Bridgetown, Barbados, 26 August 2013 (CDEMA) - Representatives from a wide cross section of government, key stakeholder agencies, civil society and the private sector in Saint Lucia will participate in a one week workshop on developing a national cross-sectoral climate smart comprehensive disaster management (CDM) work programme.
The workshop which commences today ( 26 August 2013) at the Royal by Rex Resorts, Reduit Beach, Saint Lucia has been organised by CDEMA in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO). It is supported through the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) funded Mainstreaming Climate Change in Disaster Management in the Caribbean Phase II (CCDM II)Project and the Comprehensive Disaster Management – Harmonised Implementation Programme (CDM-HIP) funded by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
The workshop is one of a series being held in CDEMA Participating States for personnel with responsibility for crafting the country disaster management work programme. They are designed 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 hydrometeorological events in the Caribbean predict an increase in their frequency and severity.
Agencies expected to participate and contribute to the drafting of the Saint Lucia CDM Country Work Programme for 2013-2017 include the Sustainable Development Division of the Ministry of Physical Planning and the Environment, The Ministry of Agriculture, the Water and Sewerage Company Ltd, The Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs, Civil Society Groups including NGOs and the Private Sector.
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 Saint Lucia including existing development challenges, projections and future risks from hydro meteorological events and associated hazards.
They will also review Saint Lucia CDM National Work Programme 2009-2012 and identify disaster risk reduction priorities. A key area focus of will be gender and the integration into climate smart work programmes. This will be followed by practical sessions led by CDEMA staff on the development of Results Based Management (RBM) CDM work programme including the roles, responsibilities and linkages with the various sectors such as water, agriculture, health, tourism, physical planning and environment.
Facilitators at the workshop will include CDEMA staff, Lyndon Robertson, Programme Coordinator, CCDM-II, Saudia Rahat – Senior Programme Officer and Gayle Drakes, Programme Officer, CDM-HIP, and Dawn French, the Director of NEMO in Saint Lucia.
It is anticipated that the sector involvement, participation of gender affairs and other key stakeholder groups will result in the drafting of a harmonized, inter-sectoral climate-smart and gender-sensitive comprehensive disaster management country work programme for Saint Lucia.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) is an integrated approach to disaster management involving all phases of the disaster management cycle (prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery), by all peoples, with the goal of reducing the risk and loss associated with natural and technological hazards and the effects of climate change to enhance regional sustainable development.
The CCDM II Project (2013-2015) continues the work of Phase I in proactively addressing the threat climate change poses to the sustainable development of CARICOM states. It seeks to strengthen the capacity at the national level for integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction as well as develop and promote climate smarting of community disaster management programmes. The Project is executed by CDEMA in collaboration with a number of a number of agencies including the Caribbean Community Centre for Climate Change (5Cs), Caribbean Policy Development Center, International Federation of the Red Cross and national Governments.
The Comprehensive Disaster Management Harmonized Implementation Programme (Phase 1) project aims to enhance institutional support, and alleviate the effects of climate change and disasters by improving communities’ abilities to respond to and recover from natural and man-made hazards. The programme is being implemented in partnership with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and supports the Caribbean’s Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy via a harmonized, multi-donor approach. The five-year, US $14,833,837, programme runs until December 2014, and is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Australian Agency for International Development and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with contributions from other partners, including CDEMA’s participating states.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
National Emergency Management Organisation
Bisee
Castries
Saint Lucia
Tel: 758-452-3802
Fax: 758-453-2152
E-Mail: