- Loreni Tsanglao, NET Correspondent, Nagaland
The inaugural programme of the two-days long workshop on ‘Strengthening Community Resilience to Climate Change & Disaster Risk’ was held today at Hotel Vivor in Kohima.
Organized by the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) in collaboration with InsuResilience Solutions (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management), Swiss Re and Tata AIG; this workshop aims to strengthen community resilience for preventing climate and disaster risks.
Addressing the conference, the NSDMA Advisor – Kazheto Kinimi mentioned that state administration is attempting to integrate the principles of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation into policy making & planning through various policies and actions.
He explained that evaluating risk and resilience is a difficult endeavour that necessitates thorough scientific investigation of risk and vulnerability in various domains.
Kinimi, on the other hand, believes that such research will aid in the development of realistic catastrophe prevention and mitigation methods in the state.
The Joint Chief Executive Officer of NSDMA – Johnny Ruangmei has urged all government departments to examine their disaster management plans honestly. All of the line departments must come together and consider what risks they can mitigate.
He stated that the objective of the workshop is to bring out a plan which the Administrative Heads, Chief Secretary, and the Government will approve which will be sent as a policy document.
It will also release a DRR in ecotourism, with the goal of becoming the first state in India to have an ecotourism disaster policy.
The workshop also aims to help participants understand the PM’s Ten Point Agenda for Disaster Risk Reduction, gain a better understanding of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for DRR, and mainstream DRR into each line department’s development programme, as well as NGOs’ response to DRR.
He also emphasized on the significance of each department allocating a budget for disaster risk reduction, which he claims is mandated by the 14th Finance Commission.
Eugen Doce from InsuResilience Solutions (ISF) delivering the keynote address said that in the IPCC Report presented recently, the report has come so close to the common people so that they see and feel the reality.
He stated that insurance is an area that will help in fortifying the local authority, governments in the next two decades. Eugen shared that among the first presentations/submissions the ISF received was from Nagaland for funding, and in 2019 after meeting with Johnny Ruangmei in Dhaka, the ISF decided to fund the project which was submitted.
The objective of the ISF is to encourage creative solutions that will help to alleviate the detrimental effects of climate change.
It encourages the development of needs-based and financially viable climate risk insurance products in developing and emerging countries, boosting the resilience of poor and vulnerable families to extreme weather and natural disasters.
