Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)

Why in news?

• On 1 November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his UK counterpart Boris Johnson and a few other world leaders, will launch a new programme named IRIS or Infrastructure for Resilient Island States on the sidelines of the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, UK.

About IRIS:

• It aims to secure and strengthen critical infrastructure in small island developing states (SIDS) against disasters induced by climate change
• Under this initiative, Australia, India and the UK have committed an initial funding of USD 10 million
• This programme is the first major work of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI ) which India had initiated in 2019.

Why was the IRIS launched for small island developing states?

• Small island states happen to be the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Several of them face the possibility of being wiped out from the face of the earth.
• Over 60% of countries with the highest losses from disaster events are small island states – with damages of up to 9% of GDP
• According to a World Bank report, SIDS countries are highly susceptible to economic losses due to disasters, with average annual losses ranging from 1% to 10% of the GDP.

About CDRI:

• The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is all about climate-proofing critical infrastructure in member countries.
• As of now, 26 countries including India, United States, Germany, UK, Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Japan are members of the coalition.
• The coalition is supposed to serve as a ‘knowledge centre’ where member countries can share and learn best practices with respect to disaster-proofing infrastructure projects.
• The coalition will not create any new infrastructure but, instead, will work towards making existing and upcoming infrastructure in member countries more robust and resilient so that they can withstand climate disasters like floods, heat waves, cyclones, forest fires, rains and other such events.

Add ons:

• According to CDRI estimates, every dollar invested in making infrastructure more resilient in low and middle-income countries can potentially save over four dollars in losses suffered when a disaster strikes.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

With reference to ‘Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)’, consider the following statements:

1. IRIS initiative was launched under Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

2. It was launched immediately after the Paris Agreement of UNFCCC in 2015

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer