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Policy Roundtable
Strategic Country Risk Management - Focus on Natural Disasters and Climate Risk
11:00 am – 4:30 pm, Saturday 13 November 2010
The Ashoke, Chanakya Puri, New Delhi
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INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES
A key task of policymakers is to prepare and manage threats, risks and contingencies inherent to the state and society to promote security and stability. The conventional risk profile of countries, which includes aspects such as natural disasters, is now complicated by the emergence of climate change. Countries such as India, already buffeted by a range of natural disasters and climate variability, are now on the frontlines of climate change and having to contend with new risks as a result of their high-vulnerability.
Climate-related phenomena such as droughts, floods, cyclones, extreme weather events, forest fires, water shortages, disease, ill-health, agricultural productivity decline are already on policymakers radars but their increasing frequency and ferocity are presenting a new scale of challenge.
The consequences of such phenomena on human populations, weak infrastructure and vulnerable ecosystems can exacerbate food, water and physical insecurity. Further they can be ‘threat multipliers’ - triggers for social tensions, conflicts and resource wars. As climate science hardens and policymakers are faced with a compelling case for a risk-based approach to natural disasters and climate change, what measures should countries take to ‘climate-proof’ themselves and increase resilience? In particular, how can governments create more strategic risk management models at a country and state level to strengthen security and stability?
The insurance sector has taken a keen interest in this subject and Swiss Re has been at the forefront of dialogue and partnership with governments to develop integrated risk management approaches. This Roundtable seeks to initiate a dialogue with Indian policymakers on approaches to country risk management incorporating natural disaster and climate risk. Case studies of best practice at the national level from around the world will be used to further understanding.
The Roundtable will seek to gain new insight into how the architecture of risk management works at the country level in India and to support efforts to make it more ‘fit for purpose’ in a riskier, more climate-constrained future. To promote lateral thinking on this subject, the Roundtable hosts CSM and Swiss Re, will adopt a ‘strategic design’ approach bringing expertise from the worlds of strategy and design in partnership with strategy leaders, E3G, and Helsinki Design Labs. The result of this day-long exploration is intended as the first step of a creative, dialogue process leading to institutional innovation and increased effectiveness in mitigating India’s natural disaster and climate risk.
PROGRAMME
Time
| Activity
| | 11.00 – 11.10 | Welcome
Introduction to Roundtable objectives and format
Mr Michel Liès, Chief Marketing Officer and member of Executive Committee, Swiss Re., Switzerland and Ms Malini Mehra, Founder & Chief Executive (CSM)
| | 11.10 – 11.40 | Opening remarks
Mr Raj Singh
Chief Risk Officer and member of Executive Committee, Swiss Re, Switzerland
Prof N. Vinod Chandra Menon
Former Member, National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India
| | 12.00 – 13.00 | Session I: International best practice on country disaster and climate risk management
Presentations followed by interactive discussion
1. Survey of the Field, Mr Reto Schnarwiler, Head Public Sector, Swiss Re, Switzerland
2. Case Study 1 - The Singapore Experience, Ms Jeanette Kwek, Senior Strategist, Centre for Strategic Futures, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
3. Climate Risk - Towards an Integrated Approach, Mr Nick Mabey, co-founder & Chief Executive, E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism), United Kingdom | | 13.00 – 14.00 | Lunch | | 14.00 – 15.15 | Session II: The Indian Context - current best practice in natural disaster and climate risk management
Presentations followed by interactive discussion
1. Dr P.G. Dhar Chakrabarti, Executive Director, National Institute of Disaster
Management; Director, SAARC Disaster Management Centre
2. Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, Adviser/ Scientist-G at Department of Science & Technology, Government of India
3. Prof V. K. Sharma, Expert, Climate Change and Disaster Management, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi | | 15.15 – 15.30 | Coffee Break | | 15.30 – 16.15 | Pulling it together - Promoting strategic country risk management in India: issues and challenges
Concluding session drawing on Roundtable presentations and discussions
Chairs: Michel Liès (Swiss Re) and Malini Mehra (CSM) | | 16.15 – 16.30 | Next Steps and Close |
BIOGRAPHIES
Speakers Biographies
Michel Liès
Raj Singh
PRESENTATIONS
Akhilesh Gupta
Jeanette KwekMichel Liès Nick Mabey Raj Singh Reto Schnarwiler
Final Swiss Re/ CSM Meeting Report (Dec 2010)
View Report
Disaster Management and Climate Change - a Discussion Paper (Jan 2011)
View Report
PHOTOGRAPHS
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