UNDP Helps Bangladesh Prepare for
DISASTERS
Since
the early nineties, the UN has organized a World Disaster Reduction
Campaign, which culminates on International Disaster Reduction Day. This
year, it is on October 8. The aim of each Campaign is to increase public
awareness about the measures that can be taken to reduce the negative
impacts of natural hazards.
In keeping with the International Year of Freshwater, this year’s campaign looks at how we can cope with water-related hazards such as floods, droughts, landslides, tropical cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons, which pose a risk to livelihoods and to the process of sustainable development.
Rather than just focusing on the disasters themselves and the resulting deaths and destruction, we should be looking at the longer-term investment of disaster risk reduction strategies - incorporating disaster preparedness, mitigation and prevention - that would reduce their impact. We need to shift our emphasis from disaster relief to disaster reduction.
In January this year, UNDP and the Government of Bangladesh signed an agreement to launch a $14.444 million initiative to reduce the impact of natural and man-made disasters on the Bangladeshi people over the next five years.
Bangladesh, one of the world’s most densely populated countries, is prone to frequent disasters including, cyclones, storm surges, droughts, floods and earthquakes. According to the Emergency Response Division of UNDP, Bangladesh experienced more than 170 large-scale disasters between 1970 and 1998, putting the country among the most frequently hit in the world.
These catastrophes are estimated to have killed half a million people and affected more than 400 million. Rapid urbanisation is now presenting new types of potential disasters; and rising sea levels, due to climate change, is threatening to inundate ten percent of the nation’s already crowded landmass within the first half of this century.
“Through community involvement in planning and risk management Bangladesh has successfully reduced the impact of disasters. However, response efforts still focus largely on emergency relief, rather than steadily eliminating the risks and helping communities move from being vulnerable to resilient,” UNDP Resident Representative Jorgen Lissner said.
Through the new Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, the Government, UNDP, expert NGOs, and DFID will make disaster-planning commonplace in community activities, the design of investment and development projects, and national policy. The programme is also aimed at improving response and recovery activities after a disaster at village and national levels.