India, Japan discuss quake safety

A two-day workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) started here on Monday where experts from Japan and India are to formulate the strategies for DRR with particular emphasis on earthquake safety.Jointly organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Government of Japan, 50 delegates from Japan, including experts from government, technical institutions, private sector, and 70 delegates from India including experts from Central Government, State Governments, NDMA, State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) are attending the workshop.

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, inaugurating the workshop, underlined the synergy between the two ancient Asian disaster-prone countries that have frequently witnessed the fury of natural catastrophes and are investing proactively on mainstreaming risk reduction into development.

He also stated that uncontrolled development without proper disaster risk assessment has increased the risk of losses from disasters. Climate change has further aggravated the disaster risk, he said, adding “Therefore, disaster risk management can no longer remain isolated from the overall strategy of sustainable development.”
Dr Kumar talked about reducing disaster risk by strengthening resilience, through a six-pronged approach of Risk Identification, Risk Reduction, Preparedness, Financial Protection, Resilient Reconstruction and Societal Awareness. He highlighted the role of education and schooling in preparing citizens for catastrophic natural disasters.
Japan’s Vice Minister for Policy Coordination Mamoru Maekawa, thanked the Indian Government for hosting the workshop, which is the first outcome of the Memorandum of Cooperation regarding Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
He shared the Japanese experiences of DRR policies, including legal and planning framework, and discussed how Japan is preparing against mega-scale disasters, in collaboration with government, academia, private companies and citizens. He concluded that Japan and India could collaborate for the implementation of the Sendai Framework so as to contribute to Disaster Risk Reduction globally.

Deliberations at the workshop will take the dialogue on India-Japan Cooperation on Disaster Risk Reduction further with particular focus of earthquake safety. The workshop will identify possible areas of cooperation of India with Japan in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction.Indian Institute Technology (IITs), National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), National Centre for Seismology, Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and other stakeholders are participating in the workshop.

Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Dr P K Mishra, Ambassador of Japan to India, Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu, R K Jain, Member, NDMA, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, all members of NDMA and senior officers from MHA, NDMA and NDRF were also present during the inaugural session.