Sri Lanka welcomes 110 local and international delegates for a major international conference on building resilience to disasters

Citation

(2012), "Sri Lanka welcomes 110 local and international delegates for a major international conference on building resilience to disasters", International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 3 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijdrbe.2012.43503aaa.004

Sri Lanka welcomes 110 local and international delegates for a major international conference on building resilience to disasters

Article Type: News articles From: International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Volume 3, Issue 1

Kandalama, Sri Lanka, 19-21 July, 2011

Heritance Kandalama near Dambulla was the setting for a major international conference on the development of societal resilience to natural and human induced disasters. The International Conference on Building Resilience welcomed over 65 international and 45 Sri Lankan academics, practitioners, professionals and policymakers concerned with interdisciplinary approaches to disaster risk reduction, and the development of sustainable communities and cities. The conference had a particular focus on the challenges associated with reconstruction of communities in a post-war environment.

The conference programme incorporated keynote addresses by respected government officials, leading industrialists and implementers, and distinguished local and international academics.

The chief guest, Minister of External Affairs, Hon Professor G.L. Peries, and Guest of Honour, Mrs Marina Mohamed, Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management Sri Lanka, welcomed delegates and provided an important policy context for the subsequent debate, highlighting national priorities and action plans. They also established an expectation that the conference will serve as an impetus for further action in helping Sri Lanka to tackle the challenge of disaster risk.

The conference programme featured five keynote addresses by leading industrialists and academics: Dakshitha Thalgodapitiya, CEO Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka; Dr Ananda Mallawatantri, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Management, United Nations Development Programme, Sri Lanka; Professor Peter Barrett, Professor of Management in Property and Construction at University of Salford, UK; Professor John Fein, Professor of Sustainability in the Innovation Leadership programme of RMIT University, Australia; and Professor Terrence Fernando, Director of the Future Workspaces Research Centre, University of Salford, UK. These keynote addresses provided a local and global perspective and vision for disaster resilience research and practice.

The conference also included the publication and presentation of 109 research articles and practice notes that had been subject to double blind peer review by a distinguished international scientific committee. All accepted papers were published in the conference proceedings. Selected papers will also be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, by Emerald Publishing.

The conference was organised by the Centre for Disaster Resilience, School of the Built Environment, University of Salford, UK and RMIT University, Australia, in association with UNDP Sri Lanka and the Disaster Management Center, Ministry of Disaster Management, the Central Environmental Authority, and the Ministry of Environment. The local organisers and hosts were Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, and University of Colombo.

The conference was chaired by Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga and Dr Richard Haigh, from the Centre for Disaster Resilience, University of Salford, UK.

Further details on the conference can be available at: www.buildresilience.org

The conference outcomes are being used to support the 2010-2011 United Nations World Disaster Reduction campaign “Making Cities Resilient”, which addresses issues of local governance and urban risk while drawing upon previous ISDR campaigns on safer schools and hospitals, as well as on the sustainable urbanisations principles developed in the UN-Habitat World Urban campaign 2009-2013.

The Centre for Disaster Resilience, University of Salford, UK is offering its support to the Ministry of Disaster Management with a view to incorporating the conference outcomes in the local government joint action plan to tackle hazard risk in Sri Lanka, which was launched in July 2011. The plan identifies key priority activities that follow the “Ten Essentials” of the “Making Cities Resilient” campaign. The action plan will be implemented in coordination with the Ministry of Disaster Management and the Ministry of Local Government & Provincial Council.

The following is a summary of major findings that were presented during the conference by leading scientists and practitioners. They are provided as a means to inform policy for national and local government, thereby helping to ensure that the conference results in positive action towards sustainable development and reduced disaster risk.

Community engagement

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  In contrast to many other stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction, the community is typically not organised. As such, efforts must be made to rebalance this relationship. Communities need to be empowered through an organisation.

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  Through greater consultation, participation, community building and empowerment, communities must be made resilient before facing a disaster, rather than trying to increase resilience post-disaster.

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  Infrastructure reconstruction programmes have the potential to connect and divide communities. A community sensitive reconstruction process should be adopted to increase the development of the community’s assets, including physical, economic, human, institutional, natural, and social capital.

Joined up for effective action

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  There is a need to develop adaptive capacity to deal with the unknown and unexpected, moving from the planning phase to action. The plan must be flexible enough to allow and even facilitate creative and innovative action in appropriate circumstances. In doing so, it must overcome the tension between innovation, creativity, and following a plan.

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  It is essential to provide the right actors with the right information, at the right time. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to establish what information is available and who is responsible.

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  Protocols must be identified so that intelligent systems can be utilised, including simulation, modelling, and sensitivity analysis.

Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction

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  Decision makers must develop a common understanding of what resilience is – to absorb, adapt and thrive – and what it means in practice.

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  Disaster management needs to be integrated within all sectors and not just focused through a single government unit. This might be achieved through a coordinating Ministry, but also by mainstreaming disaster risk reduction throughout other government activity.

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  Disaster risk reduction must be incorporated into national development policy and practice.

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  Legislation frameworks must reinforce policies. Otherwise, policies are unlikely to yield tangible differences in practice.

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  If disaster risk reduction is to be mainstreamed effectively, prioritisation of emphasis and effort will be vital.