Japan Funds Disaster Reduction Training in Galle District

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 March 2006, 11:09 GMT]
The Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Mr. Akio Suda signed an agreement with Dr. Tetsushi Kurita The Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC) under the NGO grant aid scheme where the Japanese Government will provide US $92,468 to ADRC to carry out a series of community based disaster reduction through Hands-on Training in Galle District, a press release issued by the Embassy of Japan in Colombo Monday said. ADRC will collaborate with Galle District Secretariat in this effort, the release added.

Full text of the press release follows:

The Asian Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC) in collaboration with the Galle District Secretariat will carry out a series of community based disaster reduction through Hands-on Training in Galle District. The Government of Japan has provided US $ 92,468 to ADRC under the NGO Grant Aid Scheme. The signing of the Grant Contract between H.E. Mr. Akio Suda, Ambassador of Japan and Dr. Tetsushi Kurita of ADRC took place on March 13, 2006 at the Embassy of Japan.

The importance of dealing with all aspects of disaster reduction has grown over the years especially in light of the recent tsunami disaster that devastated the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. In this context, Sri Lanka will need to build up its capacity in disaster reduction, mitigation, and preparedness, so that the country would be able to face any natural disasters in the future. However, all this cannot be achieved in the short term, but would require a continuous effort in terms of institutional strengthening and capacity building. Innovative and effective practices from other countries would be very useful in this regard, especially from countries like Japan where a well planned disaster management system is in place to deal with the numerous natural disasters that occur quite frequently.

ADRC is a Japanese Non Governmental Organization involved in training and capacity building in disaster reduction in Japan and in other counties. It has wide experience in the field and would be a good source of knowledge and information on disaster reduction for Sri Lanka.

The project will provide training for 300 trainers and conduct around 200 workshops for officials at all levels, NGOs and the resident community all over the Galle district. Funds will also be utilized for procuring training equipment and other material that can be used by the Galle District Secretariat for future training and disaster related communication.

Mr. P. D. Amarasinghe, Secretary Ministry of Disaster Management, officials of Embassy of Japan and ADRC were also present at the ceremony.