The Central Government has approved the establishment of an International Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) at an outlay of Rs. 480 crore (approx. USD 70 million) for a corpus required to fund technical assistance and research projects on an ongoing basis over a period of 5 years from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
The coalition envisages 3 tiered structures viz Governing Council (GC), Executive Committee (EC) and a Secretariat of the Society.
The objectives of CDRI are as follows:
(i) The CDRI is to serve as a platform where knowledge is generated and exchanged on different aspects of disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure.
(ii) To bring together technical expertise from a multitude of stakeholders. In doing so, it is to 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.
(iii) The work of CDRI is to focus on relevant thematic areas including the four major themes of a) Risk Assessment for key infrastructure sectors at multiple scales; b) Standards, regulation and mechanisms for enforcement; c) Role of finance in promoting disaster resilience; and d) Predictable mechanisms for supporting disaster recovery in key infrastructure sectors.
(iv) Gaps in knowledge and practice in the above thematic areas act as barriers to the development of resilient infrastructure. This coalition is to provide a platform/forum for countries at all stages of development to access knowledge and resources from other members and to contribute to the resilience of each other’s infrastructure.
charter of CDR
The charter of CDRI has been shared with 38 countries including G 20 and non-G 20 nations. So far nine countries viz. Afghanistan, Australia, Bhutan, Fiji, Italy, Mauritius, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and United Kingdom have conveyed their willingness to join the CDRI in writing.
The coalition is to –
a). Provide a platform for India to emerge as a global leader on climate Action and Disaster Resilience:
b). Complement the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and address adaptation and disaster resilience.
c). Facilitate India’s support to resilient infrastructure in Africa, SIDS and Asia.
d). Provide access to knowledge, technology and capacity development for infra developers.
e). Create opportunities for Indian infrastructure & technology firms to expand services abroad.
National Disaster Management Authority has released guidelines for management of disaster risks for various disasters including likely to be exacerbated due to climate change. The guidelines, inter-alia, contain roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders to manage disaster risks from these disasters. The recent revised National Disaster Management Plan (2019) considers the linkage between climate change in increasing disasters and aims to integrate disaster risk reduction with climate change adaptation and mitigation.
National Action Plan on Climate Change
The Government is implementing National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) which comprises eight missions in specific areas of solar energy, energy efficiency, water, agriculture, Himalayan ecosystem, sustainable habitat, green India and strategic knowledge on climate change. NAPCC provides an overarching framework for all climate actions. Thirty three States/Union Territories (UTs) have prepared their State Action Plan on Climate Change in line with NAPCC taking into account State’s/UT’s specific issues relating to climate change.
