Experts have underscored preparing the business continuity management (BCM) plan for minimizing the adverse impact on industries during times of disaster.
Speakers in a training program organized by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) here stressed that the industries and business enterprises too should prioritize preparing the BCMs. ADPC’s National Representative Man Bahadur Thapa said BCM plans would be vital for the country’s economic development as Nepal is at high risk of disaster.
He said such business continuity management plan would be very helpful to minimize the loss and damage due to the disaster to small and medium scale enterprises, as it is usually that the small and medium scale enterprises are more at risk. He suggested that all the three tiers of government and the private sector should bring the BCM into practice. According to him, BCM should also be included in the syllabus from the school to the university level.
Sushil Bhandari of the National Disaster Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs spoke of the need for collaboration and synergy between the government and the private sector on disaster management. He stressed making disaster risk management policies and strengthening institutional mechanisms. It was shared in the program that a global study conducted recently by a US-based organization found nearly 40 percent of industries and businesses were closed due to the disaster.
As the BCM incorporated the response plan according to the type and scale of the disaster as well as the recovery plan, it is useful not only to the industries, their employees but also to the State. So, many countries in the world have been using BCM plans.
Twenty-seven participants representing the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), various banks and financial institutions, and the tourism industry are taking part in the two-day training.
The training incorporates topics as disaster risk management policies and institutional mechanisms, the importance of disaster risk management in Nepal, an overview of COVID-19 pandemic and /or disaster impacts on the private sector in the Asia Pacific Region, and other BCM-related topics.
