4-May-2022: PM addresses inaugural session of fourth edition of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the inaugural session of the fourth edition of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure via video message today. The session was also addressed by the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana, Hon. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan and H..E. Andry Nirina Rajoelina, President of Madagascar.
At the outset, Prime Minister Modi reminded the gathering that the solemn promise of the Sustainable Development Goals is to leave no one behind. “That is why, we remain committed to meeting the needs of the poorest and the most vulnerable by building the next generation infrastructure to realize their aspirations”, he said. The Prime Minister said that infrastructure is about people and providing them high quality, dependable, and sustainable services in an equitable manner. “People must be at the heart of any infrastructure growth story. And, that is exactly what we in India are doing”, he said.
As India is scaling-up the provision of fundamental services in India in the areas of education, health, drinking water, sanitation, electricity, transport and much more, said the Prime Minister, “We are also tackling climate change in a very direct way. That is why, at COP-26 we have committed to attain 'Net Zero' by 2070, in parallel with our developmental efforts.”
The Prime Minister talked about the importance of infrastructure in unleashing the human potential and said that damage to infrastructure leads to lasting damage for generations. In the context, the Prime Minister asked “with modern technology and knowledge at our disposal, can we create resilient infrastructure that is built to last?” Recognition of this challenge under-pins the creation of the CDRI, he said. He also noted that the coalition has expanded and made valuable contributions. He mentioned the initiative on 'Infrastructure for Resilient Island States' that was launched at COP-26 and CDRI's work on Resilient Airports studying 150 airports around the world. The 'Global Assessment of Disaster Resilience of Infrastructure Systems' that is being led by CDRI will help create global knowledge that would be immensely valuable, Shri Modi informed.
The Prime Minister said that in order to make our future resilient we have to work towards a 'Resilient Infrastructure Transition'. Resilient infrastructure can also be the centrepiece of our wider adaptation efforts. “If we make infrastructure resilient, we prevent disasters not only for ourselves but for many future generations”, he added.
18-Mar-2019: International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure to begin tomorrow
An International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) will be inaugurated tomorrow. The two-day workshop is being organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), and in partnership with the Global Commission on Adaptation, United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.
The workshop aims to i) identify good practices of disaster risk management in key infrastructure sectors, ii) identify specific areas and pathways for collaborative research on DRI (Transport, Energy, Telecom and Water), iii) discuss and co-create the broad contours of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) as well as a notional roll-out plan for the next three years, and iv) build a forum for members to work on areas of common interest and make specific commitments.
It will bring together countries from different parts of the world, multilateral development banks, UN agencies, academia and research institutions, the private sector, academics and policy think tanks to discuss and collaborate on promoting policies and practices towards achieving disaster resilience of large infrastructure systems (transport, telecom, energy, water). This will also be a great opportunity to learn from the unique experiences of different countries.
Various international agreements have also reiterated the importance and long-term benefits of investing in resilient infrastructure. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030, which is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda, identifies investing in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) for resilience and to build back better in reconstruction as priorities for action towards reducing disaster risk. Similarly, Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognizes disaster resilient infrastructure as a crucial driver of economic growth and development.
Besides reducing infrastructure losses, disaster resilient infrastructure will also help achieve targets pertaining to reduction in mortality, number of affected people and economic losses due to disasters.
The first International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI 2018) was held in January 2018. This workshop will further build upon some of the ideas generated at the IWDRI 2018 as a crucial milestone towards the establishment of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The CDRI is envisaged as a knowledge exchange and capacity development partnership. India announced the creation of a CDRI soon after the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which was held in New Delhi in 2016.