EDUCATION FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION IN THAILAND

Education has been identified by UNESCO as well as the UN/International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) under the Hyogo Framework for Action as Key to mitigate the impact of natural disasters. Moreover, education-lifelong education for everyone-is the excellent investment for individuals and society as a whole. It is the least expensive and most efficient way for disaster mitigation, even without sophisticated and expensive technologies for early warning, the people can escape from and mitigate the impact of the natural disasters safely if they know the characteristics of the disasters scientifically. Learning early is better than preparedness, because preparedness needs time and efforts. Aristotle once said "What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing." Education is a part of awareness and preparedness. A warning will be useless, if people do not know what to do in case of an emergency. The educational processes and institutions for tsunami mitigation with some problems in Thailand were described.