Dushanbe, June 13, Asia-Plus – On Monday June 11, the Center of Competence for Disaster Reduction (CCDR), funded and implemented by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), jointly with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) started a five-day course on Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) for professionals working in the field of risk management.

According to CCDR, the CBDRM course provides an opportunity for practitioners to learn essential skills and knowledge in community based disaster risk management to address implementation challenges in a systematic manner. CBDRM participants acquire tools and obtain knowledge on "how to" design and implement programs for reducing disaster risks and vulnerability and building community capacity to promote a ''culture of safety''. Through exercises, simulations and field visit participants practice risk assessment and risk management planning.

The audience represented in the course is professionals from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan working in disaster management, managers of non-disaster reduction development programs and governmental officials who wish to learn more on integrating of disaster risk reduction tools into development projects and other cross cutting issues.

At the opening ceremony the Country Director of SDC Dushanbe Mr. Rudolf Schoch highlighted the necessity of integration of disaster reduction component into development initiatives in order to make them more sustainable and resilient. He pointed out that the given course will contribute to a significant added value for an improved disaster risk management in Central Asia.