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New Delhi : The two-day International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) concluded here on March 20, 2019. Experts from 33 countries representing a wide variety of development and disaster risk contexts, multilateral development banks, the United Nations, private sector, academia, policy think tanks and other stakeholders participated at the workshop.

In his special address, the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission of India N K Singh called for collective action on resilient infrastructure so that people-centric solutions are found.

“As millions of people will continue to move to towns and cities in the near future, urban resilience will be the key for sustainability,” said Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, while delivering the inaugural address. He said it is the States where all the action happens and stressed on working in collaboration with State Governments for better results.

Reiterating the importance of disaster resilient infrastructure in achieving sustainable development goals, the Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr P K Mishra proposed three mantras for achieving sustainability in Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (DRI) – the need to focus on the poor and the vulnerable; to follow an inclusive approach of collaboration with multiple stakeholders; and ensure proactive connectedness with other Global Processes in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

The workshop identified good practices of disaster risk management in key infrastructure sectors such as Transport, Energy, Telecom and Water. It also discussed emerging technologies and nature-based innovation in the context of climate change and its impact on creation, operation and maintenance of infrastructure. The need and practical issues concerning finance and insurance for infrastructure were also discussed at the workshop. It set the stage for taking the dialogue on the proposed Coalition for DRI (CDRI) forward at the global level.

The CDRI is envisaged as a knowledge exchange and capacity development partnership. India had announced the creation of a CDRI soon after the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in New Delhi in 2016.

The Second IWDRI was organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) jointly with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), and in partnership with the Global Commission on Adaptation, United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, according to a PIB release.

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