Speakers at a daylong field level stakeholders workshop here on Saturday emphasized the need for collective efforts of all quarters including the local government institutions for successful disaster preparedness and management.
Stressing the need for a comprehensive approach to effective risk reduction, they mentioned that strengthening of the local level government bodies could be the effective means of managing any natural calamity.
Disaster Management Bureau (DMB) under its “Hyogo Framework for Action Progress Monitoring 2013-2014” program organized the workshop titled “A Disaster Resilient Future: Mobilizing Communities and Institutions for Effective Risk Reduction” in the conference hall of Deputy Commissioner Office.
National Alliance for Risk Reduction and Response Initiatives (NARRI) Consortium supported the workshop.
The discussants noted that a need-oriented and realistic plan should be formulated through wide-ranging survey and importance should be given to timely implementation of the time- fitting programmes to face the risks as early as possible.
Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury addressed the workshop as chief guest with District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Mojibur Rahman in the chair.
Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Adaptation consultant Shashanka Saadi moderated the discussion while DMB Assistant Director Netai Dey Sarker narrated the objectives of the workshop.
In his welcome speech, Dr ANM Bazlur Rashid, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), highlighted objectives of the programme and good collaboration and coordination towards mitigation of any disaster reduction.
The chief guest underscored the need for reducing disaster losses substantially.
He also gave an overview of the efforts taken by the present government for disaster management alongside risk reduction. In the group discussions, the participants viewed that massive siltation of the Padma river and its tributaries and other water bodies trigger the ecological degradation leading to many natural disasters including drought and flood in the region.
To overcome the problem, they suggested capital dredging of the river and its tributaries along with massive afforestation.
They called for an environment-friendly irrigation system instead of indiscriminate use of groundwater resources for irrigation purposes.
The participants called for including the vast Barind tract in the programme for climate resilience project to protect it from desertification and the adverse impact of the climate change caused by the global warming.
More than 35 district and upazila level officials including the members of the district disaster management committee and other stakeholders attended the workshop.
