Question : Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System

(a) the aims and objectivities of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) conference was held in recent past;

(b) whether the RIMES conference was held in the recent past;

(c) if so, the details thereof along with the details of issues discussed during the said conference;

(d) the details of issues raised by Indian delegation during the said conference and the details of issues on which there has been a consensus among the participants; and

(e) the outcome of the review undertaken by the RIMES on various policies and programmes and the future plan chalked out for early warning of disasters?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES
(SHRI Y. S. CHOWDARY)

(a) RIMES aims to address the existing technical and stakeholder level capacity gaps by working through national and local level institutions in each of the Member States in terms of dealing with multi-hazards – Earthquakes and Tsunami; Weather & Climate Extremes; Water Related Hazards; Societal Applications with Decision Support Tools to deal with risks/impacts associated with climate change and Disasters:

1) Strengthening national warning providers – user interface through multi-stakeholder early warning fora
2) Building capacity of users in translating hazard specific warning information into impact outlooks and response options, and their application in making decisions to reduce associated risks
3) Improving communication of disaster risks
4) Enhancing community responses to multi-hazard warning information
5) Providing user feedback to warning information providers for upgradation and customization of warning products and systems




(b) Yes Madam. The 2nd RIMES Ministerial Conference was hosted by the Government in New Delhi on 10th July 2015 by the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO), Ministry of Earth Sciences.

(c) Ministers and representatives of the Ministers of Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Comoros, India, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam met to review the implementation of the 1st RIMES Ministerial Conference recommendations, and adopt RIMES Master Plan 2016-2020.

(d)-(e) While accepting to serve as the Chair of the RIMES Executive Council, India announced its commitment to RIMES as a leading knowledge partner through its institutions - ESSO-Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), ESSO-Indian National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), and ESSO-India Meteorological Department (IMD) along with other global partners in building and implementation of various prioritized program initiatives.

The Ministers reiterated their continued and unwavering commitment to sustain and expand RIMES delivery of core services and support the Master Plan implementation in adopting Master Plan 2016-2020, the Ministers encouraged Member States to support resource mobilization for Plan implementation through: voluntary contribution, as modeled by India; in-kind contribution by making national scientific expertise available; and associating RIMES as technical implementing partner in country projects that align with Master Plan priorities.

In supplementing Member States’ resource mobilization efforts, the Conference called for organizing a meeting of donors so as to encourage multilateral institutions to engage with RIMES core activities and programs. The Conference recommended pursuing Papua New Guinea’s proposal to implement RIMES programs and projects through appropriate sub-regional mechanisms, and requested WMO to leverage RIMES mechanism in maximizing the objectives of its Global Framework for Climate Services.