As many as 21 countries will assemble in New Delhi for a three-day-long Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, starting on Thursday and will also observe November 5, as the first Tsunami Awareness Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conference on Thursday.
Addressing media here on Wednesday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said this is the first major inter-Governmental event after the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR). “This Conference will pave the way towards implementation of this Framework in the Asian region. It will also devise a mechanism for monitoring its progress, he said.
“The Sendai Framework, adopted at the third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015, is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and identifies targets and priority action areas towards reducing disaster risk. India is committed to address issues concerning DRR and strengthen resilience to disasters. To realise this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India’s first National Disaster Management Plan, designed in line with the priorities defined in the Sendai Framework, earlier this year. The hosting of the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016 reaffirms India’s commitment to the cause of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR),” said MHA in a statement outlining the agenda of the three-day-long conference.
The Conference will discuss issues related to DRR in 6 technical, 22 thematic and 3 featured sessions during the Conference. The technical events will be broadly based on themes related to Risk Sensitive Development for Community Resilience. All the three featured events — Risk Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Development, Application of Science and Technology for prevention of new risks and Regional Cooperation — will be chaired by India.
Various DRR-centric activities will be organised during the Conference to spread awareness about disaster risk reduction and its role in safeguarding lives, livelihoods and infrastructure. These activities include a national-level painting competition for schoolchildren aged 10-14 years, a short films competition and an exhibition to showcase best practices in DRR.