The first meeting of the Ministerial Strategic Steering Committee for the Integrated Natural Disaster Resilience Programme was chaired Tuesday by Prime Minister Najla Bouden, in the presence of several members of the government.

The Natural Disaster Resilience Programme is part of a review of the current system and its adaptation to the results of international research in this field and to the recommendations of experts from donors, in particular the World Bank and l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), said the Minister of Finance and permanent chair of the committee, Sihem Nemsia.

She pointed out that her ministry had launched this programme in partnership with the World Bank and AFD in 2019 and had designed a number of projects in this area in a number of ministries. In 2021, an agreement was signed by a team representing the various ministries and public structures involved in the programme.

The team’s main prerogative is to define the stakeholders involved in tackling the issue, identify the programme’s priorities and draw up a forward-looking plan for coping with and resisting climate change and natural disasters.

Nemsia called for support for this programme and for its implementation to be accelerated, as well as for permanent and continuous coordination between all stakeholders and financial partners.

Minister of the Interior, Kamel Fekih, who chaired the first meeting of the committee, pointed out that Tunisia faces numerous natural disasters, including floods, forest fires and droughts.

Legal and operational measures are taken every year to prevent the various possible disasters, while at the same time increasing the material and human resources mobilised and updating the intervention plans aimed at rescuing citizens and limiting damage,” he added. In addition, the governors chair regional committees for the prevention and management of disasters, thanks to the application of the forward-looking plan and the combined efforts of the various structures involved,” he added.

In this context, he praised the role played by civil society, which had made it possible to improve the efficiency of the services provided to those affected. However, he stressed the need to overcome a number of difficulties by ensuring that the members of the commissions are trained in disaster and crisis management, by developing coordination mechanisms using new technologies and by setting up an early warning system capable of alerting citizens to natural risks before they occur.

The Minister considered the Integrated Disaster Resilience Programme to be an important step in the revision of Tunisia’s civil protection strategy, adding that any new initiative must take into account the legal framework in force and the specificities of the country’s political and administrative system.

It is important to remember that this programme is part of the National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction to 2030, which covers a period of six years (2021-2027).

At the end of the first meeting of the Ministerial Strategic Steering Committee for the Integrated Natural Disaster Resilience Programme, 7 Memoranda of Understanding were signed.

These are:

– A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing;

– A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior (National Civil Protection Office);

– A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries;

– A Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Environment;

– A Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport (National Institute of Meteorology – INM);

– A Memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Fisheries and the Ministry of Transport (INM); and

– A Memorandum of understanding between the INM and the National Civil Protection Office.

In addition to the Ministers of the Interior and Finance, the meeting was attended by Minister of Public Works and Housing, Sarra Zaafrani Zenzeri, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Abdelmonem Belati, Minister of the Environment, Leila Chikhaoui, and Minister of Transport, Rabie Majidi.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse