A pathway towards national frameworks for anticipatory action: highlights from the 1st South Asia Dialogue Platform

Source: Anticipation Hub

More than 80 participants, coming from across South Asia. Two full days, which were structured around delivering three clear outcomes. And, by the close of the inaugural South Asia Dialogue Platform, the numbers added up to success: eight countries now have a clear pathway towards establishing national frameworks for anticipatory action.

A significant number of the participants represented government ministries and bodies, which reflects the growing interest in anticipatory action at this level across the region. Their involvement was crucial to achieving the main objective: setting out how each country can develop its national framework for anticipatory action. These frameworks are seen as a pivotal next step in efforts to institutionalize this approach in each country, for example by ensuring its inclusion in relevant laws and policies.

National frameworks are also a way to improve coordination between the various stakeholders in each country and to ensure that their efforts complement, rather than compete with, each other.

Planning a pathway using ‘moonstones’

Sri Lanka hosted the 1st South Asia Dialogue Platform and the process of planning the national frameworks drew on one of the country’s symbols: the moonstone. This ancient art form comprises a half-moon formed of layers, each with a specific meaning: what ‘keeps us ‘running’ in life, our strengths, our entanglement in everyday life. At its centre is a lotus flower, which represents nirvana, or enlightenment.

Drawing on these inspirational themes, the first workshop on day one guided the participants through the process of plotting a pathway towards developing national frameworks for anticipatory action. Each country group had its own moonstone on which to plot the enablers and barriers to achieving this.

These varied across the countries, depending on their progress to date with implementing anticipatory action. In Pakistan, where this approach is well established, barriers included, among others, the need for public financing. At the same time, a major factor behind progress to date is that the National Disaster Management Authority has been leading the process.

Bhutan, by contrast, is only just starting out in its efforts to establish anticipatory action. This position as a (relative) newcomer was reflected in the challenges identified by the country’s representatives, with the main barrier being an understanding of the concept itself, for example when speaking to government officials. At the same time, Bhutan has a strong legislation for disaster management, which offers an existing system into which anticipatory action can be incorporated.

A subregional focus

This was one of the first subregional dialogue platforms, and the smaller geographical focus (compared to the whole Asia-Pacific region) allowed the countries in South Asia – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – to build closer ties and share experiences of similar hazards.

“We have seen quite a bit of progress in the South Asia region,” noted Madhab Uprety, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, during his opening remarks on day one. “Hopefully we will see more subregional dialogue platforms in the future, so we can focus on the challenges at this level.”

Echoing these words, there was a strong call for further opportunities to collaborate and share lessons at this subregional level on the second day, when – drawing on the ideas included in their national moonstones – each country group identified the subregional priorities for the next three years. This indicates that this dialogue platform is likely to be the first of many for South Asia.

The participants also made headway with developing an outcome statement for anticipatory action in South Asia on day two. This will be finalized in the coming weeks and used to guide further work in the region.