Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation

Salient Points of PM Modi’s address at Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on 3rd Nov, 2016

  • 2015 was a momentous year! Apart from Sendai Framework, international community adopted 2 major frameworks to shape future of humanity
  • They are the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change
  • Over the last two decades, the world and especially our region has undergone many changes– most of them positive
  • The Asia-Pacific region has been a global leader in more ways than one
  • We in Asia have learnt from disasters
  • A quarter century ago, only a handful of Asian nations had national disaster management institutions
  • Today, over thirty Asian countries have dedicated institutions leading disaster risk management efforts
  • We now have a fully functional Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System
  • If we compare impact of cyclone events in 1999 & 2013, we can see progress made
  • Let me outline a ten-point agenda for renewing our efforts towards disaster risk reduction
  • First, all development sectors must imbibe the principles of disaster risk management
  • Second, work towards risk coverage for all–starting from poor households to SMEs to multi-national corporations to nation states
  • Third, encourage greater involvement and leadership of women in disaster risk management
  • Fourth, invest in risk mapping globally. For mapping risks related to hazards like earthquakes we have accepted standards & parameters
  • Fifth, leverage technology to enhance the efficiency of our disaster risk management efforts
  • Sixth, develop a network of universities to work on disaster issues
  • Seventh, utilize the opportunities provided by social media and mobile technologies
  • Eighth, build on local capacity and initiative
  • Ninth, opportunity to learn from a disaster must not be wasted. After every disaster there are papers on lessons that are rarely applied
  • And tenth, bring about greater cohesion in international response to disasters
  • We have to wholeheartedly embrace the spirit of Sendai which calls for an all-of-society approach to disaster risk management