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A Framework for Regional Cooperation on Integration of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia

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Climate Change and Food Security in South Asia

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Abstract

Climate change has created newer grounds for disaster vulnerability in South Asia. Two third of the natural disasters the region experiences are having climate origins. In the recent times, their intensity, frequency and unpredictability are on the rise. The political leadership of the region has been sensitive to this emerging challenge. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as a regional platform has made efforts to address the disaster vulnerability emanating from climate change collectively. The 29th Session of SAARC Council of Ministers, the SAARC Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change on July 3, 2008 at Dhaka signals a new beginning by adopting the SAARC Action Plan on Climate Change.

SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), the product of a collective vision to harness regional cooperation and enhance the resilience of vulnerable South Asia to the natural disasters, has placed priorities on building regional ­cooperative mechanism addressing Climate Change Risks, Impacts and Adaptation and also developing a conceptual framework integrating Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies into Climate Change Adaptation (CCA).

There are practices in the region which bring in convergence between DRR and CCA strategies, while there are also areas identified, especially on institutional and programmatic fronts, responsible for the existing divergence. Harnessing the advances in Science & Technology and the recent progress made in Early Warning Systems as well as networking of the knowledge institutions enable integrating the methods, tools & techniques of DRR with the multi-sectoral dimensions of CCA in the operational arena. Proof-of-the-concept could be seen if climate related disaster risk ‘hotspots’ are targeted for designing risk reduction strategies and integrating climate, weather & EWS information in decision makings for the causes and purposes common to both DRR & CCA. Following the participatory approach wherein the concerns and voices of all SAARC member countries find expressions, SDMC is evolving a road map addressing the growing vulnerability of region due to climate change to support the SAARC Member States.

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Abbreviations

AWS:

Automatic Weather Stations

CCA:

Climate Change Adaptation

DRR:

Disaster Risk Reduction

DWR:

Doppler Weather Radars

GLOF:

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods

SAARC:

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

SCZMC:

SAARC Coastal Zone Management Centre

SDMC:

SAARC Disaster Management Centre

SMRC:

SAARC Meteorology Research Centre

UNFCC:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

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Acknowledgement

The author would like to place on record the ideas and support from Mr. P.G. Dhar Chakrabarti, Director, SAARC Disaster Management Centre to develop this paper and enable the author to attend International Conference at Dhaka.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC), NIDM Building, IIPA Campus, 5-B, I.P. Estate, MG Road, New Delhi, 110002, India

    Sanjay K. Srivastava

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  1. Sanjay K. Srivastava
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Correspondence to Sanjay K. Srivastava .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coffey Rd 2021, COLUMBUS, 43210-1043, Ohio, USA

    Rattan Lal

  2. Div. Agricultural Meteorology, World Meteorological Organization, avenue de la Paix 7bis, Geneve, 1211, Switzerland

    Mannava V.K. Sivakumar

  3. , Dept. of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    S.M.A. Faiz

  4. , Dept. of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    A.H.M. Mustafizur Rahman

  5. OARDC Piketon Station, Shyville Road 1864, Piketon, 45661, USA

    Khandakar R. Islam

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Srivastava, S.K. (2010). A Framework for Regional Cooperation on Integration of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in South Asia. In: Lal, R., Sivakumar, M., Faiz, S., Mustafizur Rahman, A., Islam, K. (eds) Climate Change and Food Security in South Asia. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9516-9_34

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