Kathmandu, July 2:

The National Strategy on Disaster Risk Management (NSDRM) is expected to come into force soon after the task of putting it together enters its final phase on Friday. The basic idea is to ensure safety during natural disasters by 2015 by building a gargantuan network of government and semi-government organisations, among others.

Based on what is called the Hyogo Framework of Action 2005-2015, its genesis is in a consensus document adopted by 168 countries at an UN Conference on Disaster Reduction held in 2005. A member of the UN, Nepal has committed to the strategy.

“The work has entered its final phase. We have found that the UNDP is working on it as expected. The deadline set for the purpose is July 15. They should be submitting it by then,”

said Sher Bahadur GC, the Joint Secretary at the Home Ministry. He referred to its benefits which, among others, include strengthening of the institutions which jump into action after natural disasters strike.

Such strategies are also known to build resilience in society and beef up the level of quality preparedness for emergency situations.

In a study conducted in 2004, the UNDP had placed Nepal in the 11th position in a list of nations, which face frequent quakes, while placing it in the 30th position in terms of floods.

A report prepared by the World Bank in 2005 classified Nepal as one of the global ‘hot-spots’ for natural disasters. The highlights of the strategy are giving disaster risk reduction both national and local priority, developing early warning systems by forming a network and building a culture of resilience at all levels.