SPEECHES / STATEMENTS 

PM’s opening remarks at Full Planning Commission Meeting

November 7, 2007, New Delhi

“I am delighted to have this opportunity to be here at this very important conference, which is deliberating on a subject of immense relevance to the entire Asian region. I also hope that this conference will be yet another milestone in strengthening collaborative, cooperative relations among the nations of Asia.

Disasters know no political boundaries and we are all equally vulnerable to them. I firmly believe that this is one area where nations can – and indeed must – cooperate to find collective, cooperative solutions to the challenges that face them. After all, it is in difficult times that we need the best of relations. As a wise old saying goes – a friend in need, is a friend indeed.

It is, therefore, heartening to note that in recent years, countries of Asia have come together to help one another during times of natural disasters. We have had joint efforts to provide rescue and relief to those in distress – in the aftermath of the tsunami of 2004, after the recent earthquakes in our regions, including in Jammu & Kashmir. This conference is taking place at a time when we can all feel hopeful that we have the sagacity to cooperate during times of natural disasters.

The Asian Ministerial Conference is a natural platform to discuss disaster risk reduction. What is done – or not done – in one country, can have repercussions in another. This conference, therefore, can be a common platform for us to learn to work together in the best interests of all our peoples.

Earthquakes, cyclones, floods and tsunami have contributed to disasters across Asia in the recent past. In handling all these disasters, what is important is to have coherent national strategies and national capabilities to handle these disasters. This would be in the realm of both disaster prevention and disaster management. I believe that it is incumbent on each one of us to develop the necessary national capabilities. There can be no substitute for effective national efforts.

At the same time, each of the past episodes has shown us that a national response alone is not adequate. While we have the necessary wherewithal in Asia to respond to disasters, we need more bilateral and regional cooperation to make effective use of our capabilities.

Greater cooperation in relief and rehabilitation, cooperation in disaster preparedness and in setting up and maintaining early warning systems is a useful and a very good way of demonstrating good neighbourliness. The regional effort in creating a Tsunami Early Warning System is a good example of regional cooperation. I hope we can sustain this effort and replicate it in other areas of disaster management and mitigation.

The focus of this conference need not be limited to natural disasters alone. Modern societies must also prepare to come together to deal with manmade disasters – be they industrial disasters or disasters caused by terrorists’ attacks. The threat of terrorism looms large in many parts of our region and could trigger disasters across borders. We must also learn to deal with new kinds of health disasters such as HIV, Avian Flu which have emerged as new challenges all over the world. They have enormous social and economic consequences. Here again, we need improved methodologies for risk reduction, insurance as well as for mitigation.

And of course, the biggest disaster that we may yet prevent from happening is the catastrophic effect of global warming and climate change. Whereas we have only nature to blame for natural disasters, we cannot say the same for manmade disasters. Actions of one nation can affect many other nations. I hope our region shows the same wisdom and cooperative spirit in dealing with manmade disasters as it has shown in dealing with natural disasters.

Our country has adopted a forward-looking approach to disaster management and mitigation. We have constituted a National Disaster Management Authority and State Level Disaster Management Authorities. The National Authority has come forward with a new approach to disaster management. The paradigm shift that they have advocated is based on moving away from a relief-centric, post event approach to a holistic, integrated and preventive approach. The focus will be on disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation.

Improved coordination between various agencies of the Government is a first step in the new approach. Greater awareness among civil society utter with regard to prevention, mitigation and preparedness, is the next important step. Lack of information, panic and uncoordinated responses can have a negative impact. Community-based approaches can, therefore, help deal with panic, rumour-mongering and provide immediate relief. In risk reduction, such an approach can have positive externalities.

There is yet another popular saying that has relevance to risk reduction, namely - a stitch in time, saves nine! Disaster risk reduction, in particular, should be based on pro-active pre-emptive action. Typically, small investments in improving the safety of houses can go a long way in reducing the risk of damage to life and property arising from earthquakes. Studies carried out by our engineers show that we could have saved valuable lives and property if we had appropriate housing technologies in earthquake-prone areas. We are developing such technologies that are affordable and also are appropriate to the situation we face on the ground. Information sharing in such technologies will be a useful way of addressing the challenge of risk reduction and promote regional cooperation in this important area.

A second type of intervention relates to insurance against risk. The penetration of insurance in many of the countries of Asia is still very limited. I, therefore, urge all those who manage our financial systems to be even more pro-active in insuring the risk-prone regions. Insurance against natural disasters is still very limited. Here again, we need an approach that can spread the costs and ensure the financial sustainability of risk insurance mechanism.

Countries of our region should learn to work together on a wide variety of fronts. The people of Asia have interacted with each other for centuries and they must do so on this vital subject. I hope opportunities provided by this Conference will help forge a new unity among the peoples of Asia. I wish your conference all success in addressing the challenges that we face. I hope you will come forward with new approaches, enlightened approaches for addressing the enduring problems of our people with regard to the management of disasters, their prevention and their management if they are unavoidable. With these words, I have great pleasure in inaugurating this Conference.”