The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) jointly with Tajikistan’s Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense has launched Tajikistan’s first Countrywide Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment Platform - a visual risk analysis tool to facilitate better landscape and developmental planning by risk assessors, stakeholders and decision makers.

The online visual platform is based on data collected for the multi-hazard risk assessment in 2018-2020. The researchers have aimed to identify vulnerability in communities and infrastructure to natural hazards and exposure levels to future major hazards present in Tajikistan, such as earthquake, flood, mudflow, landslide, drought, windstorm and snow avalanche. The assessment covered 58 districts of Tajikistan with a focus on seven types of natural hazards most prevalent in the country. 

“Today only about 20% of District Development Plans in Tajikistan are risk proof in a sense where they effectively incorporate and mainstream disaster risk reduction. The platform is a cornerstone of risk-informed development planning at all levels of governance, and a pathway to ensuring risk prevention and risk mitigation become basic principles in planning process,” Christophoros Politis, UNDP deputy resident representative in Tajikistan said.

The research team conducted feasibility studies by relying on high resolution satellite images and specialised data granted by stakeholders, national agencies and open-source data.

Output maps were generated via Geographic Information System (GIS).

“In the future we plan to use the results of the risk assessment in development of branch programmes and plans for socioeconomic development of the regions by taking disaster risk reduction measures best for any district in question,” said Chairman of the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense Rustam Nazarzoda.

The assessment was funded by the Japanese government and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.