«If Tunisia fails to implement its National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy, it will incur annual losses of around $138 million (the equivalent of 427, 8 million dinars). As a result, these loses will reach 3 billion dinars by 2030,» Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference, held on the sidelines of the Arab-African Conference on Science and Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction (October 2-3), Chikhaoui stressed the need to raise awareness about the threats of the climate change and its impacts on Tunisia.
«Tunisia is one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters given its geographical position in the Mediterranean region and in the Arab-African zone,» she added.
She added that the National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy has been ready since 2018, yet it was only approved by the government in May 2023.
«This strategy is built upon four main axes. It includes18 programmes and a large number of actions,» the minister pointed out, reiterating the need to get the private and institutional sector involved in the efforts made by the State to face natural disasters.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse