ICDRI calls to build resilient infrastructure for sustainable future

New Delhi: The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2022 concluded in New Delhi and pledged a human-centered approach to building a resilient infrastructure for a sustainable future.
The three-day conference is organized by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), in partnership with the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The purpose of the conference is to bring together member countries, organizations, and institutions to strengthen the global discourse on disaster and climate resilience of transitioning infrastructure systems and catalyze global action.

Addressing the closing session of the event, Dr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, said, “This year’s edition of the conference has chosen to focus on issues pertaining to the resilience of transitioning infrastructure systems. This is a step towards making us future-ready! The fact that the conference has attracted nearly 2000 participants from across the world underlines the relevance and timeliness of the theme of this year’s ICDRI.”

Speaking on the effects of climate change, Samantha Power, USAID Administrator, and CDRI Governing Council Co-chair, said that “The answer must be building resilience. We, the collective 35 members of the CDRI gathered today, along with two private sector coalitions representing over 400 companies, must invest, learn from each other, and recruit new partners to harden our infrastructure against the shocks we know our planet has in store.”

During the conference, the member countries have also pledged to innovate and work collaboratively to create resilient infrastructure for safer societies.

“Themes focused on the most vulnerable and emphasized the need to put people and services at the core of resilient infrastructure solutions,” said the official statement. 

The conference covered a range of topics that delved into technological innovations, standards and benchmarking for infrastructure resilience, managing cascading risks for enhancing disaster resilience, creating a supportive and cutting edge policy environment, knowledge and capacity-building initiatives, and diversity of partnerships and collaboration to build disaster-resilient infrastructure. 

The three-day hybrid conference featured 25 sessions, which included policy, regional, sectoral, and thematic, led by more than 90 global experts and thought leaders from 19 CDRI member countries.