Effective evidence-based DRR decisions and investments are required - Jyotiraj Patra

"DRR planning, investments and decisions need to be informed by robust research-based evidence. Such research has to be more policy-relevant and practice-oriented rather than pure academic pursuits." - Jyotiraj Patra, Independent Researcher

In my opinion one of the key emerging needs is around adequate and effective evidence-informed DRR decisions and investments.

India has witnessed many natural disasters of different intensities and scale after the 2004 Tsunami. Among them, hydro-meteorological disasters have caused significant loss and damage across scales. One of the key challenges associated with these hazards is the uncertainty with regard to their occurrence and intensity. Floods in Uttarakhand (2013) and Kashmir (2014) highlight the changing patterns of these hazards. It is under these circumstances that DRR planning, investments and decisions need to be informed by robust research-based evidence. Firstly, there is a need to further strengthen disaster risk research in India by greater institutional collaboration among the scientific institutes, universities, humanitarian agencies, NGOs and private sector. Such research has to be more policy-relevant and practice-oriented rather than pure academic pursuits. The architecture of this research programme should be need-based and the Science and Social Science Research Councils, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and various Science and Technology (S&T) departments could collaborate with the NDMA, SDMAs and DDMAs to identify key areas for research. Most importantly, there should be an institutional mechanism in place to ensure coherence and continuity in this endeavor and go beyond the business-as-usual approach of project-based research. This is all the more necessary to better understand and address the uncertainties associated with hazard patterns and likely impact. The National Policy on DM (2009) identifies research as a key component of disaster risk and this provides adequate institutional opportunities to establish a multi-disciplinary, dynamic and robust disaster risk research system in India. This system could also be effective in bridging the boundaries across DRR, climate change adaptation (CCA) and resilience building. The Integrated Research in Disaster Risk (IRDR), a joint initiative of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), and the UNISDR is one such example.