Harper Government calls for National Disaster Mitigation Program proposals

OTTAWA, April 17, 2015 /CNW/ - The Honourable Steven Blaney, Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness today launched the first call for proposals for the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP).

In Economic Action Plan 2014, our Government committed to providing $200 million in funding over five years, starting in 2015-16 to develop the National Disaster Mitigation Program. As announced in January 2015, the NDMP will focus mainly on flood mitigation, to better protect Canadians, their homes, and communities.

This funding is in addition to the investments made under the New Building Canada Fund. Announced in Economic Action Plan 2013, the New Building Canada Fund provides $14 billion to support significant infrastructure projects in Canada as identified by the provinces and territories, which can include mitigation infrastructure to help prevent floods and other natural disasters.

The investments in flood-risk identification and prevention measures through the NDMP reflect our Government's shift towards a proactive disaster relief model that will better protect Canadians and their communities from the costs and heartache associated with reoccurring flooding.

Quick Facts

Flood mitigation investments are needed in Canada. Since being created in 1970, the DFAA have been applied to over 210 events, with total payments of over $3.4 billion made to provinces and territories. Of those 210 events, 190 were flood-related, representing more than 85 per cent of all DFAA-funded recovery efforts.

Through NDMP investments, our Government will:
- Help reduce flood-related risks and losses by supporting provinces and territories in identifying and mitigating high-risk flood areas;
- Contribute to establishing conditions for the introduction of a residential flood insurance market in Canada;
- Collect disaster risk information that will inform future investments; and
- Facilitate greater knowledge-sharing across emergency management stakeholders.

This funding is in addition to the funding that is available for disaster mitigation projects through the $53 billion New Building Canada Plan. It provides stable funding for a 10-year period, and includes:

Quotes

"We are pleased to launch the National Disaster Mitigation Program today as we shift towards a proactive disaster relief model that better allows us to identify, plan for, and prevent flood risks and the costs that Canadians incur as a result of flooding. This important investment will help reduce flood-related costs for all levels of government and help Canadians in high-risk communities avoid the heartache associated with reoccurring flooding in their communities. Our Government will continue to support Canadians in their time of need and work with the provinces and territories to help proactively reduce the risk of flooding in high-risk communities across Canada.
- The Honourable Steven Blaney, Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"We have all seen the toll that severe weather events take on Canadians. IBC is pleased to continue working with the federal government on flood prevention and mitigation measures. We know that the private sector, all levels of government and community groups – working together – can build more resilient and sustainable communities".
- Don Forgeron, President and CEO, Insurance Bureau of Canada

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Associated Links

For more information, please visit the website www.publicsafety.gc.ca.

SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada

Sendai talks establish targets to reduce damage from natural disasters

Governments at a UN conference in Japan set targets on Wednesday to substantially reduce deaths and economic losses from disasters, in the first of three major global agreements to advance development and tackle climate change this year.

After a marathon negotiating session that ended just before midnight, the talks adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year plan that will replace the existing 10-year blueprint.

“This new framework … opens a major new chapter in sustainable development, as it outlines clear targets and priorities for action which will lead to a substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health,” said Margareta Wahlström, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

Implementation “will be vital to the achievement of future agreements on sustainable development goals and climate later this year”, she added.

Experts described the inclusion in the agreement of seven targets to measure progress on protecting people and assets as a leap forward. But some were disappointed that earlier proposals for percentage goals were rejected.

Instead, the draft text includes targets to lower the global mortality rate from disasters between 2020 and 2030, compared with 2005 to 2015, and reduce the proportion of people affected. Another target is to reduce economic losses in relation to global GDP by 2030.

In the decade covered by the expiring Hyogo Framework for Action, more than 700,000 people lost their lives, and more than 1.5 billion people were affected by disasters. Total economic losses topped $1.3tn.

The new, non-binding agreement also includes targets to reduce damage to infrastructure and disruption to basic services, including health and education facilities, and to increase access to early warning systems and disaster risk information for the public.

But some disaster experts said a lack of a firm commitments in the agreement to ramp up international aid for risk reduction would undermine poorer countries’ efforts to make progress on the goals.

Only Japan put money on the table in Sendai, promising to provide $4bn in support over the next four years.

“Rich nations have pushed making financial commitments to reduce disaster risk to a separate round of financing negotiations later in the year,” said Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, referring to a conference in Ethiopia in July. Without larger financial commitments, “the results for vulnerable communities in poor countries will be catastrophic”, he added.

The devastation caused by cyclone Pam in the south Pacific island nation of Vanuatu at the start of the conference last week highlighted the need for greater efforts to protect those most at risk from extreme weather and other hazards. “Disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change and [are] increasing in frequency and intensity, significantly impede progress towards sustainable development,” the Sendai framework said.

“It is urgent and critical to anticipate, plan for and reduce disaster risk in order to more effectively protect persons, communities and countries … and thus strengthen their resilience,” it added.

Maggie Ibrahim, World Vision UK’s resilience manager, said the Sendai conference had spotlighted issues affecting disabled people, women and children in disasters. But the agreement would not equip them and other vulnerable people with the resources and tools to build skills so they can better prepare for disasters and avert crises, she said.

“This new plan in its current text and form has only become weaker with every subsequent draft,” she said.

source: theguardian.com

Harper Government calls for National Disaster Mitigation Program proposals

Sendai talks establish targets to reduce damage from natural disasters

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