines and support for the First Responder Training Programme.

 

Terms of Reference

 

NCB WG Contacts

Generated by wpDataTables

SIMEX China 2021: INSARAG Asia-Pacific International Earthquake Response Exercise (IERE)

Last week the INSARAG Asia-Pacific International Earthquake Response Exercise (IERE) named as “SIMEX China 2021”, hosted by China and strongly supported by the Asia-Pacific Chair Indonesia, Member States, and relevant partners and organizations, took place virtually for 3 days, from the 24 November to 26 November.

The Asia-Pacific Region is one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world. For this reason, this IERE was essential for the regional group to review its response capacities. This online event provided a platform through which participants practiced international coordination of Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs),INSARAG and UNDAC, reflecting the emergency response coordination system of China.   

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the “SIMEX China 2021” was a great success with participants from over 30 countries and 4 different international organizations, connecting from all over the world.

New national USAR doctrine and guidelines integrating INSARAG standards for responders in France

After several years of work, involving the entire French USAR community under the coordination of the French General Directorate for Civil Protection and Crisis Management/Office of Doctrine, Training and Equipment, the new national USAR doctrine was published in September 2021. This doctrine is complemented by the national operational and technical guidelines for all French USAR responders: from first responders to regional, national and international teams. As France had committed to, in the context of the INSARAG recognition of its national accreditation process in July 2017, all INSARAG standards have been integrated into these new national guidelines which are now a reference for all USAR operations on the French territory (including overseas) and allowing, if necessary, a perfect coordination with possible international USAR teams requested to assist in France.

These guidelines in French are available following the links below, (it will be translated to English soon):

https://resana.numerique.gouv.fr/public/information/consulterAccessUrl?cle_url=138418266AmgPbwMPVGhXOlQyVzlUdFRqWmcCIwRtVD9VaAZnWmBTZgI3UzhVMFZhBD0=


https://resana.numerique.gouv.fr/public/information/consulterAccessUrl?cle_url=80420984VD4CYgAMCTVTPglvVjhQcFNtXGEFJARtBW5YZVw9CzEFMFRhWzAGY1BmBzc=

Sub-WG A: Global Position

Sub-WG A Global Position composed of 2 Co-Chair and 16 members, will develop a global INSARAG position on Flexible (Operational) Response, based on the drafted Regional Position Papers on this topic in 2020. The scope of the global position on Flexible Response can also encompass the response beyond collapsed structures and earthquakes, as some regions have already implemented this successfully.

Sub-WG Co Chairs

NameCountryRegionRoleContact
Thomas ZeiterSwitzerlandEurope (AEME)Sub-WG A
Co Chair		Thomas.zeiter@eda.admin.ch
Otty RusinarsetyoIndonesiaAsia-PacificSub-WG A
Co Chair		otty.rs@gmail.com
Haruka Ezaki–Asia-PacificINSARAG Secretariat Rep.haruka.ezaki@un.org

Meeting Summaries:

Key Documents

Draft ToR – Flexible Response WG, available on this LINK

Annex C: Draft FRWG Timeline

Sub-WG B: DACC

Sub-WG B DACC composed of 2 Co-Chairs and 20 members, will develop the Damage Assessment Coordination Centre (DACC) guidelines and methodology.

Sub-WG Co Chairs

NameCountryRegionRoleContact
Solveig ThorvaldsdottirIcelandEurope (AEME)Sub-WG B
Co Chair		solveig@rainrace.com
Mark ScorerUK/SARAIDEurope (AEME)Sub-WG B
Co Chair		mark.scorer@saraid.org.uk
Ana Maria Rebaza–AmericasINSARAG Secretariat Rep.rebaza@un.org

Meeting Summaries:

Key Documents

Draft ToR – Flexible Response WG, available on this LINK

Annex C: Draft FRWG Timeline

Sub-WG C: Urban Search & Rescue at Heritage Sites

Sub-WG C Response to Cultural Heritage composed of 2 Co-Chairs and 9 members, will review the draft UNESCO Guidelines on Response to Cultural Heritage and draft an INSARAG Technical Guidance Note on “INSARAG’s Response to Cultural Heritage Sites”.

Sub-WG Co Chairs

NameCountryRegionRoleContact
Jing WangChinaAsia-PacificSub-WG C
Co Chair		archsky2008@126.com
Aparna TandonUNESCO-ICCROM–Sub-WG C
Co Chair		aparna.tandon1@gmail.com
Clement Herbert Kalonga–AEMEINSARAG Secretariat
Rep.		clement.kalonga@un.org

2023 Updates:

Urban Search and Rescue at Heritage Sites Version 9.0 – 31 March 2023

2022 Updates:

Presentation by Sub-WG Urban Search & Rescue at Heritage Sites at HNPW 2022 Link

Key Documents:

Draft ToR – Flexible Response WG, available on this LINK.

Annex B: Draft UNESCO Field Guidelines for USAR at Heritage Sites

Annex C: Draft FRWG Timeline