By Anoop Khinchi, Nagaland Civil Secretariat, NSDMA, Nagaland, India    

Disaster risk reduction primarily involves the development and implementation of policies and strategies to mitigate vulnerabilities and reduce disaster risk for society. This process ensures that disaster risk management is not treated in isolation, but is embedded in the core of governance, decision-making, and development processes at all levels. The Hyogo Framework for Action, which aims to reduce losses by building community resilience, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction advocate a multilateral approach.

Disaster and development are related. The development to be sustainable should have policies invariably ingrained with disaster risk reduction. It’s also imperative that Climate change adaptation be an essential part of it, and academic rhetoric should give way to practical implementation.

The planning process should involve all stakeholders in cross-sectoral coordination. Departments such as Urban& Rural Development, Agriculture, Social Welfare, DUDA, and Health &Family Welfare should collaborate, replacing the current fragmented approach of the Government. The planning process should be risk-informed, and all departments should incorporate a component in their schemes and interventions to cater to vulnerability. The Agriculture Department should provide timely inputs to help farmers better adjust to climatic uncertainties. Similarly, a good road network could be a lifeline in hours of evacuation. Forest fires can be prevented through coordinated community action. The recent floods in Dimapur and the surrounding areas resulted in loss of life and property. Even the airport runway was inundated with water. All these circumstances need concerted efforts. There should be a proactive approach of prevention, preparedness, mitigation and relief. We need to make Nagaland truly disaster-resilient.

Climate Change Adaptation is a need of the hour. Now it’s not a distant thing, but its effects are felt across all walks of life. Climate change is impacting water-borne and vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and JE. Unpredictable rains, floods, and an extended rainy season are all attracting focused attention. Nagaland, being a mountain terrain, is more sensitive to climate change. Agriculture, water resource management, Human Health, and settlements require state-specific adaptation strategies. The One Health program of the Government of India needs to be implemented in spirit. Antimicrobial resistance is emerging as a significant issue, necessitating swift action. Mainstreaming DRR aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by reducing the adverse impacts of disasters on economic, social, and environmental progress.

Who are vulnerable? This is the most important question to be answered. Societal vulnerability, which is widely distributed, needs to be meticulously analysed and identified, addressing the needs of the poor, as well as gender and age differences. There should be emphasis on societal capacity building, empowering them to respond promptly to disasters. The poor should be trained to protect themselves. They should be guided to take care of their settlements and relocated to safe places if needed. The government housing schemes may have provisions to make vulnerable houses disaster-proof.

There should be suitable provisions in the budget to undertake DRR measures. It makes sense to invest some money in safeguarding your life and investments, thereby making development sustainable.

The local government, Urban and rural, should be empowered and capacitated at the grassroots level for risk reduction and building resilience. We need robust early warning systems and actionable information to make communities resilient and save people and economic losses. The most vulnerable should be covered through an insurance-based financial security measure, as Nagaland initiated the DRTPS scheme, one of its kind innovations in the country. More of Retrofitting hospitals should be in place for seamless medical care in times of emergency. A sturdy and reliable communication network for coordination and command control in times of crisis is indispensable.

A proper drainage system and building codes to be enforced, as there is ample evidence that when Building codes are enforced, lives are saved. So if we fail to plan, we are endangering our precious lives and resources at peril. Choice is ours, as inaction can be detrimental.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of AIDMI.