Mr.TissaAbeywickrama,DirectorGeneralSLRCS,atAsiaPacificRedCrossForumatBeijingChina:September2012.

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SRI LANKA RED CROSS SOCIETY

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SRI LANKA RED
CROSS SOCIETY TISSA ABEYWICKRAMA AT THE ASIA PACIFIC RED
CROSS FORUM IN BEIJING, CHINA ON THE 18
TH
OF SEPTEMBER 2012

lt s we khowh that the consequences of cIImate change are IndIscrImInateIy hcreashg at
ah aarmhg rate ahd s devastathg mohs ahd mohs of peope. We vhg h words most
popuous regoh Asa Pacfc must prortse htatves to fhd coectve respohses to cmate
chahge ahd hatura dsasters. Shce cmate has chahged we have to be hhovatve to adapt to
the crcumstahces.

Sometme ago we were tod Green House Effect, Breach of O- zone Iayer; GIobaI warmIng
and MeItIng of Ice Caps w cause a cmate chahge. We doht hear a those causes ahymore
as cIImate change s here creathg dauhthg dsasters yet how we have to fhd ways to adapt to
the stuatoh.

Accordhg to the UnIted NatIons EnvIronment Programme (UNEP), heary a haf of the words
hatura dsasters are reported h Asa Pacfc regoh. These hdscrmhate cohsequehces;
RIse In sea IeveI
HurrIcanes, CycIones
Earthquakes, TsunamI
LandsIIdes, FIoods
Drought
Bush FIres
Outbreak of dIseases
LIveIIhood InterruptIon
CoIIapse of ruraI economy
Forced MIgratIon
Congested UrbanIzatIon, SocIo-economIc Issues - are hurthg mahy of us.

A these cohsequehces resut h dverse devastatohs to both ahmate ahd hahmate
ehvrohmehts.

Some couhtres are oshg ther terrtores; sea s comhg towards the ahd. For ah hstahce,
Madves has a threat of behg Inundated. Further, hcreased frequehcy of foods ahd ahdsdes
eads to humerous damages such as Ioss of beIongIngs; demoIIsh affIuence, deaths, h|ures
ahd dspacemeht of peope ahd creathg overa emptIness amohg commuhtes.

lt s true h Sr Lahka fertIIe topsoII s erodhg fast resuted by fash foods. Moreover, damage
to Infrastructure resuthg ImmovabIIIty eads to compete deadock of servIces ahd other
fuhctohates to commuhtes. Wth hcrease of adversty of hatura dsasters - tsuham, food,
hurrcahe, earthquake etc. aggravated ssue of HomeIessness.

Oh the hahd Droughts are affecthg water resources, crops, ahma husbahdry h ahother part
of the couhtry or h the regoh. Goba warmth s hevtaby ah hcreashg ahhoyahce.
lhcreashg water scarcIty w ead to hcrease h water prces, ow agrcutura productoh. lt
aso has caused cross border dsputes.

lh Sr Lahka, for ah hstahce, receht drought ed to mss two pahthg seasohs resuthg turmo
h commuhty fe ahd ruhed fIora & fauna. Further BushfIres has shattered bIo dIversIty.
These chahges affects Heath sector too. Rapd emergehce of dseases such as dengue,
dIarrhoea, choIera, maIarIa and other vector borne dIseases, PsychoIogIcaI trauma are aso
hevtaby resuts of ehvrohmehta trahsformatoh.

Losses h freshwater & oceah fshhg ahd osses h agrcuture devastate vehoods ahd trade,
harmhg rura ecohomy. Evehtuay hot ohy the rura economy ahd t cah cause coapse of
hatoha ahd regoha ecohomes too.

Mr.TissaAbeywickrama,DirectorGeneralSLRCS,atAsiaPacificRedCrossForumatBeijingChina:September2012. Page2of2

SRI LANKA RED CROSS SOCIETY

The mpacts of cmate chahge have massve mpcatohs partcuary for poverty reductoh ahd goba
htatves such as the Mehhum Deveopmeht Goas (MDGs).

lt s seeh that peope tehd to trave, due to mahy crcumstahces, beyohd ther oca geographes wth bg
demographc exposures.

However wheh t s cohsdered due to cmate chahge, the tehdehcy s forced mIgratIon ahd creates
uhpahhed congested urbanIzatIon, caushg mahy soco-ecohomc ssues ahd other devaht behavoura
patterhs amohg peope. The hazard trends In worId have Increased severeIy In Iast 100 years.
AccordIng to statIstIcs the Increment Is maInIy pushed by the Increased hydro-meteoroIogIcaI
dIsasters.

lh respohse to a dsaster our vouhteers ahd staff mobse spohtaheousy. Our lhahd wde brahch
hetwork ahd at hatoha eve we have trahed respohse teams.

Based oh cohthgehcy pahs h he wth our strategc pah, actvtes are carred out sub|ect to the
stuatoh. Some are; EvacuatIon, FIrst AId, ReIIef, Temporary sheIter, HeaIth, Water & SanItatIon,
restorIng famIIy IInks, IogIstIcs, etc.

The Red Cross Red Cresceht Movemeht s ehgaged h Dsaster respohse, hehce h the cohtext of cmate
chahge, deveopmeht of dverse ahd strategc mechahsms to mtgate the mpact of dsasters are
essehta. Wheh these htatves are takeh coIIectIveIy ahd cooperatIveIy and evIdence based and
systematIcaIIy outcomes are successfu ahd are owhed by a. The desghed ahd deveopmeht of pro|ect
shoud be oh IocaI consensuses, etthg the ocas to decde oh prortes. Havhg regIonaI contrIbutIon
hcreases the sustahabe mpact.

l beeve vuherabty focused communIty orIented programs cah dever mpactfu ahd sustahabe
commuhty deveopmeht, f they are uhdertakeh h ah Integrated manner. Ahd t s mportaht to become a
consIderate ahd a shcere partner to the most vuherabe peope we assst. The commuhty shoud ead
actvtes h a partIcIpatory mahher technIcaIIy ahd resourcefuIIy supported by Red Cross.

For ah exampe, wheh there s a heed of sheter assstahce, other reated compohehts, such as vehood,
water ahd sahtatoh, dsaster mahagemeht, heath, humahtarah vaue heed to be hked hto the pro|ect.

lh Sr Lahka, ohe of the essohs earhed from Asah Tsuham 2004 programs was; Dverse vuherabtes
ext h ah affected commuhty ahd the degree of mpact from a techhcay stahdaohe (heath, vehood,
DM) program vary from famy to famy. Furthermore there was ah overap h resource mobzatoh.

Thus we how our way forward s the cohcept of htegrated programhg. lh he wth ths cohcept our Post
Cohfct Recovery Program asssthg returhhg lDPs after a 30 year cohfct s ohe exempary program.
Further, Post Food Recovery Assstahce Program auhched h respohse to effects of adverse weather
occurred h eary 2011 s aso wth same sghfcahce. Recehty we started ahother htegrated programme
for commuhty resehce whch s showhg remarkabe outcome.

However t must be hoted that desgh ahd deveopmeht of commuhty based htegrated programs takes
ohger tme. But commuhty orehted ahd commuhty drveh mode becomes a serous catayst to
restorIng resIIIent communItIes uhdoubtedy.

Ahother mportahce s our roe h humanItarIan dIpIomacy has sghfcahty brdged behefcary ssues
ahd cohcerhed exterha partes ahd settemehts, hcrease vaue addtoh h our work.

lh Sr Lahka our humahtarah dpomacy s practced at every eve, whch has opportuhe us to opeh mahy
bureaucratc doors ahd setted ahd owhershp ssues, have brought cost effectve access to suppes etc.

Before l ehd et me eave ths sde wth you How are we dohg? Who w |udge?