India Leads Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure [CDRI]

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure CDRI -is a platform forum started in 2019 by India to promote the Disaster resilience capacity of new and existing infrastructure systems. The forum was established in order to address the pressing need for infrastructure systems to be able to withstand, respond and recover from disasters. The Coalition aims to support the development of frameworks and best practices for resilience, as well as to provide an open platform for sharing knowledge and experiences related to disaster resilience.

Disasters are natural occurrences that can cause great losses of life and property. They can also have serious humanitarian consequences. In many cases, disasters are the result of natural causes such as floods or earthquakes, but they can also be caused by human activities such as fires or explosions. The risk posed by disasters is widely recognised and is a key concern for governments and civil society organisations. There are many ways to reduce the risk posed by disasters, including improving early warning systems and planning better responses.

India is a land of immense diversity and has been witness to many disasters in recent times. Some of the most notable disasters include the Gujarat earthquake in 2001, the Uttarakhand Floods in 2013, and the Chennai floods in 2015. Each of these disasters had devastating consequences for the people affected and put India on the global spotlight. Disasters represent a major risk to society and individuals, both from a physical and economic perspective.

India has launched two international initiative to fight against climate change as of now

  • One is Coalition for Disaster Resilient InfrastructureCDRI launched in 2019 at the UN Climate Action Summit on 23rd September 2019.
  • And other is International Solar Alliance (ISA) launched at the 2015 Paris climate change conference.

The solar alliance aims at mitigation of greenhouse gases by adopting large-scale switch from fossil fuels to solar energy, simultaneously addressing issues of energy access and energy security. The CDRI is aimed towards the adaptation goal, to minimise damages and disruptions caused by disasters.

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure is a platform/ forum started by India in 2019 to promote the Disaster resilience capacity of new and existing Infrastructure systems.
  • The changing climate conditions have increased the disaster and risks threat manifolds in recent years.
  • CDRI provides a platform for countries to access knowledge and resources from other members and contribute to build resilience capacity of each other’s Infrastructure.
  • CDRI is a partnership of National governments, UN agencies, Multilateral banks, private sector, knowledge institutions.
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure CDRI
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure CDRI

Recent Updates

The Cabinet Approves the Categorisation of the CDRI as an INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION on June 30th, 2022.

The Cabinet agreed to sign the Headquarters Agreement (HQA) with the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to give it exemptions, immunities, and privileges under Section 3 of the United Nations (Privileges & Immunities) Act, 1947. India passed the United Nations (Privileges & Immunities) Act so that the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which the UN General Assembly passed in 1946, could be implemented.

Articles 104 and 105 of the UN Charter say that the UN can have all the legal rights, privileges, and immunity it needs on the territory of its members to do its job and achieve its goals. It will give CDRI a legal identity that is both independent and international. This will make it easier and more effective for CDRI to do its work around the world.

It will allow CDRI to

  • Delegating experts and bringing experts from member countries to India.
  • Globally deploying funds and accepting donations from member countries,
  • Making technical expertise available to help countries construct resilient infrastructure.
  • Using international engagement to build disaster-resilient infrastructure at home.

Headquarters: New Delhi

CDRI Members

In 2022 CDRI has 30 countries and seven international organisations as its members.

AfghanistanArgentina
AustraliaBangladesh
BhutanBrazil
CanadaChile
Dominican RepublicFiji
FranceGermany
GhanaHaiti
IndiaItaly
JamaicaJapan
MadagascarMaldives
MauritiusMongolia
NepalNetherlands
PeruSri Lanka
TajikistanTurkey
United KingdomUnited States of America
Coalition for Disaster Resilient InfrastructureCDRI Members
  • Member Organisations:
    • Asian Development Bank
    • World Bank group
    • United Nations development programme (UNDP)
    • United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
    • The Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies
    • Coalition for Climate Resilient Investment

Objectives of CDRI

  • serve as a platform— CDRI act as a platform at which knowledge is generated and exchanged on different aspects of disaster and climate resilence of infrastructure.
  • Bring together Technical Expertise—CDRI brings together Technical Expertise from all its stakeholders. By doing so it also creates an assistance mechanism for countries to upgrade their infrastructure in accordance with disaster risk they face.
  • CDRI provides a platform for countries at all stages of their development to access knowledge and resources from other members and contribute to the resilience of each other’s infrastructure.
  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient InfrastructureCDRI focuses on these 4 major themes in its functionality:
    • Risk assessment for key Infrastructure sectors at multiple scales.
    • Developing Standards, regulations, and mechanisms for enforcement.
    • Examining the role of Finance in promoting disaster resilience.
    • Developing Predictable Mechanism for supporting recovery in Disaster times in key Infrastructure sectors.

Advantages of CDRI for India.

  • Help India to establish itself as a Global leader on climate action and disaster resilience 
  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient InfrastructureCDRI addresses adaptation in the infrastructure sector to become Disaster resilience and thus complement India’s International Solar Alliance initiative also.
  • Facilitates India’s support to build resilient infrastructure in Africa and Asia.
  • Provides access to expert knowledge, technology and helps in capacity development for Infrastructure developers.
  • Creates opportunities for Indian Infrastructure & Technology firms to expand their services abroad.

Infrastructure for Resilient Island States-IRIS

  • Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi along with few other world leaders including the UK Prime minister Boris Johnson will launch a new programme to secure critical infrastructure in small island states from the disasters induced by climate change.
  • It is Named as IRIS or Infrastructure for Resilient Island States, this programme is the first major work of the CDRI which India had initiated in 2019.

Infrastructure for Resilient Island States

  • Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) is an operationalisation and implementation of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient InfrastructureCDRI initiative.
  • As per CDRI, several small island states have lost almost 9 per cent of their GDP in disasters in the last few years.
  • The main work of Infrastructure for Resilient Island States would involve
    • mobilising and directing financial resources towards building resilient infrastructure in these countries,
    • retrofitting existing infrastructure,
    • development of early warning systems,
    • development and sharing of best practices.

ICDRI & IWDRI

The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI 2021) is an interactive virtual conference which follows International Workshops on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) held in 2018 and 2019.

Now lets have breif understanding of Disaters and the risk associated with them from the context of India

What is Disaster

The revised terminology of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction defines ‘disaster‘ as: “A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability, and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses, and impacts.”

  • The effect of the disaster can be immediate and localized but is often widespread, often persisting for long after the event.
  • The effect may challenge or overwhelm the capacity of a community or society to cope using the resources immediately and therefore may require assistance from external sources, which could include neighbouring jurisdictions or those at the national or international levels.
  • UNISDR considers disaster to be a result of the combination of many factors such as the exposure to hazards, the conditions of vulnerability that are present, and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences.
  • Disaster impacts may include loss of life, injuries, disease, and other negative effects on human physical, mental and social well-being, together with damage to property, destruction of assets, loss of services, social and economic disruption, and environmental degradation.

India’s Disaster Vulnerability

  • Nearly 59 per cent of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity.
  • More than 40 million hectares (12 per cent of land) is prone to floods and river erosion.
  • Of the nearly 7,500 km long coastline, close to 5,700 km is prone to cyclones and tsunamis.
  • Nearly 68%of the cultivable area is vulnerable to drought.
  • Large tracts in hilly regions are at risk from landslides and some are prone to snow avalanches.
  • Vulnerability to disasters/emergencies of CBRN origin also exists.

Causes of Disaster

Disasters can happen for many reasons. Some disasters are caused by natural phenomena like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Other disasters are the result of human behavior, like terrorist attacks or industrial accidents. Disasters can also be caused by man-made problems, like floods or fires.

Human induced activities such as deforestation, unsustainable harvesting of resources, Poor urban development and climate change are responsible for an increase in the frequency of disasters. Disasters can happen anywhere if there is a disruption in the natural environment and they often have devastating consequences for communities and nature.

Disasters can also have significant economic costs. They disrupt vital services and damage infrastructure, leading to job losses and a loss of income for the affected population. In addition, disasters can contaminate water supplies with hazardous materials or cause food shortages that cause social distress.

Heightened vulnerabilities to disaster risks in the current time can be related to

  • expanding population,
  • urbanisation, and industrialisation,
  • development within high-risk zones,
  • environmental degradation
  • climate change.

Besides these various human-induced activities are also responsible for accelerated impact and increase in frequency of disasters in the country like

  • increasing demographic pressure,
  • deteriorating environmental conditions,
  • deforestation,
  • unscientific development,
  • faulty agricultural practices and grazing,
  • unplanned urbanisation,
  • construction of large dams on river channels

In conclusion, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure CDRI is a great platform to promote disaster resilience capacity in new and existing infrastructure systems. By working together, we can make our communities more resilient to disasters. I urge you to visit the Coalition’s website and learn how you can get involved.


Official CDRI WEBSITE

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