Kathmandu, June 5: The South Asia Policy Dialogue on ‘Building a Safer Future: Investing in Communities for Resilience’ has laid emphasis on promoting inclusive, evidence-based, and community-centered approaches to disaster risk reduction and climate resilience.
The event, jointly organized by Duryog Nivaran and Disaster Preparedness Network-Nepal (DPNet Nepal) under the Strengthening Inclusive Disaster Risk Governance for Climate Resilience in Asia (SIDRRA) Project, had the broader objective of promoting inclusive, evidence-based, and community-centered approaches to disaster risk reduction and climate resilience.
The dialogue brought together senior government representatives, disaster risk reduction practitioners, civil society organizations, researchers, development partners, regional networks, and community resilience actors from across South Asia.
On the occasion, Chair of Duryog Nivaran, Achyut Luitel, highlighted the broader objective of promoting inclusive, evidence-based, and community-centered approaches to disaster risk reduction and climate resilience.
The dialogue opened with reflections on the growing scale and complexity of disaster and climate risks in South Asia.
In the remarks, Dr. Basanta Raj Adhikari, president of DPNet Nepal, highlighted that disasters do not follow political or administrative boundaries and that the region must strengthen transboundary cooperation, anticipatory planning, risk-informed investment, and community-led preparedness.
The opening session also emphasized the need to rethink disaster risk governance in the context of climate change, unfinished development challenges, shifting global priorities, and changing patterns of disaster financing.
Delivering the keynote address on “Anticipating Exacerbated Disasters: Rethinking Demanded by Climate Change and Shifting Global Order,” Mr. Dipak Gyawali, Academician, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology and Chair/Founder of Nepal Water Conservation Foundation, stressed the importance of anticipating future risks and investing in systems that can reduce losses before disasters occur.
A major focus of the dialogue was gender inclusion for community resilience building. The second segment discussed governance gaps that continue to make disaster risk reduction gender-blind and non-inclusive.
Panelists highlighted the importance of Sex, Age and Disability Disaggregated Data, gender and social analysis, and meaningful participation of women, girls, older persons, persons with disabilities, and marginalized groups in disaster risk assessments, preparedness planning, anticipatory action, and recovery processes.
The session emphasized that data should not be collected only for reporting purposes, but must be translated into practical decisions such as early warning dissemination, evacuation planning, shelter design, resource allocation, local budgeting, and targeted support to vulnerable groups.
The forthcoming Gender Checklist by Duryog Nivaran was also introduced as a practical tool to support gender-responsive and socially inclusive disaster risk reduction.
The third segment presented stories of resilience building from South Asia. Examples included community-based flood early warning systems through citizen science and hydrometric monitoring in Nepal, risk transfer and index-based insurance for vulnerable farmers and low-income households, heat action planning and urban heat resilience measures from India, and governance lessons from the Cyclone Ditwah recovery process in Sri Lanka.
Communities not merely the recipients of warnings
Speakers highlighted that communities should not be viewed merely as recipients of warnings, but as producers, interpreters, and messengers of risk information.
The discussion on community hydrometric monitoring showed how local rainfall and river-level observations, citizen scientists, women and youth volunteers, and digital platforms can strengthen trust, preparedness, and timely action at the local level.
The dialogue also underlined the potential of index-based and parametric insurance to support faster recovery for climate-affected households.
Participants discussed the need for scientifically credible thresholds, government certification, premium subsidies, social protection linkages, and collaboration among meteorological agencies, insurance authorities, local governments, and community groups.
On extreme heat, speakers noted that heat is an invisible and compounding crisis, with severe impacts on health, livelihoods, education, productivity, and vulnerable populations.
Lessons from heat action planning emphasized the need for early warning, heat-health advisories, cooling centers, work-rest schedules, cool roofs, shade, water access, and stronger integration of heat risk into urban planning and public health systems.
The Sri Lanka case on Cyclone Ditwah recovery emphasized that post-disaster recovery must prioritize the restoration of livelihoods. Inclusive recovery governance, transparent beneficiary lists, grievance redress mechanisms, gender-sensitive shelter and WASH facilities, and targeted support to female-headed and vulnerable households were identified as essential for fair and accountable recovery.
The overall dialogue delivered a shared message on the need to strengthen investment in preparedness, inclusive data systems, forecast-based anticipatory action, impact-based early warning systems, risk transfer, community-led monitoring, and locally contextualized disaster risk governance systems.
Concluding that technology and financial resources alone are not sufficient to build a safer future, and that community trust, institutional commitment, meaningful participation, and long-term investment are equally essential, Er. Suraj Gautam, General Secretary of Disaster Preparedness Network-Nepal, delivered the closing remarks and vote of thanks, formally concluding the programme.
