7 Aug 2021 - 8 Sep 2021

The Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM), India organized a two-day Virtual Workshop for the BIMSTEC Member Countries on Disaster Risk Governance in COVID-19: 'Discussion on Lessons Learnt and Way Forward' on 07-08 September 2021.

Delegations from all BIMSTEC Member States and Officials’ of the BIMSTEC Secretariat attended the workshop.

The objectives of the workshop were to: understand the multi-departmental & multi-sectoral nature of disaster risk governance; understand by learning how existing machineries of disaster risk governance dealt with the pandemic: Unpacking the multi-departmental approach against COVID-19; discuss the cascading impact of risk governance decisions on different sectors and alternative approaches; share experiences from the (public) health, education, planning and finance sector and see how they are within the realm of disaster risk governance; discuss the role of science and technology in disaster risk governance; discuss the importance of multi-hazard approach in disaster risk governance: share experiences from Amphan, Tauktae, Yaas; increase awareness among participants on the need to mainstream disaster risk into the established governance machinery, and establish a platform to exchange in-depth learning from experts and professionals to share good practices among participants.

The virtual workshop helped to strengthen the understanding and implementation of disaster risk governance by learning from the experiences and knowledge of the delegates from the different Member States and organisations. The workshop showcased the multi-departmental and multi-sectoral inclusive nature of disaster risk governance, the role of science & technology and the importance of multi-hazard approaches in disaster risk governance. Most importantly, it provided a platform to exchange in-depth learning from experts and professionals to share good practices among participants. The participants from the BIMSTEC Member States also shared their experiences about COVID-19 and exchanged ideas and views on how COVID-19-like pandemics could be addressed effectively in the future.