 |
United Nations University (UNU) |
 |
United Nations University (UNU)
The mission of the United Nations University (UNU) is "to contribute, through research and capacity building, to efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations, its Peoples and Member States". UNU is the “Think Tank” of the UN and ranked globally as a Top-Ten Government-Affiliated Think Tank and Top-Ten International Development Think Tank in 2010. The following four key roles represent the core of UNU’s activities
An international community of scholars
A bridge between the United Nations and the international academic community
A think-tank for the United Nations system
A builder of capacities, particularly in developing countries
a platform for dialogue and creative new ideas
One of the UNU Institutes is the Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU EHS). UNU-EHS addresses the probability of the occurrence of risks which are the consequence of complex –both acute and latent- environmental hazards. It aims to improve the in-depth understanding of the cause-effect relationships to find possible ways to reduce risks and vulnerabilities. The Institute is conceived to support policy and decision makers with authoritative research and information.
Since 7 October 2005 the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) is an Associated Institute of UNU and a formal partner of UNU EHS. The activities of a UNU-GFMC Joint Programme are based on the scope of the UNU mandate as stipulated by the Strategic Directions of UNU. The five thematic areas of UNU, namely, (i) Environment and Sustainability, (ii) Science, Technology and Society, (iii) Development and Poverty Reduction, (iv) Good Governance – from Local to Global, and (v) Peace and Security, will receive contributions from the Joint Programme in a cross-cutting and synergetic way.
The contribution of the GFMC to the UNU-EHS mandate includes applied research for the development of concepts for capacity building in advanced wildland fire management. Depending on projects and requests the GFMC services aim to cover:
Methods of science and technology transfer for application in local fire management (wildland fire prevention, preparedness, suppression, rehabilitation) under different cultural, socio-economic and ecological environments
Methods and application of people-centred fire management (Community-Based Fire Management)
Development of national strategies and policies for wildland fire management, including legislation
Development of standards for international cooperation in wildland fire management (common terminology, standard procedures for cooperation in wildland fire emergencies)
Training courses for international wildland fire management specialists, including experts for assessment and intervention missions
Documents about the cooperation / affiliation agreement: