India to Host International Meet on Disaster Risk Reduction
India will host the Asian ministerial conference on disaster risk reduction (AMCDRR) next month which will focus on partnership with governments and stakeholders to imbibe the practices in the region’s development narrative.
This is the first AMCDRR after the advent of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), adopted at the third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015. It will set the direction of Sendai Framework implementation in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conference that will be held here on November 3-5 in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
The conference aims at transforming the commitments of governments and stakeholders during the Sendai Conference into national and local action.
The hosting of the conference reaffirms India’s commitment to the cause of disaster risk reduction, an official statement said.
Established in 2005, AMCDRR is a biennial conference jointly organised by different Asian countries and the UNISDR.
So far, six AMCDRR conferences have been organised. India had also hosted the second AMCDRR in New Delhi in 2007. India’s commitment to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is evident from the fact that it became one of the first countries to align its National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) with SFDRR.
The meet will focus on collaboration, consultation, and partnership with governments and stakeholders to mainstream DRR in the region’s development narrative.
The conference will adopt the ‘Asian Regional Plan for Implementation of the Sendai Framework’ endorsed by the Asian countries. It will also consolidate the political commitment of governments towards preventing and reducing risk as well as strengthening resilience in the form of a political declaration, the statement said.
Voluntary statements of action of stakeholder groups towards a ‘shared responsibility’ approach in the implementation of the SFDRR would also be adopted.
The conference will discuss issues related to DRR in six technical, 22 thematics and three featured sessions during the conference. The technical events will be broadly based on themes related to risk sensitive development for community resilience, the statement said.
The commemoration of the first World Tsunami Awareness Day, to spread awareness about the dangers of tsunami and the importance of early warning systems in mitigating its impact, will also be held on the closing day of the Conference.
Senior-level delegations from Asian countries, representatives of UN bodies and disaster management experts will participate in the conference, it said.
All the goals are working to contribute towards social justice, eradicate poverty, and improve health and living conditions. It is now the duty of the government to follow up through political will and sustained actions. The root causes for poor numbers are numerous interlinked problems such as poverty, inequality, violence, conflict, diseases and climate change. This calls for a holistic collaboration on multiple levels. It is imperative to make progress sustainable and ensure responsibilities are shared by all individuals.
(With inputs from Business Standard)
