GDRC partnering with World Centre of Excellence
Photo: (L to R)
Professor Richard Haigh, Mr Nihal Rupasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Mamaheweli Development and Environment, Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga & Mr Virajh Dias, Addl. General Manager, Natural Resource Management & Laboratory Services, Central Engineering Bureau.
Mon, 18 May 2015 10:11:00 BST
GDRC is a key partner of the E Conference on Landside risk reduction - Model Policy frameworks, Standards and Guidelines on Landslide Disaster Reduction. The event is being organized by the World Centre of Excellence on Landslide Disaster Reduction, Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau and the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment in Sri Lanka.
The primary objective of the event is to develop a master plan for landslide risk mitigation by identifying critical factors that may directly affect it, and to develop a set of teaching tools and guidelines.
GDRC’s Professors Dilanthi Amaratunga & Richard Haigh delivered keynote addresses to open the conference and are also contributing as experts for the remainder to the event, which runs for six months. There is an audience of over 300 participants representing all the continents in the world, and with 20 key experts. Dilanthi’s key notes tackled the issues of developing a “Capacity Building Framework for Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness” and creating, “A disaster resilient built environment in urban cities: The need to empower local governments”. Professor Richard Haigh spoke about “Moving from 2015 to 2030: Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education”.
Dilanthi and Richard have also been discussing a future joint programme of activities between CECB and GCDR that will tackle topics such as social housing resilience for affected communities, construction in coastal regions, construction in water tanks, and safety of dams.
