Anoop Khajuria
Global warming, the unprecedented heating of the planet, and natural disasters are intertwined. The recent flooding in UAE, wildfire in Chile, earthquakes in the Pacific and past events of flash floods in Sikkim, earthquakes in Nepal and Turkey, and cloud bursts in Himachal Pradesh have all caused immense losses of human, livestock, and infrastructure. Recently during the plenary session of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister said that investment in resilient infrastructure system is essential on account of increasing climate risks and disasters that are required to close the gaps in the existing infrastructure. He warned that for not building resilience infrastructure systems, a sizable chunk of funding will get diverted towards the recovery and reconstruction after disasters. This is akin to pouring water into a bamboo basket.
On October 4, 2023, Sikkim experienced Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) due to the bursting of South Lhonak glacial lake, at midnight. The water level of the Teesta River rose by 20 feet, leading to the death of 77 people. It caused widespread damage and the Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang blamed the poor construction of the Chungthang Dam constructed for a 1200 MW hydroelectric project. The dam was destroyed resulting in a loss of approximately Rs.15000 Crores. He blamed the previous Sikkim democratic government for the sub-standard work. Once again, the proverbial Bamboo Basket could not hold water!
In a southern town located in the Rift Valley of Kenya, a makeshift dam burst its banks in the early hours of 29th April as torrential rains and floods hit the country. The death toll was more than one hundred and twenty with many missing. The rains had filled up the hydroelectric dam to capacity, threatening a massive downstream overflow. A village named Kamuchiri was completely swept away beyond existence. Once again, the weak infrastructure of the dam could not withstand heavy rains and floods exacerbated by the El Nino weather patterns coupled with seasonal rainfall. The flood destroyed roads and bridges across the nation. However, the Kenyan government attributed flooding to a blocked tunnel below a railway line that caused the water to overflow, as a blatant cover-up to the tragedy.
Destruction of fragile infrastructure in the face of the climate crisis is a global problem and is increasing day by day. It is against this backdrop, that India took an initiative in 2019 to form a multi-stakeholder global partnership of national governments, UN agencies, multi-lateral development banks and financial mechanisms, and academic and knowledge institutions and named it the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) with its headquarters located in New Delhi.
It is important to realize the need for such an initiative in times of increasing natural hazards and the global infrastructure systems roiling under terrific stress. A recent study at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IIPM), Pune has revealed the likely impact of Global carbon emission upon sea warming. At present, the Indian Ocean has warmed by 1.20C. IIPM predicts that during a period from 2020 to 2100, there will be a temperature rise from 1.70C to 3.80C. IIPM study warns of marine heatwaves which will increase the cyclone formations over tenfold from the present 20 days to 220-250 days per year. This will directly hit the infrastructure of coastal countries and Small Island Developing Nations (SIDs). That is why, International collaborative efforts like CDRI are important to enhance the common understanding of creating resilient infrastructure.
The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure organized by CDRI therefore becomes the hub of knowledge sharing and forging partnerships to build resilient infrastructure, especially for vulnerable countries. But the pathway is laden with numerous challenges. The experts from various fields of infrastructure development deliberated upon various issues that needed to be addressed. Strengthening infrastructure regulations is the need of the hour. This includes evolving risk-informed laws, regulations, and public policies which would prevent the further creation of new risks and reduce the existing risks. The underlying measures include changing the design plans and standards to reflect debacles and hazards for flood control frameworks, defensive banks, seawall recovery, and retrofitting of structures.
The conference also dealt upon the potential of disasters that can disrupt economies and the fiscal balance of governments. There is a dire need to explore ways for Disaster Risk Finance solutions to increase the financial resilience of public finance management systems. Huge investments in the telecommunication systems sector, transport, adaptions for climate resilience, and building airports, hospitals, and dams would be required. Only strong and motivated Governance can safeguard investments in disaster-resilient infrastructure. There are lessons to be learned from our past mistakes as there is no room for compromised infrastructure development which will prove another bamboo basket as it cannot withstand the present realities of climate change-related natural hazards.
(The author is a member of Asia-Pacific Group of Journalists & Broadcasters)
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