The World Agency of Planetary Monitoring & Earthquake Risk
Reduction (WAPMERR) came into existence as a non-profit organization on May 5,
2001, in Geneva. The Agency is established on the basis of the Charter in order to
improve activities in the field of natural and technological security assuring
an efficient information exchange for the benefit of mankind. Some highlights of the Charter are given
below:
Objectives and main activities of the Agency
The objectives of the Agency shall be to reduce the impact of natural
and anthropogenic disasters on human life and health, as well as property. The main activities of the Agency shall be:
1. Promoting
monitoring of geospheres in order to estimate the potential for earthquakes and
other natural disasters, and to detect anthropogenic ones rapidly.
2. Forecasting
possible consequences of natural and anthropogenic catastrophes, developing
response scenarios, and rendering assistance in the case of disasters.
3. Assessment and
mitigation of natural and anthropogenic risks.
4. Monitoring and
assessing the vulnerability of the built environment in terms of seismic
performance, and carrying out microzonation of urban and rural areas.
5. Monitoring of
mining and oil extraction activities by geophysical and remote sensing
techniques, in order to reduce the associated risks.
6. Developing
dedicated systems to monitor the transport and storage of hazardous materials.
7. Evaluating the
effectiveness of projects designed to reduce the impacts of disasters on the
environment.
8. Training
technical and scientific staff, and educating the public in fields of expertise
of the Agency.
9. Developing
guidelines and standards for levels of quality in activities where the Agency
has expertise.
10. Publishing and
producing multimedia capabilities.
Taking into consideration
its objectives, the Agency will consider, before launching its activities, the
existing and planned related programs sponsored by international government and
non-government institutions, in order to achieve cooperation, synergy and
efficiency
Membership
Membership shall be open to governments, governmental and
non-governmental organizations; any other individuals and legal entities.
General Assembly
The General Assembly shall consist of the members of the Agency. Each
member who has a written mandate may represent one or several members at the
General Assembly, except those cases when presence in person is required in
accordance with the special provisions of the Charter. Legal entities shall be represented by their
representatives.
The General Assembly shall
be the supreme body of the Agency and shall have the following powers:
to elect the Chairman of the
General Assembly session ;
to determine the number of
members of the Co-ordination Council and to elect them;
to nominate and discharge
the Director of the Agency
to adopt programs of
activities and the Agency's strategy;
to approve the reports submitted
to it;
to appoint, when necessary,
one or several auditors;
to fix annual membership
fees;
to take decisions on appeals
on membership in the Agency;
to modify the Charter;
to decide upon dissolution
of the Agency;
to take any other decisions
in accordance with the law and the present Charter on any problems submitted to
the General Assembly by the Executive Direction.
Ordinary sessions of the
General Assembly shall be held once in four years. They shall be convened by
the Co-ordination Council. Extraordinary
sessions shall be convened upon the decision of the Co-ordination Council or of
the Director of the Agency or upon the demand of at least one fifth of the
members with obligatory announcement of the agenda. The Director of the Agency sends written convocation notices to
the members of the Agency three months prior to the General Assembly.
Executive Direction
The Executive Direction shall consist of the Co-ordination Council and
the Director of the Agency. The Executive
Direction can engage third parties, including non-members of the Agency, whose
activity is necessary to accomplish the tasks of the Agency resulting from the
present Charter.
The Co-ordination Council shall be composed of the members of me
Agency. Each member of the Agency may propose
only one candidate to the Co-ordination Council. The Co-ordination Council members shall be elected by show of
hands at the General Assembly session for the period till next ordinary
session.
All the decisions concerning the members of the Co-ordination Council
election shall be taken by majority of votes of the members of the Agency or
their representatives.
The Co-ordination Council shall exercise the following main functions:
o
proposes programs of activities of the Agency to the General Assembly;
o
takes decision concerning the headquarters of the agency;
o
convenes the General Assembly;
o
prepares draft agendas for the General Assembly;
o
makes proposals concerning membership fees to the General Assembly;
o
brings proposals concerning modifications of the Charter to the General
Assembly;
o
recommends the draft budget;
o
takes decisions about admission of new members or exclusion from
members of the Agency and inform the General Assembly about it;
o
takes other decisions whenever required;
o
performs function of the depository of the present Charter.
The Director of the Agency
shall exercise overall management of the Agency and shall represent the Agency
in relations with third parties in conformity with the Charter performing, in
particular, the following tasks:
o
administers the work of the Co-ordination Council;
o
manages the resources of the Agency;
o
organizes the functioning of the Agency, in particular, creates and
manages the work of the headquarters and eventual bureaux and missions,
establishes executive structures of the Agency;
o
engages, trains and supervises any person whose activity is necessary
for accomplishment of the Agency's objectives;
o
concludes any agreements necessary for realization of programs;
o
calls meetings of the Co-ordination Council and convokes extraordinary
sessions of the General Assembly each time when he deems it necessary;
o
takes other decisions when he is required to do so.
Relations With Other Organizations
The Agency may co-operate and conclude agreements with international,
national governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The Agency may accept different functions from other international
organizations whose aims and activities correspond to that of the Agency.
The Agency may have its own representation offices or missions to
international organizations.
Resolutions adopted on May 5.
We, the participants of the Founding Conference of the World Agency of
Planetary Monitoring & Earthquake Risk Reduction (hereinafter the Agency),
have declared as follows:
- the Agency is being founded as a non-profit organization in
compliance with the article 60 and other articles of the Swiss Civil Code;
- the Agency is being founded to reduce the impact of natural and
technological disasters on human life and health, as well as property.
The Founding Conference of the Agency decided:
1. To establish the World Agency of Planetary Monitoring &
Earthquake Risk Reduction.
2. To adopt the Charter of the Agency of Planetary Monitoring &
Earthquake Risk Reduction.
The Founding Conference of the World Agency of
Planetary Monitoring & Earthquake Risk Reduction (hereinafter the Agency),
in accordance with the acting Charter of the Agency, for the purpose of
exercising the executive functions for the period till the next ordinary
session, has elected the following members of the Co-ordination Council on May
5,2001:
Atilla Ansal, Zhu Chuanzhen, David
Khidasheli, Jean-Pierre Massue, Alexey Nikolaev, Mikhail Shakhramaniyan, Ravi Shanker,
Luiz Mendes Victor, Max Wyss
Some
participants have approved the goals of the Founding Conference of the World
Agency of Planetary Monitoring & Earthquake Risk Reduction (hereinafter the
Agency) and confirmed their readiness to participate in the activities of the
Agency, but could not attend the Founding Conference, due to personal reasons.
As a result, the 15 members Co-ordination Council has not been formed
completely, since only 9 members have been elected and the Director cannot be
appointed yet.
The Founding Conference authorizes Prof. Max
Wyss to act as the Interim Director of the Agency for the purpose of
implementing the current activities and representing the Agency in dealing with
third -parties, until the Director of the Agency will be nominated by the full
Co-ordination Council.
In addition, the Founding Conference authorizes
the Interim Director, Max Wyss, to prepare within 3 months from the date of the
present resolution, together with the members of the Co-ordination Council, a
slate of candidates for the remaining seats on the Co-ordination Council for
approval by the assembly by correspondence, and then to authorize the full
Co-ordination Council to implement the nomination of the Director of the
Agency.