Moldova's Natural Hazards Management and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy could involve costs of 300 million lei a year

Moldova's draft Natural Hazards Management and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, opened on Thursday, August 14, to public debates, involves costs of around 300 million lei a year. The debates are held by the Business Consulting Institute within the framework of a World Bank-financed project, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Victor Moroz, a consultant with the BCI, the aim of the strategy is to reduce Moldova's vulnerability to natural hazards and to minimize human, environmental, economic and financial losses caused by natural disasters and anthropic factors. The project takes into account both prevention measures and measures to strengthen disaster relief efforts through technological levers and new technology, economic and legislative mechanisms, institutional and infrastructure-related changes. “Climatic changes are inevitable. This is why we need to take measures for adaptation and prepare ourselves to face the effects of the climate change”, said Moroz. “The financing for the Strategy is quite modest. If we invest 300 million lei, the effect will of 1 billion, that is, triple”. Among the actions to be taken will be to keep emissions of hothouse gases low, to capitalize on the opportunities brought by the climate change, and to raise public awareness of the problems related with natural hazards. The strategy also provides for measures to battle soil erosions and landslides, and to insure crops against bad weather and natural disasters. The draft Strategy has been developed by the CCI on the basis of a series of professional surveys.