STATEMENT BY THE HONOURABLE BRENT
SYMONETTE,DEPUTY PRIME MINSTER AND MINISTER OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS
ON BEHALF OF CARICOM AT THE
MEETING OF CARICOM FOREIGN MINISTERS
AND U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
18 JUNE 2007
Thank you, Madam Co-Chair.
I am privileged to speak on behalf of my CARICOM
colleagues on the agenda item 2.4 Strengthening Joint Environmental
Protection, Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change System.
Madam Secretary of State,
Member States of the Caribbean Community like the
southern United States are particularly prone to natural disasters
such as hurricanes. Building resilience of nations and communities
to hazard impacts has been determined as the overall focus for the
Caribbean Region and resources are being sought to expand and
replicate several ongoing best practices.
The Caribbean Disaster Response Agency which is
responsible for disaster preparedness and disaster management in
CARICOM had adopted a strategic framework for comprehensive disaster
management. A recent review has agreed on a) enhanced institutional
support for Program implementation at national and regional levels,
b) establishment of an effective mechanism and programme for the
management of comprehensive disaster management knowledge, c)
mainstreaming of disaster management knowledge in key sectors at
national level, and d) enhanced community resilience in CDERA
Participating States to mitigate and respond to the effects of
climate change and disasters.
The Caribbean Regional Programme Framework
2005-2015 identifies the following priority areas:
Hazard Mapping and Vulnerability Assessment
Flood Management
Community Disaster Planning
Early Warning Systems
Climate Change and
Knowledge Enhancement
Madam Secretary, we wish to acknowledge existing
areas of cooperation with the United States Agency for International
Development, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and
the United States Southern Command including support for the
development of early warning systems for tsunami and other hazards.
We wish to propose the following major areas of
cooperation for your consideration:
Technical Support from Specialized United
States Agencies in:
(a) Hazard mapping and vulnerability
assessment standardization through US Geological Survey (USGS);
(b) Economic valuation for risk
assessment through The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
(ii)Exchange Programmes to support the
institutionalization of teaching and research:
(a) Field training through FEMA’s
Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in areas, such as,
- Public Information Officers training;
- Economic assessment of hazard impact
(b) Accreditation for specialized
indigenous disaster management courses from the region
through EMI
(c) Exchange program for students and the
faculty at the tertiary level
(d) Professional exchange program during
normalcy and crisis situations.
Continuity of Governance in face of crisis
through:
Support for Emergency Operations Centre
infrastructure to strengthen response capability
Governance continuity training
Support for strengthening of Information
Communication Technology (ICT) capability through the National
Incident Management System (NIMS) to facilitate both
operational and risk reduction.
(iv) Early Warning System (EWS)
Consideration to fully fund the IOCARIBE
Tsunami EWS proposal.
(v) Commitment to continued support of community
preparedness, especially building capacity at the community level.
The Region looks forward to continued support of
the United States of America in the pursuit of the priority areas
identified for the region within the context of the revised
Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy and Framework to promote
a culture of safety and security.
Madam Secretary, the negative impact of climate
change is of serious concern to the Caribbean Community which has
been reflected by the establishment of the Caribbean Community
Climate Change Centre by our Heads of Government.
That Centre has been engaged in the development
of a range of services and products to the Caribbean Community
relating to research, impact assessment, response strategies and
systematic observations of climate change in the region.
We wish to propose areas of cooperation:
in the area of climate science for
decision-making to facilitate the translation of scientific
findings to guide development planning in the Caribbean;
in economic evaluation of the impacts of
climate change in the Caribbean;
in adaptation and mitigation programmes
incorporating technology transfer and development;
in the development of Forestry Assessment
Methodologies for the Caribbean;
in Water Resources Management;
in Food Security and Sustainable
Livelihood;
in the development of partnership
arrangements in the areas of Clean Energy Technologies.
in the development of policy instruments
and mechanisms to monitor air quality
We look forward to collaborating with you on
these issues and we thank you for your attention.
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