Cabinet approves Establishment of an International Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for the Establishment of an International Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) along with its supporting Secretariat Office in New Delhi. The proposal was approved by the Prime Minister on 13th August, 2019. The CDRI is proposed to be launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, USA on 23rd September 2019. Organized by the UN Secretary General, this event will bring together the largest number of Heads of States to generate commitments for combating the effects of climate change and resulting disasters, and will provide the high-level visibility required for the CDRI. The approval, inter-alia, is for the following initiatives: Establishment of the International ‘C.D.R.I.’ along with its supporting Secretariat office in New Delhi; Establishment of the Secretariat of the CDRI as a Society under The Societies Registration Act,1860 in New Delhi as ‘CDRI Society’ or similar name as per availability. The memorandum of association and by-laws of the ‘CDRI Society’ will be prepared and finalized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in due course; In-principle approval for Government of India support of Rs. 480 crore (approx. USD 70 million) to CDRI for a corpus required to fund technical assistance and research projects on an on-going basis, setting up the Secretariat office and covering recurring expenditures over a period of 5 years from 2019-20 to 2023-24; and The endorsed version of the Charter document that will act as the founding document of the CDRI. The charter will be finalized after taking inputs from potential member countries by the NDMA in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs. Major Impact: The CDRI will serve as a platform where knowledge is generated and exchanged on different aspects of disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure. It will bring together technical expertise from a multitude of stakeholders. In doing so, it will create a mechanism to assist countries to upgrade their capacities and practices, with regard to infrastructure development in accordance with their risk context and economic needs. This initiative will benefit all sections of society. Economically weaker sections of society, women and children, are the most vulnerable to the impacts of disasters and hence, will be benefitted from the improvement of knowledge and practice in creating disaster resilient infrastructure. It will also benefit all areas with high disaster risk. In India, the north-eastern and Himalayan regions are prone to earthquakes, coastal areas to cyclones and tsunamis and central peninsular region to droughts. Innovation: There are many initiatives on different aspects of disaster risk reduction and many initiatives on infrastructure development in different in a range of countries with different disaster risk and development contexts. A global coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure would address concerns that are common to developing and developed countries, small and large economies, countries at early and advanced stages of infrastructure development, and countries that have moderate or high disaster risk. Few concrete initiatives work at the intersection of Sendai Framework, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate Change Adaptation with a focus on infrastructure. Focus on disaster resilient infrastructure would simultaneously address the loss reduction targets under the Sendai Framework, address a number of SDGs and also contribute to climate change adaptation. Hence, there is a clear niche for a Global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Publication of natural hazard risk information about the different regions in India will allow the public to understand the risk in their regions and demand for risk mitigation and preparedness measures from their local and State Governments.