He further indicated that the Ministry would give its fullest support on these efforts. Hon. Minister at his speech emphasised that although Sri Lanka was having the most advanced water management systems in the world in ancient era, currently the island is experiencing a massive water imbalance triggering a great economic loss as well as risking lives of poor and vulnerable. On top of that, the impacts of climate change adversely affect this small island and Sri Lanka raked as the fourth in recently released Global Climate Risk Index.
Hon. Minister detailed these at a government-led special side event on Water and Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia, held on Wednesday, 4 June 2018 at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This special panel event was led by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia, with support of Global Water Partnership (GWP) and co-hosted by the Government of Japan and High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disaster (HELP). The event brought together international experiences and approaches in the Asian context with the thought leaders from organizations that have the capacity and reach to support countries in their quest to address water-related disasters and realize development gains with an all of society approach for a more sustainable development.
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The High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) produced a set of “Principles on Investment and Financing for Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction”, and launched a flagship document on good practices and lessons of drought and flood management. Featured in these documents as concrete action on the ground are international HelpDesks, implemented jointly by GWP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) together with over 60 international organizations that are part of these joint programmes on drought and flood management.
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) is an international network that was created to foster the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management in order to maximise economic and social welfare without compromising the sustainability of ecosystems and the environment. Building on its efforts to strengthen climate resilience throughout Asia, GWP supported the Government of Mongolia in its leadership as part of the Asia Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) to inspire countries across Asia to meet the most pressing targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.