THE need for reducing risks associated with disasters was emphasised yesterday, when another in the series of national workshops on the Draft Disaster Risk Management Bill got underway. Speaking at the opening, Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), retired Colonel Chabilall Ramsarup underscored the importance of the reduction to the preservation of lives during such occurrences.
He posited that, undoubtedly, catastrophes are increasing both in numbers and intensity.
“However, what is essential to note is that the loss of life has decreased for the year 2012,” Ramrasup said, citing a 2012 report by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, which stated that the number of disaster-related deaths was ten percent less than the decade average.
According to the CDC Head, the compilation linked the lesser number of casualties to “building capacity for direct public investment in integrated climate change and adaptation and disaster risk reduction.”

Good news
“Basically, what they are saying is that, because of the activities in disaster risk reduction, the world has managed to reduce the loss of life by 10 percent in 2012,” Ramsarup said, adding: “That is very good news.”
Alluding to the significance of disaster preparedness locally, he cautioned, “If we are not prepared, as a nation, then the consequences will be disastrous as we have witnessed in the 2005-2006 floods.”
Referring to an assessment prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer recalled that the flooding resulted in economic losses amounting to 60 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Ramsarup said ECLAC also reported that the flood had set the country’s development back ten years.
“So we are still recovering from the impacts of the flooding in 2005-2006,” he reminded.
However, Ramsarup said policymakers have learned from that experience and prioritised disaster risk reduction in developmental planning.
“We have had more rainfall in subsequent years but did not experience the devastation of the 2005-2006 floods,” he observed, remarking, “This is directly attributed to the risk reduction efforts carried out by many government agencies.”
In this regard, Ramsarup mentioned the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), which is executing the Hope Canal Project and the Sea and River Defence Commission that is overseeing the construction of dams and defence structures to guard against tide level rises induced by climate change.
Giving an overview of the activities conducted by the CDC, which is the disaster coordinating agency, he revealed that, over the years, the agency has been preparing “plans and standard operating procedures.”

Being undertaken
Ramsarup said this was being undertaken in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).
He specified that under the Integrated Disaster Risk Management Plan, funded by a US$1M grant made available by the IDB in 2009, the CDC has conducted a flood risk evaluation, developed disaster risk reduction indicators and is now embarking on a national education campaign.
“This public education campaign is going to be focusing on different strata of society including our secondary schoolchildren,” Ramsarup disclosed.
Additionally, he said, as part of the IDB-funded undertaking, CDC is preparing an “integrated disaster risk management plan where we are putting all the plans together so that we would have one comprehensive document and we are integrating them with all the sectors in Guyana.”
The two-day forum, organised also by the IDB, concludes today at the CDC Georgetown Headquarters.