DILI, 05 april 2022 (TATOLI) – The government of Timor-Leste, through the Secretary of State for Civil Protection (SEPC), together with the United Nations, Australia, Portugal, and Japan organized an international seminar to strengthen coordination mechanisms of disaster risk reduction and management in Timor-Leste.
The international seminar was realized to mark the one-year anniversary of the april flash flood that affected more than 6000 households last year, and claimed 46 lives, while 11 are still missing.
In her remark at the International Seminar, the Interim Prime Minister, Armanda Berta dos Santos said that Timor-Leste is currently developing its ‘Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and Risk Management Practices’ in order to better respond to the future natural disaster.
“The development of this ‘Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and Risk Management Practices’ is urgently needed,” Dos Santos made comments at the International Seminar, in Dili, today.
Dos Santos thanked the USA, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Australia, Portugal, UN, EU, CPLP, ASEAN, and Pacific Islands countries for their continued support in protecting and saving the lives of the Timorese people.
“This seminar is important to strengthen coordination between the Government of Timor-Leste, development partners, and humanitarian organizations on the implementation of the National Disaster Risk Management (NDRM) Policy. It is a big step toward achieving sustainable development by ensuring that disaster risk reduction and management are integrated into development planning by all sectors in the country,” she said.
Dos Santos emphasized that it’s time to implement the NDRM to respond to future catastrophes: “This seminar is to strengthen disaster resilience and accelerate the implementation of NDRM for Disaster Risk Reduction in Timor-Leste. It’s important to define our mitigation and prevention activities to face any catastrophe in the future.”
At the same place, Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Bill Castello, said that the seminar was one step on the road to reducing the impact of future disasters on the people of Timor-Leste.
“Australia worked hard to support Timor-Leste in its response to the flood last year and also in its response to the Covid-19,” Castello said.
Castello also emphasized the importance of protecting the most vulnerable groups in society at the time of the disaster, including young children, people living with disability, elderly people, and the poorest: “We know they are always the most affected when disaster strikes.”
“We know from first-hand experience that adverse weather events will become more frequent and more intense with climate change. Our two countries share a common imperative to prepare for these disasters and reduce the risks to save lives and improve the welfare of our people,” he said.
Australia, along with other development partners will continue to support Timor-Leste to improve its system for disaster management: “Our collective efforts rely on the strong leadership and investment from the government of Timor-Leste, including from all of the ministries involved in the disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response,” Castello added.
“It’s only through cooperation between government ministries, between government and development partners from UN to community organizations that Timor-Leste can best hope to reduce the impacts of disasters in the future,” stressed Castello.
He hoped that the seminar would be followed by the proposed annual cycle of disaster management training activities that will make an important contribution to disaster risk response and preparedness in Timor-Leste.
In addition, the Representative of the UN Resident Coordinator, in Timor-Leste, Dagen Liu said that the April flash flood was a wake-up call for the government, development partners, and humanitarian organizations to prepare well in order to better respond to future catastrophes: “In late 2021, the government and the humanitarian partners joint to identify the good practices, challenges and lesson learned during the flood response.”
According to the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) conducted jointly by the Government of Timor-Leste, the UN, and World Bank found that the April flash flood accounted for nearly US$380 million in economic losses, meanwhile, the recovery need would be around US$530 million.
“UN is committed to continuing to work with the government and all partners to strengthen this disaster risk management and climate change adaptation in Timor-Leste,” Liu stressed.
On behalf of the Government of Timor-Leste, the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Joaquim José Gusmão dos Reis Martins thanked all countries who had supported Timor-Leste, following the severe impact caused by Tropical Cyclone Seroja, on april 4, last year.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
