This article is from page 6 of the 2011-08-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE response of local authorities in dealing with floods that hit Ennis in 2009 was highlighted at a major United Nations conference last month.
A delegation from Ennis Town Council recently returned from the 2011 World Cities Scientific Development Forum held in Chengdu China. The Ennis delegation had been invited by its sister city in Phoenix, Arizona, to attend the Forum. The theme for the Forum was ‘Development and Cooperation among Cities: Building Liveable Cities for Humanity’. 33 countries and 14 different organisations were represented at the Forum.
Councillor Mary Howard (FG) deputising for the Mayor of Ennis and Gerard Dollard, Ennis Town Manager presented to the conference on the Irish approach to major emergency management, with particular reference to recent severe weather crises in Ennis. The opportunity was taken to highlight proposals included in the Clare County Development Plan for the development of a Global Logistics Centre at Shannon International Airport and the contribution such a centre could make to addressing aid issues that arise in major disasters.
Cllr Howard stated, “It was a great honour for Ennis to be asked to attend such a forum and to have an opportunity to contribute to the overall debate for disaster risk reduction. There were over 200 delegates from around the world at the conference and it was very beneficial to be able to present the Irish approach and in particular highlight the strategic location of Shannon Airport in terms of the role it could play in humanitarian aid following major disasters and crises. We were approached after our presentation by a number of parties, including representatives of the UNESCO Global Task Force for Building Codes and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) regarding the potential of the Shannon proposal. We will be following up the comments made to see how Shannon can be part of emerging plans for dealing with major global crises and disasters.”
Mr Dollard commented, “We were very impressed with the range of participants attending from all over the world. The issues faced by Ennis are no different to the issues being faced by countries around the world. The case for Shannon was strongly made and is boosted by the progress on the Lynx Cargo Project, the existence of US Customs and Border Protection facility, the 24/7 nature of the airport, use of the longest runway in Europe and the availability of a substantial land bank. These were all highlighted as being particularly relevant to facilitating a global hub for humanitarian aid.”
The travel and accommodation costs of the Ennis delegation were met by the organisers of the Forum.