Dr. MohammadMM
ManirulIslam from Banglaadesh

My name iss Mohammaad Manirul Islam,Iand I have come fromBangladesh where I work as a Seniior Assistantt Secretary forf theDMannagement & Relief
R(MoDMMR). I hold BS
B andMinistry of DisasterMS degrees from the Deepartment off Geography & Environm
ment ofy, and I recenntly conducted PhD researrch on
Jahangirnagaar University“Problems annd Prospects of the Land Tenancy
TSysttem in Bangladesh:
A GIS andd Remote Sensing-BasedSd Study.” O
One of my main
responsibilities as Senioor Assistant Secretary inn the Ministtry ofDisaster Management and Relief is to coorrdinate emerrgency
o behalf of the MoDMR
R and to maanage humaniitarian
responders on
assisttance operatioons as well ass safety net prrograms for vulnerablev
poopulations. I aam also respo
onsiblefor liaaising with regionalrand international
iorganization
ns. I also playy a role withiin the South Asian
Assocciation for Reegional Coopperation (SAAARC), wheree I am responnsible for shaaring real-tim
me datarelateed to natural hazards and for developiing systems anda procedurres for establlishing an efffectiveCommmunity Alertiing System. I also suppoort communiccations with relevantrnatioonal, regionaal, andinternnational instiitutions, and develop andd implementt disaster maanagement trraining, educcation,researrch, and awarreness prograams. I am theerefore in a prime
ppositionn to support tthe implemenntationof dissaster manageement programs in Banglaadesh.
Bangladdesh is considdered to be oneo of the mo
ost disaster-pprone countriies in the woorld. A
considerable porttion of the developmentt initiatives and investm
ment made iin Bangladessh arewanted inciddents. The govvernment of Bangladesh
Bt
therefore
acknnowledges th
he costjeopaardized by unw
effecttiveness of prromoting preedisaster mitigation and prreparedness overo
the convventional app
proachof foccusing on ressponse measuures taken affter a disaster strikes. Thuus, priority hhas been placced on
promoting commuunity-level preparedness,presponse, reecovery, and rehabilitatioon by emphaasizing
incideent communnication systeems that cann ensure thee implementaation of natiional and regional
strateegies and frrameworks. The governm
ment, in cooordination withw
NGOs and internaationalorgannizations, hass done a com
mmendable joob in terms of its cyclonne preparednness and floood riskmanaagement efforrts, but whenn it comes too most of thee remaining major enviroonmental inciidents,
such as earthquakkes, additional work is stilll needed in thet areas of prediction,pemmergency resp
ponse,
rreductioon. Due to its geophysiical location, Bangladeshh is potentiaally vulnerab
ble toand risk
earthqquakes. The history of hiigher intensitty earthquakees in this reggion, along wwith recent, milder
mearthqquakes, highllight the needd to focus on earthquakeeriisks in the maajor cities of B
Bangladesh.
My reseearch at the ADRC
Awill foocus on the development
dof an integraated framewo
ork forearthqquake preparredness in Baangladesh byy assessing th
he applicabiliity of Japaneese experiencces, asJapan has extensive experience and a renowned level of technical expertise when it comes tomanaging different aspects of earthquake disasters. My research will help the government ofBangladesh align its strategies for earthquake preparedness with national priorities and internationalcommitments.
Finally, the VR Program is a great partnership tool by which Bangladesh, Japan, andADRC can work together to address disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh, and my country is sure togain short, mid- and long-term benefits from the insights gained through this program.