Johannesburg: In a speech at the second session of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, themed “A Resilient World – The G20’s Contribution: Disaster Risk Reduction; Climate Change; Just Energy Transitions; Food Systems,” delivered on his behalf by Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb, the President of the Republic said that Algeria is “one of the countries most exposed to the negative effects of climate change, having recently experienced an unprecedented increase in many phenomena,” including “rising seasonal temperatures, heat waves, and droughts, leading to a scarcity of water resources and basic foodstuffs, as well as desertification, forest fires, earthquakes, torrential rains, and the resulting floods, which cause serious human and material losses in various sectors such as infrastructure, facilities, and agricultural projects, in addition to affecting various ecosystems.”
According to Algeria Press Service, in response to this situation, the President of the Republic has affirmed Algeria’s commitment to “establishing a legal and institutional arsenal to protect against major risks and manage disasters, covering all aspects of intervention, from strengthening infrastructure and enhancing technical and technological capabilities to establishing and improving early warning systems for earthquakes, floods, and forest fires.”
These efforts have been accompanied, recalled President Tebboune, by “the allocation of substantial financial resources through the National Agricultural Cooperation Fund, the National Solidarity Fund, and the Natural Disaster Insurance Fund, to enable those affected to benefit from the necessary funding to deal with the damage and losses caused by these disasters.”
“At the regional and continental levels, Algeria has taken the initiative to establish an African mechanism for disaster risk prevention, with a view to creating a regional civil force to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, ensuring effective and immediate assistance and providing the necessary support to affected African countries through reconstruction, development, and humanitarian financing operations,” affirmed the President of the Republic.
He announced that “work is underway to activate the Arab Center for the Prevention of Earthquake Hazards and Other Natural Disasters, based in Algeria and affiliated with the League of Arab States, strengthening its contribution to applied scientific research in the field of earthquake risk prevention, the exchange of expertise between Arab countries, and the transfer and application of advanced technologies to Arab countries.”