Attention..…..Free books for everyone! CIRDAP is giving away some old Books and Reports completely free of cost. The books are mostly on different issues including Rural Development, Poverty Alleviation, Climate Change, Gender, Good Governance, Education, and Agriculture, research etc. published by renowned organizations and publishers. Any Library, organization, NGO, or Individual willing to avail this opportunity are requested to visit CIRDAP Library and collect books during office time from 8 A.M to 4 P.M on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday starting from 13th December, 2020! Address of CIRDAP Aziz-ul Haq Library: Chameli House, 17 Topkhana Road, GPO Box 2883, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. For any information, please contact the head of Librarian Ms. Usha Rani Barua: 01841050470 or email at usharani@cirdap.org

On the day of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, CIRDAP in collaboration with Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), organized the webinar on 13th October, 2020. The webinar is entitled “Expert Consultation on Building Earthquakes Resilient Communities and Societies for Bangladesh: Sharing Experiences and Lesson Learned from Earthquakes around the World”. Director General (DG) CIRDAP, Dr. Cherdsak Virapat welcomed all participants. He informed that the date of 13 October is an important day for Thailand as the country commemorates the passing of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the Father of the Nation in 2016. For honoring him, all the participants were requested to stand up for the Royal Anthem. Dr. Virapat then proceeded by giving opening address of the webinar and provided his message for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. He called for immediate global attention on disaster risk reduction by mean of hazard vulnerability assessment, disaster early warning, mitigation, preparedness and response. He expected that the meeting will identify strategic actions, measures and pilot implementation of end-to-end earthquake risk reduction systems for Bangladesh. Prof. Mehedi Ansary, BUET provided background and aims of the meeting. Dr. Walter D. Mooney, USGS, U.S.A presented about Indonesian Palu and Sulawesi earthquakes which occurred on September 28, 2018. Dr. Mooney said, “Not only Tsunami but also this earthquake generated ground shaking, landside and liquefaction which was un-anticipated. Most of the emergency warning center destroyed due to this earthquake”. Due to the earthquake the death toll was high with the confirmed death of 3400 people. The key points of the Palu earthquake are that Tsunami waves was there for several minutes after the main shock and the maximum tsunami inundation was 469 m. He also said it will not matter how strong a building is built if the foundation is weak. Prof. Tavida Kamolvej, Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University presented about the lesson learned from disasters. She emphasized more to lesson learned, awareness and education training about the earthquake than the technicality of it. She expressed that communication within the community helped a lot to make a risk reduction measures more than the national level measures. Participatory action research is required for this. Academics and local people – this combined team can be useful on the disaster risk reductions measures or post – disaster phases. Prof. Helal Uddin, Director Research, CIRDAP addressed impacts of earthquake on Bangladesh’s economy. He expressed that since the capital stock of Bangladesh is more than a trillion dollar and Dhaka city contributes around 40% of our GDP which is a huge amount. So, Dhaka is being the most popular city and exposed to the earthquake, economic development and growth will be tremendously affected by indirect loss incurred by any earthquake. Mr. Tinnakorn Tatong, Department of Mineral Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand said, “Earthquake cannot be predicted but still the good data base is needed for kind of predicting about where it is going to happen. Which magnitude it is going to be? Then we can go and pursue the government”. With the open discussions amongst the participants the webinar ended on 12 p.m. by the closing remarks of DG CIRDAP Dr. Virapat. On behalf of CIRDAP, he thanked all the experts and participants for sharing their views and suggestions on the issue of earthquake. CIRDAP and BUET will collaborate with all experts for further development to promote earthquake risk reduction for Bangladesh in the near future. click here to download this report

Today, we celebrate the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction at the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP). The day of 13 October was established at the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. On behalf of CIRDAP, I call for immediate global attention on disaster risk reduction by mean of hazard vulnerability assessments, disaster early warning, mitigation, preparedness and response. It is an opportunity to acknowledge the progress being made toward reducing disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan in March 2015. In keeping with the Day’s focus on the impact that disasters have on people’s lives and well-being, this year’s theme is about conveying the message that many disasters can be avoided or prevented if there are disaster risk reduction strategies in place to manage and reduce existing levels of risk and to avoid the creation of new risk. What that amounts to is “good disaster risk governance.[1]” CIRDAP is proud to organize a webinar in collaboration with Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and partner organizations in Bangladesh, Thailand, and U.S.A. for celebrating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction entitled “Expert Consultation on Building Earthquakes Resilient Communities and Societies for Bangladesh: Sharing Experiences and Lesson Learned from Earthquakes around the World”. It is expected that the meeting will identify strategic actions, measures and pilot implementation of end-to-end earthquake risk reduction systems for Bangladesh. CIRDAP looks forward to promoting its Emerging issues on integrated rural development including natural disaster risk reduction, climate change impacts, & water resource management programme as part of the work plan 2020+ in the years to come. [1] https://www.undrr.org/publication/concept-note-international-day-disaster-risk-reduction-2020

DG CIRDAP Dr. Cherdsak Virapat has been invited by International Ocean Institute Headquarters (IOI HQ) to be a Commentator in the 15th Annual Session Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) on 15th – 16th October 2020. The IOI is a collaborating partner with the Global Forum on Human Settlements in the organization of this virtual annual session. The 15th GFHS annual session will address the theme of Post-Pandemic Recovery and Transformation: Resilient Cities, Healthy Planet. Within the Forum, the IOI, through HQ, is responsible for coordinating and moderating Thematic Forum 1b “Blue Economy and a Healthy Ocean” on the 15th October. Partners and speakers in this session hail from the IOI, the World Ocean Council (WOC), UNCTAD, UNEP FI Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative, and the Ministry for Fisheries, Agriculture and Animal Rights, Malta. You are cordially invited to register to the GFHS online Forum and to also join IOI and the distinguished speakers of Forum 1b “Blue Economy and a Healthy Ocean” on the 15th from 13.30hr to 15hrs (CET). To register to the event: click here For more information: click here & click here

BACKGROUND Bangladesh is a moderately seismic country in the world. According to Ambraseys and Douglas (2004) and Szeliga et al. (2010), several past earthquakes have occurred in Bangladesh and surrounding region in the last several hundred years. Among these earthquakes, the 1762 Arakan, 1869 Cachar, 1885 Bengal, 1897 Indian, 1918 Srimangal, 1930 Dhubri, 1934 Nepal, 2015 Nepal Earthquakes are well known in Bangladesh. The 1897 Indian Earthquake located in Assam, has caused massive destruction to structures in Dhaka City killing 1542 people in the region (Oldham 1899). But no large earthquake has occurred here for the last few decades, so the people have become complacent. The 2013 Rana Plaza incidence, which killed 1,130 people without an earthquake and the 2015 Nepal earthquake, are eye-openers for Bangladesh. Now is the right time to make our people aware of the severity of a large earthquake like the 1897 event. During 1897, the population of Dhaka was only 90,000, and currently, its population is almost 20 million. The number of buildings in 1897 was only 100, now it is almost 2 million. A 2009 study of CDMP funded by UNDP and a 2013 study of EMI funded by the World Bank projected that almost 30% of the total building stocks of Dhaka may collapse if an earthquake of magnitude 7 occurs 70 km away at Modhupur fault. AIMS OF THE MEETING The meeting is entitled “Expert Consultation on Building Earthquakes Resilient Communities and Societies for Bangladesh: Sharing Experiences and Lesson Learned from Earthquakes around the World”. The meeting will address the past earthquakes occurred in Mexico, Japan, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, etc. for sharing of experiences and lesson learned, to address local capacities in those countries on end-to-end early warning and mitigation systems, to identify measures and action plans for adaptation and mitigation efforts to improve disaster mitigation and preparedness arrangements for Bangladesh. It is expected that about 10 key participants will attend the meeting. EXPECTED OUTCOME It is expected that the meeting will identify strategic actions, measures and pilot implementation of end-to-end earthquake risk reduction systems for Bangladesh. PROGRAMME Tuesday 13th October 2020 10:00 – 10:10 hrs Welcome by CIRDAP and Introduction to Experts Cherdsak Virapat, CIRDAP 10:10 – 10:15 hrs Background and Aims of the Meeting Mehedi Ansary, BUET 10:15 – 11:00 hrs Expert Brief Presentations 10:15 – 10:30 hrs Mexico Earthquake by Dr. Walter Mooney, USGS, U.S.A. 10:30 – 10:45 hrs Japan, Pakistan and Nepal Earthquakes by Prof. Tavida Kamolvej, Thammasat University, Thailand 10:45 – 11:00 hrs Bangladesh Earthquakes and Risk Assessment of Dhaka, Bangladesh by Dr. Fouad Bendimerad, EMI, U.S.A. 11:00 – 11:50 hrs Discussion What is lesson learned in terms of local capacities requirements on end-to-end early warning and mitigation systems? What are measures and action plans for adaptation and mitigation efforts to improve mitigation, preparedness and response arrangements for Bangladesh? 11:50 – 12.00 hrs The Way Forwards and Closing EXPERTS: Mr. Tinnakorn Tatong, Department of Mineral Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand (TBC) Prof. Tavida Kamolvej, Dean, Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University Dr. Penueng Wanichai, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand (TBC) Mr. Pran Siamwalla, President, Association of Natural Disaster Industry (ANDPI) Dr. Walter Mooney, United States Geological Survey (USGS), U.S.A. Dr. Fouad Bendimerad, Earthquakes & Megacities Initiatives (EMI), U.S.A. Prof. Helal Uddin, Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) UNDP (TBC) JICA (TBC) Others If you wish to join in the webinar, please access in the zoom link below: This link is for 13 October 2020 Webinar: International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction cherdsak virapat is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Join Zoom Meeting: click here Meeting ID: 848 1432 3983 Passcode: 649461 Find your local number: click here

CIRDAP is going to organize a webinar for the celebration of the International Day of Rural Women on Thursday, 15th October 2020. The day of 15 October was established at the United Nations General Assembly of 18 December 2007, to recognize the critical role and contribution of rural women in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty. As a key agents for development, Women plays a catalytic role towards achievement of transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. Empowering women is essential, not only for the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also for overall economic productivity, given women’s large presence in the agricultural work force worldwide. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are disproportionately affecting rural women’s productive, reproductive and income-generating capacities. It is crucial to adopt special measures to support rural women’s engagement in the agri-food value chains. In this webinar, the keynote speaker will be Dr. Meryl Williams, Chair, Executive Committee, Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (GAF), Australia. Last 40 years, she has worked in Australian and international fisheries, aquaculture resource conservation and agricultural research and development. Currently, she is focusing on research and advocacy on women and gender in aquaculture and fisheries, and information and science for fair and responsible fish production for food security and nutrition. If you wish to join in the webinar, please join in the below zoom link: This link is for 15 October 2020 Webinar: International Day of Rural Women. Join Zoom Meeting: click here Meeting ID: 865 4672 2733 Passcode: 545784 Find your local number: click here

On 18th and 19th September, 2020, Dr. Cherdsak Virapat Director General, CIRDAP attended the 53rd Annual Planning Conference of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) in BARD Campus, Cumilla. In the conference, the chief guest was Mr. Md. Tazul Islam, Honorable Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, Bangladesh. The formal ceremony was started with placing floral wreath at the mural of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the conference, Research session was conducted by Director Research of CIRDAP Prof. Dr. Md. Helal Uddin. Later, the DG CIRDAP planted saplings of A Rambutan Tree on the premises of BARD. Beside the Program, Dr. Virapat along with a research team of BARD and CIRDAP team members visited a nearby village for observing drinking water supply system and usage of Tube well. In the conference, DG Dr. Virapat made a speech as a Guest of Honor. At first Dr. Virapat expressed his sincere thanks to BARD for the invitation of the 53rd Annual Conference of BARD and also its commitment to strong cooperation and partnership and for the steadfast support to CIRDAP. He said, “The CIRDAP vision is to be a Centre of Excellence and Multi-level platform for cooperation in knowledge transfer and capacity building for developing countries in integrated rural affairs for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific Region and mission is to provide technical support and promote innovative best practices on sustainable Integrated Rural Development amongst member countries in Asia-Pacific”. DG CIRDAP also said as an autonomous institution, BARD strives for research and training of local people as well as practitioners on rural development and it is also the Link Institute of CIRDAP in Bangladesh. The collaboration on research and development between CIRDAP and BARD has been established since the last four decades. In his speech, Dr. Virapat focused on some current major challenges for rural development such as impacts of Covid-19 pandemic, population growth, land degradation, water resource shortage, food insecurity and contamination, access to clean drinking water, increase frequency and magnitudes of natural hazards, climate change vulnerability etc. He urged all the attendees that everyone should be prepared for their impacts and to know how to response and to mitigate them.Lastly, with fruitful collaborations of CIRDAP with BARD and other partner organizations in the region and in the world, Dr. Virapat hoped that CIRDAP and BARD will continue to explore opportunities and implement regional training and projects to strengthen collaboration and coordination for integrated rural development. In the afternoon session of the conference, Director Research of CIRDAP, Dr. Helal chaired business session 2 of APC – Working Paper Presentation of Research – where Mr. Milon Kanti Bhattacharjee, Director (Research), BARD, presented the research activities of BARD. Mr. Md. Shahjahan, Director General of BARD and Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam, APC Convener and Director (Administration) BARD joined the session. Many participants from different Government and Non-government organizations took part in the session with their valuable comments on the research activities of the Research Division of BARD.

The Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) now has a new Director General (DG). He is Dr. Cherdsak Virapat a Thai national replacing Mr. Tevita Taginavalau a Fiji national who has completed his four year term (2016-2020). Dr. Virapat has worked in various Ministries within Thailand Public Service in a span of 28 years. He has served as the Executive Director of International Institute for Trade and Development, Ministry of Commerce; Director General of Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) in Bangkok, Thailand and Executive Director of International Ocean Institute Headquarters in Malta. These Ministries include the Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperatives, Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment, Ministry of Commerce, etc. He also worked as Chief of International Coordination and Assistant Executive Director of Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center, Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology. He holds a B.Sc. in Fishery Management from Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand; an M.Sc. in Fishery Science from the University of Helsinki, Finland; and a Ph.D. in Fisheries Management from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is an Advisory Board Member of International Ocean Institute, Thai Association of Malta, Thai Association of Canada, and Association of Faculty of Fisheries Kasetsart University, Thailand. He has published books and book chapters on fisheries and agriculture. Dr. Virapat was awarded the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Medal in 2014 in recognition of his leadership at the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and Gold medals in 2016 and in 2019 from the Asian Fisheries Society in recognition of his support and dedication to the work of the Society. Dr. Virapat said that he looks forward to leading the Secretariat by continuing on the work his predecessors have done blending with his experiences to take CIRDAP further into the future. He also added that, he will make the Organization ready for new challenges and strengthened the role for Integrated Rural Development in Asia and the Pacific region. Dr. Virapat will serve CIRDAP from 2020 to 2024.

On September 8, 2020, the Webinar on “Assessing the COVID-19 Impact of Reverse Migration on Rural Communities in CIRDAP Member Countries” has been conducted in CIRDAP HQ. This webinar was moderated by Director Research of CIRDAP Professor Dr. Mohammed Helal Uddin. At 10 am the webinar started and it ended around 1 pm with a very fruitful and vibrant discussions from the participants from CIRDAP member countries. In his opening address, Prof. Helal stated that because of COVID-19 this reverse migration issue is creating a huge impact on the rural communities though country to country it may vary in terms of their stability and others factors. The keynote address on reverse migration impact was presented by programme officer, CIRDAP A.G.C.Babu. In his presentation, the recent issues causing the reverse migration was stated. A large number of international reverse migration (from overseas to own country) and internal reverse migration (from urban to rural) are currently happening around the world. And the main reasons behind it are COVID 19 pandemic situation, non-availability of jobs in destination countries, loosing oil revenues in many middle-eastern countries, shortened job opportunities in urban and shortage of wages etc. Mr. Abdulla Al Hussain of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) from Bangladesh; Prof. Rajendra Prasad Mamgain of NIRD&PR from India; Ms. Nazlinda Zamani of Ministry of Rural Development from Malaysia; Ms. Beh Afable from Philippine, Ms. R.M.M.H.K. Rambodagedara of HARTI from Sri Lanka; Dr. Vanida Khumnirdpetch from Thailand and Dr. Tran Cong Thang from Vietnam presented in the context of their respective countries on reverse migration. This was followed by a general discussion from academicians from different universities in Bangladesh. Later, Mr. Abdulla Al Hussain of BARD showed in his presentation that over 95 thousand of Bangladeshi workers returned home from 26 countries between April to August 30, 2020 mostly because there was no work due to the current COVID 19 pandemic situations. And some them were deported because of work permit expired. According to Prof. Rajendra Prasad Mamgain of India both internal and external reverse migration is very important for them. Nearly 40 million internal migrants in India has created a huge challenge for the rural areas due to overburden on rural labour market and the economic stability has become a question. Loss of produce during the initial stage of lock down, loss of sudden demand for rural produce are some of the concern. Ms. Nazlinda Zamani from Malaysia presented the policy of mitigating the impact of reverse migration on rural communities in Malaysia by the government of Malaysia. In Malaysia, the reverse has been happening way before the COVID 19 situation and the government has taken some actions to cushion the impact of COVID 19 in rural communities through stimulating the rural economy. Malaysia is facing problems due to migrants workers going back to their destinations. Dr. Vanida from Thailand said,” We don’t have the official numbers of the migrants because we don’t consider that the migrants are different from our citizens. Mostly we look at the labour force and the labour market. Our citizens that go out of the country and come back because of COVID 19, in this context, there are some statistics which stated that the labor force of the agricultural sector decreased at the second quarter of the year. And also in the service and industry sector, the number of labor are reduced.” DG CIRDAP Dr. Cherdsak Virapat also provide his views and comments in this issue. He said that to mitigate the impact of reserve migration, not only the member countries’ government but also multi-agencies collaborations and efforts are highly needed. Professor Dr. Hasneen Jahan, Professor Dr. Mohammad Mizanul Haque Kazal, Prof. Dr. Md. Saidur Rahman of Bangladesh Agricultural University and Prof. Romaza Khanum of Shylet Agricultural University also gave their opinion.  

First Virtual Meeting of CIRDAP Executive Committee Meeting was held on August 24, 2020. All the CIRDAP member countries except Afghanistan, Nepal, Laos and Philippines were attended virtually in this policy body meeting. It is a milestone of the digital era of CIRDAP and also it is an expression towards the new normal of COVID 19 pandemic. Incoming Director General (DG) of CIRDAP Dr. Cherdsak Virapat formally introduced himself to the dignitaries and representatives of all the member countries. He started the meeting by welcoming the guests and members of CIRDAP by saying this is the first virtual meeting of Executive Committee of CIRDAP. And then Dr. Virapat invited the Chairperson of EC from Srilanka to give opening address and chair the session. On behalf of Chairperson from Sri lanka, Major Gen. (Rtd) Sumedha Perera, Scretary, Ministry of Agriculture; Deputy Director (projects) – Mr. P.N.N. Jayaneththi from the Ministry of Agriculture chaired this EC Virtual meeting. Mr. Jayaneththi gave sincere appreciation to CIRDAP for giving the chairperson of EC position to Sri lanka; and cordially welcomed and invited to all the distinguished members to this first virtual meeting of EC. He further said recently a new government has been selected in Srilanka and this government is willing to further strengthening the cooperation with international organization like CIRDAP. He also believed that the assistance of CIRDAP can be utilized very efficiently and effectively in agriculture and rural development not only in Sri Lanka but also all the Asia and pacific region. Hon’ble Members of Executive Committee representing CIRDAP member countries discussed policy areas of mutual collaboration and cooperation. This key policy body of CIRDAP review the activities of the Centre, standards and guidelines for the management of the Centre, and approve its programme of work and budget.