Yesterday July 11, 2024, we – the NET consortium (NDRC Nepal, EMERGE, and Tangent Waves) – hosted the fifth event of The Bamboo Series, focusing on “Anticipatory Action for Business Continuity: An Urgent Initiative for Nepal.”
This event, in collaboration with AIN, NBI, DPNet, and partners like DCA, ISET-Nepal, and Nepal Preparedness Partnership (NPP), highlighted the critical need for the private sector to adopt Anticipatory Action (AA) to enhance Business Continuity Management (BCM) and resilience strategies. A diverse panel of experts from government, private sectors, and humanitarian agencies shared valuable insights and experiences on disaster risk reduction, business continuity, and gender equality and social inclusion.
The event included participants from the private sector, humanitarian and development agencies, and government officials. It served as an experience-sharing platform for those working in DRRM, business, and GESI, reinforcing the context that a thriving and resilient private sector is critical for sustainable and effective public service delivery.
The panelists emphasized the need to involve the private sector, often forgotten, in policy discourse, as it is a key partner is responding to disasters. While AA has gained traction with the humanitarian and the civil society with the recently held 3rd national dialogue on AA, the private sector remains disconnected. The terminology ‘AA’ itself is new even as the private sector is getting more aware of the Business Continuity Management and Business Continuity Plan and the urgency of adopting it. The recently held recognition program to award the private sector who invests in disaster preparedness by NBI was highlighted.
Key speakers included
- Ms. Tripti Rai, Country Director, OXFAM; Dr. Raju Thapa, Chair, DPNet; Ms. Merina Ranjit, Chaudhary Foundation; Mr. Dinesh Gurung, DCA
- Ms. Chhaya Sharma, WLF-CNI; Mr. Bhakta Hamal, FNCCI; Mr. Kush K Joshi, President, NBI
- Mr. Liladhar Adhikari, Under Secretary, Trade Policy and Trade Cooperation Section, MoICS
The experts among the participants stressed the necessity of integrating social protection issues into AA policies and improving mechanisms for cash transfers, policy advocacy efforts to streamline collaboration between sectors, involving the business community, for effective disaster response. Emphasis was made on local leadership strengthening and implementation of AA and early warning systems to be guided by accurate forecasts and indicator thresholds with adaptive and flexible funding
The Bamboo Series continues to promote sustainable and resilient business practices, aiming to replace traditional approaches with inclusive strategies that address GESI and DRRM perspectives.
