Modi Government is hosting the first Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR). It is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and identifies targets and priority action areas towards reducing disaster risk – ‘reducing the damage caused by natural hazards like earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones, through an ethic of prevention’.

The AMCDRR scheduled to be held from November 3-5 at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi will pave the way towards implementation of this Framework in the Asian region. It will also devise a mechanism for monitoring its progress.

Participating stakeholders, including governments, Non-Governmental Organisations, academia, civil society, volunteers, among others, would make actionable commitments arrived at through collaboration, consultation and partnership amongst all.

The Conference will adopt the ‘Asian Regional Plan for Implementation of the Sendai Framework’. Taking the Sendai Framework forward, which clarifies the ‘What’ that needs to be done at all levels to reduce disaster risk, this plan will focus on the ‘How to’ at national and local levels.

It will devise a longer term roadmap of cooperation and collaboration, spanning the 15-year horizon of the Sendai Framework, as well as a two-year action plan to further disaster risk reduction with specific, actionable activities.

Other outcomes will include the New Delhi Declaration, which will spell out the commitment of participating governments towards preventing and reducing disaster risk, and strengthening the resilience of communities, nations and the Asian region.

Established in 2005, the AMCDRR is a biennial conference jointly organized by different Asian countries and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).