UNDP takes part in the fourth regional technical group meeting on disaster management
The Fourth Regional Technical Group meeting under the Heart of Asia initiative took place in Islamabad today. The meeting’s focus was on confidence building measures (CBMs) for disaster management, which is led by Pakistan and Kazakhstan. This year focuses on the establishment of CBM’s road map of the Heart of Asia Countries.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sartaj Aziz attended the meeting with members from the participating countries and supporting partners. Aziz reiterated the importance of addressing climate change and said that the threat of natural disasters caused by climate change had demonstrated the importance of disaster management confidence building measures. He added that regional cooperation and support from partner organisations was crucial in combating the potential impacts of climate change and in supporting disaster risk reduction initiatives, especially at the regional level.
Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Major General Asghar Nawaz, emphasized the importance of long-term solutions for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, efforts that can be initiated transboundary between the Heart of Asia Countries. He further stated that Pakistan will work together with HoA member countries and its regional partners.
“Pakistan and other HoA countries are facing many challenges related to climate change and appropriate measures must be taken to tackle the problem effectively,” he said during his inaugural remarks.
Fourteen participating countries including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UAE and Uzbekistan, six supporting countries: Denmark, France, Japan, Norway, Poland, UK and USA and 12 regional and international organisations are associated with the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process. UNDP Pakistan supports this initiative as a technical partner of this group meeting.
“The countries that are part of the Heart of Asia process share the same geophysical and meteorological risks, including extreme weather. Strong evidence from the last decade shows also how Climate change will exacerbate those risks further adding uncertainty and complexity to these already intricate patterns of environmental hazards that undermine sustainable development,” Marc-André Franche, Country Director, UNDP in Pakistan said. He further added that the HoA initiative and continued partnership is crucial for this process to develop not only as a great example of regional collaboration but a catalyzer of change and transformation for development and peace in the region. Addressing disaster risk is crucial for the sustainability of development and growth and the Heart of Asia is an important platform to resolve related issues.
UNDP believes disaster reduction is one of the key aspects in supporting development objectives. UNDP supports NDMA in implementing its National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy and National Disaster Management Plan at the national and sub-national levels. Through the DRR in Pakistan initiative, UNDP extends its support in making communities more resilient through community based disaster risk management.