“In the Maldives, development used to be ad-hoc. As a result, large-scale land reclamation projects increased our vulnerability to disasters. However, we have now realized how important it is to assess our risk and to adopt an integrated risk management approach,” said Ms. Zeeniya Riyazfrom the Maldives Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure, who spoke about the process her country was adopting in developing its first national development plan. 

Building on the common challenges and shared risks among the SAARC Member States, the workshop will result in a roadmap to revise the regional SAARC Disaster Risk Management Framework to align it with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

The workshop also benefited from technical support and advice by the Asian Development Bank, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, World Food Programme, UNICEF, Japan International Cooperation Agency and SEEDS-India, who all shared their insights during special sessions on financing, building back better, housing reconstruction, and partnerships. 

SAARC participants also benefited from hearing about the experiences of other Asian regional intergovernmental organisations in the development of their regional DRR strategies, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS).

Date:

12 Jul 2019

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNDRR AP)

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Office in Incheon for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR ONEA-GETI)

Themes:

Capacity Development, Governance, Disaster Risk Management

Countries:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka

Regions:

Asia