Annual Report of the Red Cross Society of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2016) Mission The mission of the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK RCS) is to prevent and alleviate human sufferings and misfortunes without any discrimination and to improve their health and welfare, promoting the friendship, solidarity and cooperation among peoples, thus contributing to maintenance of world peace. DPRK RCS activities in 2016 to implement the objectives of the NS strategic plan 2016 1. Save lives, protect livelihoods and strengthen recovery from different disasters and crises by enhancing disaster preparedness and emergency response capacity, focusing on disaster prevention and mitigation. (2016 strategic aim 1) Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction Project Activities DPRK Red Cross Society has greatly contributed to building safe and resilient communities through the activities to reduce the disaster risks such as flood, landslide, typhoon, tidal wave and mountain fire, and improving livelihood of people in over 50 disaster-prone communities. In close collaboration with the local authorities and scientific institutions, DPRK RCS branches of all levels have conducted several disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities to prevent natural disasters and improve the technical skills of the field staff. DPRK RCS, in cooperation with Ministry of Land and Environment Protection (MoLEP) and the Academy of Forestry, actively supported tree seedling production of city/county mother tree nurseries and tree planting in RC targeted communities and neighbouring areas, thus contributed to preventing forest denudation, main cause of disasters, and conserving the soil. With the technical support of engineers and technicians from MoLEP, DPRK RCS organized the technical trainings for 200 tree nursery staff and forest rangers to improve their knowledge and practice on construction and management of tree nursery and tree seedling production. 769 copies of tree seedling production guideline were updated and reprinted to contribute to skill building of tree Tree seedling production in community nursery staff and forest rangers and to support the tree nursery. Kumya county, South households with tree seedling production on their own. Hamgyong province. Photo: DPRK RCS DPRK RCS provided the mother tree nurseries with tools and materials for the construction of tree seedling greenhouses, and outdoor cultivation system to increase the production capacity contributing to build the base for long-term forest restoration activities by themselves. During spring and autumn tree planting campaign period in 2016, approx. 200,000 RC volunteers and youth members planted a variety of trees on thousands of Red Cross Youth tree planting campaign and tree seedlings planted by RC youth in hectares of Sambong ri, Phyongwon county, South Phyongan province. Photo: DPRK RCS mountains and riversides, contributing to the reduction of disaster risks, including flood and landslide, and the environment protection. Over 250,000 community people and volunteers with the support of local authorities and scientific institutions have built several kinds of disaster mitigation structures such as bank revetment, stone masonry, dredging of river and river arrangement, so that the people in the disaster-prone areas could live safely. In the close collaboration with the local government Red Cross volunteers and community people are authorities and the State Academy of Sciences, DPRK actively participating in construction of disaster RCS branches of all levels have conducted several mitigation structures Pulgunbyol ri, Hamju activities to improve the livelihood of vulnerable county, South Hamgyong province Photo: DPRK RCS people. DPRK RCS contributed to food security and livelihood of vulnerable people and environment protection by introducing agro-forestry in communities. DPRK RCS conducted technical trainings on agro-forestry for 200 community engineers and slope land users and printed 514 copies of agro-forestry management guideline to improve their knowledge and practice on agro-forestry according to the different context. In cooperation with MoLEP and IFRC, DPRK RCS applied agro-forestry approach to hundreds of hectares of Agro-forestry technical training targeting wasteland and riverside in 12 communities with the community slope land users. Suhung ri, seedlings of fruit trees and firewood trees, thus contributing Hamju County, South Hamgyong province. Photo: DPRK RCS to flood prevention and soil conservation as well as food and firewood availability for vulnerable people. DPRK RCS has conducted activities to improve the livelihood and food security of vulnerable people like the disabled, the elderly and the children by providing fresh and highly nutritive vegetable. With the technical support from scientific institutions, DPRK RCS has conducted technical trainings targeting 250 community people to improve their technical knowledge and skills concerning the construction and management of vegetable greenhouse, distribution of crops, irrigation, nutrition admiration and insecticide. 12 sets of vege- table greenhouses with 6,000 m2 of total production space were constructed in the communities of Unsan, Sinyang and Yangdok Counties, Fresh vegetables from greenhouses and food processing service is improving food security South Phyongan of the vulnerable people. Taesong ri, Jongju city, North Phyongan province. Photo: DPRK Province, Kumya RCS and Hamju Counties, South Hamgyong Province and Tongrim County and Jongju City, North Phyongan Province. The project communities with vegetable greenhouse infrastructure produced high nutrition vegetables and distributed them to 40,000 vulnerable people such as the elderly, the pregnant women, children, the disabled and others with food insecurity. 1,400 copies of guidelines on vegetable greenhouse construction and management have been printed and distributed to vegetable growers, which contributed to improving their technical skills and increasing the vegetable and meat production, thus helping the improvement of food security and nutrition of the vulnerable people. The food processing machines such as rice husker and polisher, oil press, noodle maker and corn meal maker have been delivered to the project communities in Tongrim County and Jongju City, North Phyongan Province, Kumya and Hamju counties, South Hamgyong Province, Unsan, Pukchang, Sinyang and Yangdok counties so that 38,000 community people could have access to safe and processed food. With the support of DPRK RCS, 325 tons of mushrooms produced at the mushroom production facilities built in project communities of Unsan, Sinyang, Yangdok, Tokchon and Kaechon counties, South Phyonan Province, Tongrim County, North Phyongan Province and Kumya County, South Hamgyong Province, which contributed to the nutrition improvement of vulnerable people such as the children, elderly, pregnant and disabled people. With the technical support from the Mushroom Research Centre, DPRK RCS has conducted the technical trainings targeting 200 mushroom growers to improve their theoretical and practical skills concerning the construction and management of mushroom production facilities, mushroom spore production, insecticide, etc. 510 copies of mushroom production guidelines have been printed and distributed to mushroom technicians Mushroom production in community and growers to ensure the improvement of the skills of mushroom factory. Junhyok ri, Kaechon city, South Phyongan province. Photo: DPRK RCS mushroom technicians and workers and the increase in the mushroom production by industrial method, thus helping the improvement of food security of the vulnerable people. Incomes generated from greenhouses, mushroom production facilities and food processing machines has enabled the communities to conduct disaster risk reduction activities such as establishment of early warning and evacuation system, tree planting, and construction of structures in target communities. 1) Disaster preparedness and response, flood relief operation DPRK RCS has contributed to saving lives, protecting livelihoods, and preventing and alleviating the sufferings and misfortunes of people from disasters and crises by improving their capacity on disaster preparedness and response in 2016. Considering the fact that the frequency and scale of natural disasters are increasing due to global climate change, DPRK RCS updated its contingency plans from national and to provincial level and strengthened its disaster preparedness mechanism by improving emergency response tools and measures with technical support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). In close coordination and collaboration with the relevant stakeholders such as the State Committee for Emergency and Disaster Management (SCEDM), the Central Statistics Bureau (CSB), the Hydro- meteorological Bureau (HB) and the Ministry of People’s Security (MOPS), the emergency preparedness and response capacity of DPRK RCS was improved to respond to disasters and crises in a timely and efficient manner. 800 RC members, volunteers and local DM staff acquired disaster response knowledge and skills with the key components on damage and need assessment, principles for code of conduct on disaster relief, water and sanitation, health and care in emergencies and search & rescue services through disaster relief skill trainings, workshops and simulation exercises, and operated the National Disaster Response Team (NDRT) at National