Trincity, Tacrigua, September 15, 2014 (ODPM, CDEMA) - Representatives from a wide cross section of government, key stakeholder agencies, civil society and the private sector in Trinidad and Tobago will participate in a two day workshop on developing a national cross-sectoral climate smart comprehensive disaster management (CDM) work programme. The Workshop which commences on 15th September, 2014 at Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards is being hosted by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to implement Phase II of the Mainstreaming Climate Change and Disaster Management Project (CCDM-II).
The project is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and will directly support the following priority Outcome Areas of the Regional Enhanced Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy and Programming Framework:
- Outcome Area 1: “Enhanced institutional support for CDM Program Implementation at national and regional levels” and
- Outcome Area 4: “Enhanced Community Resilience in CDEMA Participating States to Mitigate, Respond to and Recover from the Adverse Effects of Climate Variability and Change and Disasters”
Furthermore, CCDM-II will contribute to the Regional Framework for achieving Development Resilience, building on the strengthened institutional capacity, enhanced community awareness and implementing the suite of guidance tools developed in Phase I for climate change and disaster risk reduction. Target participants to the consultation are expected to contribute to the drafting of Trinidad and Tobago’s CDM Country Work Programme for 2014-2015 and include stakeholders from multiple government sectors agencies such as finance, planning, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure and select non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
It is one of a series being conducted in CDEMA Participating States for personnel with responsibility for crafting the country disaster management work programme. These workshops are organized by CDEMA in collaboration with National Disaster Offices to build awareness of the climate change phenomenon in the Caribbean and provide practical, hands on support in the drafting of CDM country work programmes that integrate climate change and gender considerations. This is critical for a resilient Caribbean as the projections for hydro meteorological events in the Caribbean predict an increase in their frequency and severity. Participants will discuss the inter-agency responsibilities for CDM and their sectoral work programmes disaster risk reduction linkages, vulnerabilities at the national, sectoral and community levels, climate change and impacts to Trinidad and Tobago including existing development challenges, projections and future risks from hydro meteorological events and associated hazards. They will also review the CDM National Work Programme and identify disaster risk reduction priorities.
The workshop is also supported through the Comprehensive Disaster Management – Harmonised Implementation Programme (CDM-HIP) funded by United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).