The year 2008 has been a year of natural disasters. In May, Cyclone Nargis caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar, with at least 90,000 deaths and another 56,000 people still missing and damage estimated at over US$10 billion. In that same month, an earthquake hit the Sichuan Province in China, with the epicentre in Wenchuan County, killing at least 69,000 victims and leaving approximately 4.8-11 million people homeless. Floods and wildfires ravaged many areas in the USA, the world's most technologically advanced nation. The list of natural disasters goes on and on.

There are scientists who attribute these disasters to climate change caused by human behaviour. But that theory is disputed by other scientists especially in relation to the earthquake which could not possibly be human-made. What is clear, however, is there still exist so many disasters that are man-made and, as such, are avoidable. Prominent among these man-made disasters are wars and armed conflicts which are still rampant the world over. Think of Somalia, Darfur in the Sudan, the Middle East...... And remember the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki three days later, on 9 August. One atomic bomb destroyed two-thirds of Hiroshima, and immediately killed 70,000 to 140,000 people, with hundreds of thousand survivors dying later on from burns, radiation and related diseases. Another atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki, immediately killed 40,000 to 75,000 victims, with survivors facing premature deaths from unnatural causes in a huge number. In other words, the world's most destructive natural disasters are dwarfed by the destructions caused by humankind's weapons of war. Nuclear weapons are still in the arsenals of a number of States. Weapons that indiscriminately endanger innocent civilians still abound, one of which is cluster bombs. A cluster bomb dropped from an aircraft or missile releases hundreds of smaller explosives (or "bomblets") each the size of a grenade and, when detonated, each sends shrapnel over an area about the size of a football field. Some 100,000 cluster bomblets dropped in 2006 remain on the grounds in southern Lebanon, waiting to maim and kill. It is gratifying to learn of the adoption on 30 May 2008 in Dublin, Ireland, of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which is open to signature in Oslo on 2-3 December 2008. At the same time, it is saddening to see countries in possession of cluster bombs boycotting the Convention.

This is also the year of global food crisis, allegedly caused by global warming and by the diversion of the world's cereals to agrofuels such as biofuels as an alternative source of energy in time of the rising energy prices.

The world needs reminding that it would be much better if hundreds of billions of dollars from the weapon procurement budgets are diverted to produce food supplies and take care of human-beings. The world should find the right symbols to remind world citizens of the plight of wars and armed conflicts.

In early July 2008, UNESCO added new world heritage sites covering a wide range of civilizations, from the 10,000-year-old agricultural development on a reclaimed wetland in Papua New Guinea to a group of six 20th-century housing developments in Berlin which introduced the then-new trend of social housing and whose forms influenced construction methods for the rest of the 20th century. UNESCO's World Heritage list currently numbers a total of 878 sites in 145 countries—679 cultural, 174 natural sites, and 25 mixed.

I wish to reiterate that absent from UNESCO's World Heritage List are World Heritages that impart moral messages about peace and humanitarianism-exactly the things our present-day, materialistic world desperately needs. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) has been rightfully listed since 1996. In the case of Nagasaki, the Urakami Cathedral situated near the epi-centre of the atomic bombing was razed to the ground, only survived miraculously by the head of the Madonna of that Cathedral. The charred Madonna head has become a symbol of world peace as well as a reminder of the abuse of scientific knowledge to further the cause of war at the expense of innocent lives. More than 20,000 individuals from all continents have agreed that this statue of the Madonna deserves such international recognition. Sixty-three years after that destruction by the atomic bomb, the Madonna of Nagasaki continues to serve as the main inspiration for the Sata Foundation, whose slogan is "Science is for living, not for killing". We at the Sata Foundation work hard to strive for a better and more humane world, and you can see details of our activities and projects by visiting our website .

As part of the Sata Foundation's mission, the "Run for Peace" cycling rally is organized in France every August, since 2005, to commemorate the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Celebrities of high stature like Mr. Andrea van Agt, a former prime minister of the Netherlands, and Mr. Bernard Hinault, five-time winner of the Tour de France and the "Godfather of the cycling rally", are fervent supporters of the Peace Rally alongside some 500 cyclists, with proceeds from the Rally going to charities whose work falls within the Sata Foundation's mission. This year, two cyclists from Nagasaki and another two cyclists from Hiroshima will also participate in the Peace Rally.

Donations provide a most important source of support for maintaining our activities. Contributions in any amount will be gratefully received.

Please make your donations to:- Sata Foundation: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Head Office, Tokyo, Japan, Account No. 200-9481436. You can also make donations by credit card. Receipts will be provided on request.