Pakistan: Better planning to mitigate disaster risks urged
There should be strong coordination among relevant departments in order to mitigate risks, enhance preparedness and handle post disaster situations in a sustained manner, said speakers while addressing a four-day workshop. The orientation workshop was organized by the United Nations Development Programme and National Disaster Management Authority under One UN Disaster Risk Management Joint Programme Component.
The workshop focused on District Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Planning in districts Mianwali and DG Khan (Punjab), districts D.I. Khan and Nowshera (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and district Bajaur in FATA.
The objective of the workshop was not only to sensitize the participants regarding hazards, vulnerability, disasters and their impact on the communities in their respective districts but also to enhance their capacity to develop District Disaster Risk Management Plans.
Disaster Risk Management Systems, both at provincial and district levels, were introduced in Pakistan in 2006 following the promulgation of National Disaster Management Ordinance. This resulted in mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction into planning and development processes.
To date, NDMA has organized similar trainings in 45 districts throughout Pakistan. One of the key focuses of UNDP support to NDMA is to ensure that capacities on disaster risk management are made effective at provincial and district level.
The workshop was inaugurated by Arshad Nawaz Chenna, Deputy Director NDMA and supported by Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab. Retired Major Rizwan Ullah Baig, DG Relief and Crises Management Cell PDMA was also present on the occasion.
The participants of the workshop hailed from different government departments such as Revenue, Planning, Civil Defense and PDMA (Punjab) etc and possessed relevant experience in managing emergencies, relief work and disasters in their areas.
Participants were of the view that role of coordination cannot be understated as all relevant departments should work pre, during and post disaster situations in coordinated manner to reduce the impact of the disasters and respond to the situation timely and effectively.
Manager Planning, District Bajaur Abdul Hafeez said “Pakistan is located in a region which is prone to a number of natural disasters; Attabad Lake and Phet Cyclone are the most recent examples of this time.
“The impact of such disasters can be minimized tremendously by strengthening the district management. Therefore, this training on drafting DRM plans is a step forward in this direction,” he said.