Sri Lanka continues as Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre BOT Vice-Chair

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Thailand and Permanent Representative to UNESCAP C.A. Chaminda I. Colonne was re-elected as Vice-Chair of the Board of Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) at the third Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting held in a hybrid platform in Bangkok on 25 January. 

Joining the meeting online as Vice-Chair, Ambassador Chaminda Colonne expressed appreciation to Executive Director Hans Guttman and Members of the ADPC for work carried out by the ADPC amidst the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic throughout the past year. 

The Chairmanship of the ADPC was transferred from Bangladesh to Cambodia at the meeting and Cambodia’s member to the Board Kim Virak, Advisor to the National Committee for Disaster Management of Cambodia was elected as the Chair for 2022.

ADPC was established in 1986, and Sri Lanka is a founding member of ADPC along with Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand. 

In 2021, ADPC has signed MoUs with International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka to collaborate on climate adaptation and resilience initiatives with special focus on water and agriculture sectors as part of CARE for South Asia Project implementation funded by the World Bank in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh for 2021-2025 and with Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) to continue collaboration as an important private sector network from Sri Lanka for the Asian Preparedness Partnership (APP) and strengthen the locally-led actions for disaster preparedness, response and recovery. 

ADPC has been extending support for disaster risk management to various Ministries and agencies in Sri Lanka, including the Ministry of Defence, State Ministry of National Security and Disaster Management, Disaster Management Centre and Department of Meteorology.