Experts at a workshop have suggested that Bangladesh should be prepared better to minimise the consequences of flash floods in the country's haor region.
"Evidence suggests that preparing for crises can reduce food insecurity and make vulnerable communities more resilient," they said.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) arranged the validation workshop at the Department of Disaster Management on Monday aiming to coordinate flood response implementation and validate the level of flooding that would trigger an emergency response, a FAO press release said on Tuesday.
"If we know when a flood is going to hit then we can take precautions to protect agricultural assets and livelihoods, especially in the most vulnerable communities. Being prepared to act in response to disasters such as floods helps to save lives and livelihoods," said Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) Nur Khondaker.
Director-General of the Department of Disaster Management Mijanur Rahman joined the workshop as the chief guest with National Project Coordinator (Government Counterpart) of the Department of Disaster Management Netai Chandra Dey Sarker in the chair.
The director of Crops Division of the Department of Agricultural Extension Md Rabiul Islam Mazumdar and the Programme Officer of ECHO Mukit Billah attended the meeting as special guests.
Smallholder farmers in areas vulnerable to monsoon floods will be better prepared this year, thanks to a scaling-up of anticipatory action.
Last year, record-breaking floods wreaked havoc, affecting an estimated 7.2 million people in the country's northeastern region.
Torrential rain and upstream water completely submerged around 94 per cent of the town of Sunamganj and 84 per cent of Sylhet districts in northeastern Bangladesh.
A shift in strategy from responding to recurring shocks to anticipating their effects has the potential to break the cycle of increasing reliance on humanitarian aid by protecting the most vulnerable and their livelihoods ahead of time. It can help manage crises in a more efficient and dignified way.
The FAO in consultation with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), and other stakeholders, developed a pre-monsoon anticipatory action response plan for the Haor region under the 'Increasing Capacities and Scale for Anticipatory Action, including Through Social Protection Systems Project' which is funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).
Bangladesh is one of five countries in Asia (along the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam) that is piloting a programmatic partnership between the FAO and ECHO to scale up anticipatory approaches to crises.
