Disaster Management regional policy dialogue concludes

The South Asian Policy Dialogue 2025 on Early Warning and Anticipatory Action for Accelerating Risk Mitigation concluded on a high note recently in Colombo with the participation of regional and local experts in the field.

Organised annually by the Duryog Nivaran Network, the South Asian Policy Dialogue is dedicated to examining crucial matters related to disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate resilience at local and global levels.  

Delivering a keynote speech at the event, Regional Researcher and Remote Sensing and Disaster Risk Specialist at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Dr Niranga Alahacoon, elaborated on the connection between technology and Artificial Intelligence in decision-making for disaster mitigation and early warning efforts. He, in detail, elaborated on the methods to use data at the decision-making level, with case-by-case examples.

“Climate change intensifies the disaster risks while urbanisation increases the exposure,” Dr Alahacoon observed. He highlighted that data collection and monitoring are a major area in decision-making in disaster risk management and early warning.

Dr Alahacoon said: “Capacity building should not be confined only to government officials; it must reach the community level. That’s how people are going to evaluate the accuracy of the information given by the institution. This is how the data should be taken into anticipatory actions”.

He emphasised the importance of establishing a data ecosystem and data generation.

Disaster Management Centre Director General Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda (retired) addressed the gathering, delivering a main speech at the event.  Duryog Nivaran Network Chairperson Achyut Liutel, welcoming all guests to the dialogue, noted that the present challenge is to ensure that early warning systems are inclusive, people-centred, and actionable.  

An interactive panel discussion was held with the participation of All India Disaster Mitigation Institute Director Mihir Bhatt, IRC Bangladesh Country Director Hasina Rahman, and ADRRN Chair, Takeshi Komino. The panel discussion was moderated by Duryog Nivaran Steering Committee Member Karin Fernando.

WFP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific Technical Lead for Climate and Weather-related Risks, Dr Jothiganesh Sundaram, UNDRR Gender Advisor Ryce Ruangkhao Chanchai, Nepal’s DWRF Programme Manager Srijana Parajuli, joined online for the discussion, sharing their expertise and experience on lessons learnt and best practices.

The South Asian Policy Dialogue ended with the concluding remarks from Senior Programme Officer (Environment and Climate Change), Development Cooperation Section, Embassy of Sweden, Thailand, Kriangkrai Thitimakorn.