Ground-breaking open source platform to be used for catastrophe modelling in the Philippines and Bangladesh
In June 2018, Oasis LMF was awarded funding by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) for an international collaboration to improve climate and catastrophe risk resilience in the Philippines and Bangladesh. Through this project an international collaboration will co-develop new catastrophe models for floods in the Philippines and cyclones in Bangladesh on the open-source Oasis catastrophe modelling platform – two countries which are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The models will be made available for public sector as well as re/insurance use, and will provide views of risk based on current as well as future conditions under climate change.
The two-year project will improve knowledge and long-term access to catastrophe risk modelling across multiple stakeholders from national to local government for risk monitoring, risk reduction, adaptation and disaster risk financing. The project will facilitate the connection of international reinsurance capacity with in-country demand for financial risk protection against the most extreme of events to aid with rapid post disaster recovery, as well as inform development planning and infrastructure management for long-term risk reduction and adaptation.
Augusto Hidalgo, CEO of the National Reinsurance Corporation of Philippines (Nat Re) said: “It is an honor to be a part of this pioneering project as it is the first of its kind for developing nations.“
Nat Re President/CEO Mr. Allan Santos said in a statement:
"We are pooling together the expertise of key influencers of disaster risk financing and management from the government, the academe, and the insurance sector, all of whom have a shared vision of more disaster resilient communities.
In the end, the catastrophe model that we’ll build and the capabilities that we’ll develop will be more than just new tools to augment our decision-making processes, but will serve as tangible proof of what the government and the private sectors – particularly the insurance industry – can achieve together."
Oasis CEO Dickie Whitaker said:
"For too long, the knowledge of how to build catastrophe models has remained within an elite group centred around the (re)insurance industry. By bringing that knowledge to these countries imbedded in Oasis’ pioneering open-source platform, we are changing that.
Our goal is to increase long-term in-country capacity for the development, understanding and use of catastrophe risk models, and enable in-country stakeholders to update and sustain the models in the long-term beyond the timeframe of the project in order to truly understand and manage their own risk."
This first of its kind project will bring together expertise in catastrophe risk model development and risk data and expertise from the countries in a truly collaborative and open development process. Partners include the National Reinsurance Corporation of Philippines (Nat Re); the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation program of the Philippines (UP DREAM); the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA); experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); the); technology, management, education and governance consultancy Kitetrackers of Bangladesh; U.K. Met Office; Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK); catastrophe modelling company KatRisk, and international reinsurance brokers Willis Towers Watson and Tysers.
The first kick-off development workshops are already underway in each of the countries. Several will be held over the course of the project, and insights shared openly at conferences so that others may learn from the experience.
The confirmation of this project comes after Oasis revealed that it had taken the unprecedented step of offering components of its catastrophe modelling software as open source and downloadable from its GitHub free of charge.