Background

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an inter-governmental organisation and has many disaster-prone countries among its 23 Member States and 12 Dialogue Partners. Disaster Risk Management (DRM) is one of its priority areas and its Action Plan (2022-2027) has specific goals to improve resilience by promoting institutional capability enhancement, capacity building and DRM mainstreaming in IORA member countries. Additionally, the Working Group on DRM (WGDRM), co-led by France as Chair of the Working Group and Madagascar as the Coordinating Country of DRM as priority area is tasked with the aim to enhance cooperation and develop resiliency in the Indian Ocean region. Most of IORA Member States are struck by several disasters that result in loss of life, infrastructure and property.

In response to these challenges, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) formalized their partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding to advance resilience in infrastructure systems and related development processes. This capacity-building initiative forms part of the implementation of the IORA–CDRI partnership, with the primary objectives of fostering peer-to-peer learning, strengthening capacities, and promoting the exchange of information, experiences, and best practices among IORA Member States on climate and disaster resilient infrastructure.

Learning Webinars

CDRI, in partnership with IORA secretariat, will host a series of interactive learning webinars to share knowledge, good practices, and foster peer-to-peer learning among IORA member country representatives. The webinars will be organised on DRI Connect, CDRI’s knowledge exchange, learning and collaborative platform, from the month of October 2025 to January 2026.

Key Objectives and expected outcomes:

• Understanding the risks and impacts of disasters and climate change on built environment and critical infrastructure.
• Exploring practical solutions aligned to resilient urban infrastructure system, nature-based solutions, financial instruments and governance frameworks towards addressing extreme heat and flooding in IORA member states.
• Sharing good practices and case studies through expert webinars, interactions and cross learning.