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NCDM meetings less frequent than disasters
The National Council for Disaster Management (NCDM), the nations apex body for Disaster Management, has only met 13 times since its creation in 2005, though it is expected to meet 4 times a year.
The formulation of a National Policy and Programmes on Disaster Management, preparation of a National Emergency Operations Plan, Directing-Coordinating and Monitoring of the Disaster Management Centre are some of the key responsibilities vested with the NCDM.
The findings come against the backdrop of revelations at a Parliamentary Select Committee meeting last week, that the National Security Council (NSC), Sri Lanka’s apex National Security body didn’t meet regularly and was not attended by all the relevant stakeholders. Of the few times the NCDM did meet, poor participation meant that the mandated quorum of 1/3 was not met 23% of the time, a recent report by Verite Research (VR) indicated.
Speaking at a panel discussion at the United Nations Compound in Colombo last Monday, VR Research Associate Ashani Basnayake pointed out that, in spite of a statutory requirement to meet 4 times a year, the NCDM never sat the 4 sittings per year since its inception. The NCDM was established under the Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act No.13 of 2005, which brings together the President, Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, 25 Ministers and 9 Provincial Governors to take key administrative decisions aimed at building Disaster Resilience, Risk Management and Disaster Preparedness.
According to Ms Basnayake, the only year it was close to achieving the yearly target was in 2011, when they met 3 times. Ms Basnayake expressed concern that administrative failures such as the irregular nature of NCDM meetings and poor attendance, can put the country at risk.
The panel discussion was on ‘Urban Resilience and Disaster Risk Management’ held at the UN Office in Colombo, to mark the launch of “UNCLOCKED”, a UN initiative with local government and non government partners. “UNLOCKED”, an open and inclusive platform to support Sri Lanka’s Policy making, was jointly launched last Monday, by the UN in Sri Lanka, together with the Ministry of National Policies & Economic Affairs. Several reports recently published on Urbanisation, Urban Policy Making and Disaster Mitigation & Management, were discussed at the event.
The urgent need for ‘mainstreaming’ Climate Change aspects into Urban Planning & Development in terms of mitigation, adaptation and compensating losses and damage, by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), highlighted the need to strengthen the capacity of key institutions involved in Urban Planning & Development, and the need for better coordination in addressing prevailing gaps.
A report on the ‘State of Sri Lankan Cities 2018″ by the UN Habitat, which was discussed by the panel, urged the Government to redefine the term ‘Urban’ and revise municipal boundaries, to incorporate fringe Urban areas which have grown immensely during the last two decades. The report includes 5 key policy recommendations aimed at reaching a better Urban future for all Sri Lankans. The study had utilized up to date high resolution satellite imagery to map Urbanisation density in Sri Lanka.
Experts warned that the ‘State of Sri Lankan Cities 2018′ has found that, from 1995-2017, there has been significant “Hidden” Urbanisation outside municipal boundaries, which has masked dynamic Urbanisation, due to the current government definition of what ‘urban’ includes. As such, the impact of urbanisation, climate change and natural and man-made disaster risk calculation of present, may need to be recalculated, to get an accurate picture. This will enable effective urban policy making, disaster risk reduction and management.
UNLOCKED aims to make Sri Lankan Policy Making more Citizen Centric, said UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Representative in Sri Lanka, Hanna Singer. Speaking at the launch, she pointed out the need for constructive, evidence-based solutions, which come from diverse stakeholders, when formulating policy.
The UNLOCKED platform, available primarily online, but also in an offline version, will feature trilingual thematic discussions, initiated by subject matter experts, suggesting solutions to existing problems. Interested parties such as academics, think tanks, social movements and NGOs can provide feedback or send in content, which will be screened and uploaded for discussion.
“UNLOCKED could play a vital role in bridging the gap between the public and the policymakers, by serving as a citizen-centric forum for policy making,” said National Policies & Economic Affairs Ministry Secretary V. Sivagnanasothy. Mr Singer pointed out that the Platform can help Sri Lanka develop policies that aid Sri Lanka’s efforts in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The panelists hoped that, by ‘unlocking the door’ to the NCDM with UNLOCKED, the public, collectively, would break the cycle of reactivity in Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management framework and make it proactive, efficient and preventive.