Madagascar on Disaster Risk Prevention
Committee: UNDP
Topic: Disaster Risk Prevention
Country: Madagascar
Delegate: Jason Xhelilaj from Royal Oak High School
Madagascar is vulnerable to a range of climate related hazards, including cyclones, droughts, and floods. Madagascar experiences $100 million in economic losses each year from these disasters. The tropical cyclones, alone, combined with wind, rain, and storm surge cause 86% of these losses. An increasingly variable and changing climate poses significant risks to the future of Madagascar. These disasters are rapidly becoming more frequent and intense, affecting food security, drinking water supply and irrigation, public health systems, environmental management, and lifestyle in extremely negative ways.
As it stands in the modern world, the country of Madagascar has shifted its focus on dealing with the problem from post-disaster relief operations to disaster risk management (DRM) and climate resilience strategies. In 2003, Madagascar’s government adopted the national strategy on DRM. The National Bureau of Disaster Risk Management serves as the authority for the management, coordination, and monitoring of all DRM and UNDR. The National Plan on the primary issues, cyclones and flooding, articulates process to be followed during these events.
Madagascar proposes to update the National DRM Strategy to fit today’s modern requirements after the worsening of global disasters since the original creation of the strategy and mainstreaming disaster resilience in economic development for further integration and to increase its popularity.
In the end, the main goal is to integrate DRM and climate resilience strategy into planning and general strategy development successfully and efficiently.
- Jason Xhelilaj
