Johnston to head international hazards research group

Emergency management specialist, Dr David Johnston has been appointed chairman of a science committee that does international multi-disciplinary research leading to more effective global responses to the risks associated with natural and human induced environmental hazards.

Dr Johnston, who is director of the Joint Centre for Disaster Research at Massey in Wellington, was appointed for a two-year term as chairman of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk Scientific Committee.

The committee is a Beijing-based programme co-sponsored by the International Council for Science, the International Social Science Council, and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

“Recent events in New Zealand and the Pacific highlight the importance and urgency of more effective strategies to curb growing disaster losses,” Dr Johnston says.