While speaking at a roundtable organised by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief ahead of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction which will be celebrated on Oct 13, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Enamur Rahman rightly said that Bangladesh has become a role model for others in managing disasters of varied nature.
It needs no mentioning that over the years, Bangladesh has earned a good reputation as well as international recognition for efficient management of disasters. As a climate-vulnerable country with recurring disasters, over the years, Bangladesh has adequately learnt the ropes of disaster preparedness as it is taken to be of critical importance. Despite its limited capabilities, the country has taken many initiatives to reinforce its recipe for disaster risk reduction and spent a lot of money from its own funds.
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world. The people of this country have been braving various disasters like cyclones, flood, land erosion, tidal surge, earthquakes etc. for generations. As the nature of disasters is changing, and natural disasters seem to be getting severer with climate change across the globe, we need to find innovative solutions to effectively tackle calamities. It is not always possible to predict a disaster but if we take adequate preparation, we can certainly minimise loss and damage caused by a disaster.
It is time to develop our disaster
management capacity to
cope with the changing
nature of disaster
Disaster management is a holistic process and the system needs further development. It requires more focused initiatives for increasing the capacity of the authorities concerned, including public and private agencies as well. Our country is currently lacking resources to stand squarely against natural disasters, but with proper use of new technologies, we can save lives and reduce the negative impact of disasters. Moreover, a higher number of education and training programmes in disaster-prone areas should be carried out in order to develop professionalism in disaster management system.
Besides, we need to invest more in creating awareness among people about disaster preparedness. We should effectively utilise local knowledge about disaster management and disseminate it to a wider audience. Last but not the least, we need to develop our disaster management capacity to cope with the changing nature of disasters.
