The Meeting is organized by CDEMA and continues the participatory approach adopted in the shaping of the first regional strategy on Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) 2001-2006 and the Enhanced CDM Strategy 2007-2012. This broad based consultation will include members of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Coordination and Harmonisation Council (CDM CHC), development partners and representatives from governments, regional and international agencies and organizations, NGOs and civil society, academic and technical institutions, as well as the private sector.
This two day consultation will address the critical areas and emergent priorities that were identified in the assessment of the 2007-2012 CDM strategy for continuing efforts to build and strengthen disaster resilience in the CDEMA Participating States. Central among these are: responsibility for implementation, mechanisms for delivery of results, monitoring and evaluation, and the role that each sector will play in the delivery and monitoring of the strategy. The sectors represented at the meeting include tourism, education, agriculture, health, civil society, economic development/finance and physical planning.
Gender issues in disaster management will also be an area for engagement. There is the prevailing perception that this area has not been adequately addressed in the previous CDM Strategies. This meeting will therefore make recommendations on the manner in which gender mainstreaming could be fully integrated into the Strategy.
The report and recommendations coming out of this two day stakeholder consultation will be utilized to finalize CDM Strategy Beyond 2012 Logic Model. That is, the key long, medium and short term results will be finalized for presentation to the CDEMA Council of Ministers in June 2013 for their approval and endorsement. It is envisaged that the full CDM Strategy document and its supporting Implementation Plan and Monitoring Framework will be finalized by early July 2013. These full reports will be shared at the annual CDM Programming Consultation and CDM Conference scheduled for end of July and early December 2013 respectively.
This Consultation is supported through the Comprehensive Disaster Management Harmonisation Implementation Programme (CDM-HIP) which is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The Regional CDM Strategy is an integrated and harmonized approach to reducing disaster risk to natural and technological hazards and climate change threats and impacts. It addresses all hazards, all phases of the disaster management continuum (mitigation, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery) and all sectors of society. It is fully embraced by the CARICOM as the driving force for disaster resilience in the region.