States bear primary responsibility for stopping creation of new disaster risks: Principal Secretary to PM

New York [US], May 18 : Principal Secretary to the Indian Prime Minister P. K. Mishra on Thursday said states bear the primary responsibility for both stopping the creation of new disaster risks as well as reduction of existing disaster risks.

Mishra was addressing the India-Japan side event on 'The Roles of States for Promoting Investments in Disaster Risk Reduction Towards Resilient and Sustainable Future'.

Mishra said: "The fact that both G7 and G20 have accorded priority to disaster risk reduction indicates that the issue is now getting attention at the highest level in the global policy discourse."

He said: "States must evolve a financial architecture that can address the entire spectrum of disaster risk reduction needs in a balanced way. For far too long we have focused almost entirely on financing disaster response, recovery and reconstruction."

He said: "We must pay adequate attention to financing disaster risk mitigation and disaster preparedness. This is not only a matter of making a larger quantum of resources available."

As per the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, the G20 Working Group will meet for the second time next week and they will devote one full day to discuss issues of financing.

Mishra further said: "I would like to talk about the role of the State in strengthening Early Warning Systems. The notion of public-private partnership has been discussed for a long time in this context. Many private sector players have come into play, and the field is likely to get even more crowded as more sector-specific early warning services are developed."

Many cities are growing with increasing exposure to risks due to the rapid expansion of uncontrolled urban development. To avoid the stagnation of economic growth and negative impacts on societies caused by hazards, continuous efforts for disaster risk reduction are essential.

Para 19 of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) also calls for each State's responsibility to reduce existing risks and prevent future risks towards building a resilient and sustainable society.

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