Botswana: National disaster risk management plan
The National Disaster Risk Management Plan (NDRMP) will be the basis to establish policies, strategies and procedures that will guide all levels of society in disaster preparedness, response and risk reduction. The NDRMP envisages and identifies risks, and reduces vulnerability in the contexts of various hazards likely to occur in Botswana. The NDRMP identifies roles and responsibilities of all the leading national government and non-government actors for disaster risk assessment, preparation and response.
The plan was prepared through consultations with numerous Government and non-government stakeholders.The major goals of the NDRMP, like other national plans (e.g. Vision 2016 and National Development Plan), are to enable the country achieve sustainable development. DRR reduces vulnerability and increases resilience to disasters.
This plan is guided by the following principles:
1. While the occurrence of natural calamities cannot be stopped, national and community resilience can be built to withstand the impacts of most calamities.
2. Natural disaster risks are intimately related and connected to the economic development of the society (e.g. technological processes, and urbanisation). Hence disaster risks can be managed and reduced through appropriate and precautionary development planning.
3. Multi hazard approach enhances the effectiveness of disaster risk management. The approach involves understanding various existing and possible hazards including the systematic reduction of the disaster risks posed by these hazards.
4. Disaster risk management activities will be premised on a high level of decentralisation based on local initiatives, with the full utility of existing capacity and dynamics at district and community levels as well as involvement of multiple actors in the planning and implementation.