NDMA holds caucus of lawmakers on disaster risks

Moot seeks support of parliamentarians to build resilience at national level against disasters

ISLAMABAD:

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) organised a one-day caucus to discuss the role of parliamentarians in disaster risk reduction.

“The people of Pakistan have always faced disasters with courage and resilience,” said NDMA Chairman Lt-Gen Akhtar Nawaz Satti while addressing the event organised in collaboration with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research and the Ministry of Climate Change on disaster risk management.

“We need national resolve, political commitment and institutional determination to make the country resilient, build the capacity of departments like the NDMA, and make Pakistan a disaster-resilient country,” he said.

The aim of the parliamentary caucus was to highlight the role of parliamentarians in disaster management. It also aimed to develop an understanding and promote dialogue on various aspects of disaster risk management, international frameworks, gender equality and child protection. It further emphasised the capacity building of parliamentarians in supporting, promoting and implementing the national agenda to build resilience at the national level.

Participants from across party lines including senators, members of national and provincial assemblies, officials from international agencies, humanitarian networks, and director-generals of Provincial Disaster Management Authorities also participated in the caucus.

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam appreciated the efforts of the NDMA for providing the lawmakers with a platform to initiate dialogue on disaster risk management. The federal minister said that “climate change and natural calamities result in disasters and their impact becomes an acute threat to sustainable development and peaceful co-existence if we fail to respond to these challenges with an understanding and collectively as a mission.

He said that elected representatives were essential for strengthening disaster risk governance by voicing the needs and concerns of the land and people of their respective areas.

Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said: “Since the past two decades Pakistan has been facing various kinds of disasters. The need of the hour was to have structured organizations like NDMA that could respond immediately. Climate change is not going away, unfortunately, these disasters are always around the corner, we need to learn from the past disasters and prepare for the future, but other than resources we need effective management and coordination to deal with the disasters”.

Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said that climate change was one of the most critical threats to global development and it was imperative to focus on long term goals.

The ministry of climate change had successfully undertaken numerous initiatives for climate change adaptation and mitigation, the minister said.

She said that “I am confident after seeing this gathering here today, we will have to be cautious for the future of Pakistan.” Several parliamentarians actively participated in the caucus and suggested ways to deal with disaster risk management.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2021.