The United Nations in 2009 designated 13 October as International Day for Disaster Reduction to raise awareness of actions at all levels towards reducing the risks of natural disasters such as droughts, heat waves, storms and floods. Their impacts are exacerbated as their intensity and frequency increases over the recent decades which may possibly be contributed by global warming. Further, increasing uncertainties of slow-onset events present a tougher challenge to nations in designing strategies for disaster resilience to cope with the negative impacts that they might exert.

The focus of the International Day for Disaster Reduction 2015 is on the traditional, indigenous and local knowledge which complement modern science in enhancing the resilience of individuals and societies. To contribute to and compliment the celebration of knowledge for disaster resilience, APN (Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research) invites photography enthusiasts from the Asia-Pacific region to submit their photos under the theme “Local Knowledge for Global Resilience”. Examples of eligible entries include, but are not limited to photos that depict the following:

• Traditional, indigenous and local practices that increase disaster preparedness and reduce impacts of droughts, floods, typhoons, loss of biodiversity, etc.
• Activities combining traditional, indigenous and local knowledge with scientific information to increase preparedness and resilience to disasters, and efforts to scale up the use of such combined knowledge.
• Activities to impart, preserve, or disseminate such traditional, indigenous and local knowledge between different groups of people.

Below are the instructions for submission:

1. Register an account at: http://friends.apn-gcr.org.
2. Go to Forum, and visit: Louis Brown Memorial Photo Contest 2015 > Call for Entries (October): Local Knowledge for Global Resilience
3. Submit your photos (up to two entries per participant) by posting a reply under the master thread.
4. Submit your photo entries, following the procedure above, on or before 31 October 2015.

Click here for more details on eligibility, the selection process, and prizes.