26 April 2019, Kathmandu
Speakers at a programme have underscored that Nepal followed Japanese experience on disaster preparedness and management.
At a programme organized jointly by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the capital city on Friday, they said sharing experiences and knowledge on disaster preparedness and management would help cope up future disasters.
Chief Executive Officer at NRA, Sushil Gyawali, shared information that an international conference would be organized next year to comprehensively exchange experiences. “Nepal is gradually rising above the devastation caused by the earthquake four years back. As we already have the legal provision for an authority as per the Disaster Management and Risks Reduction Act 2074, we would be able to implement the experiences on disaster preparedness and management up to the local levels.”
According to him, homework was on to create earthquake resilient structures by amending the National Building Code as per the time. The NRA further said during the talks held with the Japanese Ambassador recently, it was agreed that cooperation would be made on construction of an earthquake museum and research centre in Nepal.
On the occasion, Japanese Ambassador to Nepal, Masamichi Saigo, expressed commitment that Japan would continue both financial and technical assistance for Nepal’s reconstruction drive.
He argued Japanese experience of disaster management would be useful for Nepal.
Japanese Professor conducting research on disaster management, Dr Satoro Nisikawa, shared Japan initially devised legal and policy mechanisms and later implemented these at local levels. It helped a lot to reduce adverse effects, he added.
Similarly, another senior representative at JICA, Dr Kojo Nagami, highlighted the Japanese experience and achievements on earthquake and tsunami management.
Other speakers including former minister Ganga Lal Tuladhar shared Nepali’s experience on post-quake activities and reconstruction drive.
