CTBTO's Executive Secretary visits Indonesia where tsunami warning arrangement has just been approved by UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved a tsunami warning arrangement with Indonesia in early June, which is now subject to approval by the next session of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) on 23-27 June 2008. The arrangement is of great importance to the region, especially after the 2004 tsunami which was triggered by a 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, and killed over 240,000 people in the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean.

Indonesia’s tsunami registered by CTBT’s global monitoring system
The earthquake was registered within minutes at seismic and hydroacoustic monitoring stations of the CTBTO International Monitoring System (IMS) throughout the world. Data about the catastrophe were sent to States Signatories by the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna within two hours of the data being recorded. Although the networks of many institutions registered the earthquake, no adequate warning could be issued by the relevant authorities to the population at risk because of the lack of an integrated and coherent early warning system in the region. There is little doubt that thousands of lives could have been saved if an effective alert system had been in place.

The National Data Centre (NDC) Development Workshop for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), took place in Jakarta, Indonesia from 5 – 6 June 2008. An NDC is operated and maintained by a Member State and functions may include sending IMS data to the IDC in Vienna and receiving data and products from the IDC. One of the aims of the workshop was to promote the application of verification data for civil and scientific purposes, especially for tsunami warning. Other objectives included promoting greater understanding of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the work of the CTBTO, and enhancing national capabilities of ASEAN States Signatories in the implementation of the Treaty. The workshop facilitated greater exchange of experience and expertise among ASEAN States Signatories in the establishment, operation and management of NDCs.

A total of 144 States have so far ratified the Treaty. In ASEAN, six of the 10 countries in the region, Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, have ratified the CTBT, whereas Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand have not yet done so. Indonesia is also one of 44 States listed in Annex 2 of the Treaty. Ratification is required by all Annex 2 States before the Treaty can enter into force. Annex 2 States formally participated in the Treaty negotiations in1996 and possess either nuclear power or research reactors. To date, 35 of the Annex 2 States have ratified the CTBT. In the international and regional context, non-Annex 2 state Malaysia’s ratification in January 2008 was heralded as a very positive development.

ASEAN monitoring network supporting tsunami early warning systems
Participants made recommendations on ways that the CTBTO and the ASEAN Secretariat could collaborate in establishing a monitoring network to support tsunami early warning systems in ASEAN countries. Cooperation between NDCs and tsunami centres and more capacity building activities for ASEAN countries were also encouraged. The Director of the IDC, Lassina Zerbo, and the Chief of the Monitoring and Data Analysis Section at the IDC, Robert Pearce, visited the ASEAN Secretariat whilst in Indonesia to discuss possible future collaboration in the area of capacity building.