Name: Medha Tripathi
Country: Sri Lanka
United Nations Development Programme
Disaster Risk Reduction
Although the type may vary as a result of geography, all countries face forms of disasters. Whether it is an earthquake, a flood, a drought, a cyclone (etc.) or any man-made disaster, the aftereffects of such an event can be detrimental to the well-being of a country. Emphasis on lessening the direct damage of the disaster itself and being prepared to deal with the consequences in a methodical manner will allow the effects of such catastrophic disasters to be less harmful.
Many actions have been taken by the international community to minimize the outcomes of large disasters. The revised “UN Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience: Towards a Risk” and “Integrated Approach to Sustainable Development” are long term frameworks that specifically address disasters resulting from climate change and how climate change induced disasters should be mitigated. The UN Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience suggested a base for the agencies to assess the incorporation of disaster risk reduction into their corresponding programs and activities. UNESCO currently has pre planned strategies to deal with an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, a landslide, a flood, a tsunami, a cyclone, and a wildfire.
Sri Lanka has a Ministry of Disaster Management that leads the preparation and the recovery process of disasters that occur in the nation. After the South-West monsoon that occurred on May 24th 2017 in Sri Lanka, heavy rains flooded the country and ruined soil that many farmers were dependent on for sustenance. As an island country, Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean and is thus prone to water natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis and cyclones.
Sri Lanka is a lower to middle income country that would like to see resolutions formulated that target funding to support poorer countries that are more likely to be subject to natural disasters. The Sri Lankan government has seen success in its efforts to formulate sectors within its government that facilitate orders regarding disaster management, but because Sri Lanka recently emerged out of a civil war in 2009, it may still require international help if a large scale natural disaster were to occur. Education of natural disasters to countries worldwide is also an idea that Sri Lanka supports. With educated people, the causes of climate change will become reduced and less natural disasters will occur. In fact, Sri Lanka has already began to avidly educate students about the effects climate change has on the disasters that affect them.
Works Cited
“Good Practices in Disaster Risk Reduction.” UNESCO, 9 Jan. 2019, en.unesco.org/drr-sites/good-practices.
Ministry of Disaster Management, www.disastermin.gov.lk/web.
“UN Organizations.” UNDRR News, www.unisdr.org/partners/united-nations.
“United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience.” United Nations Plan of Action on Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience | PreventionWeb.net, www.preventionweb.net/publications/view/49076.
- Medha Tripathi
