The initiative stemmed from the need to address challenges posed by the lack of access to essential information needed to make well-informed decisions during critical situations.
According to Mahesh Fernando, the Surveyor General of the Survey Department of Sri Lanka, the agreement will assist in addressing information gaps in disaster management by improving how disaster related information is analysed.
The agreement ensures that national authorities and as well as other humanitarian partners are able to access, share and use geographic data to make disaster preparedness and response activities more efficient and effective.
Meanwhile, Brendan McDonald, Head of UNOCHA Sri Lanka, said that the agreement was a practical example of the Government’s commitment to the implementation of the “Hyogo Framework for Action” which was adopted by the Government in 2005 at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Japan.
Based on UNOCHA’s reports, the economic cost of disasters over the last ten years in Sri Lanka has exceeded 257 billion rupees (USD 1.95 billion dollars). McDonald noted that with the partnership in place, the government and other humanitarian organisations will be able to work together to reduce the impact of disasters on people’s lives, as well as the Sri Lankan economy and environment.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Clarice Africa
Quelle/Source: futureGov, 17.09.2012
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