Caribbean News
Jamaica chosen as model for Caribbean Disaster Response Coordination
#Providenciales, June 29, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – Jamaica is among five countries chosen by the World Food Programme (WFP) to serve as a model for the Caribbean in disaster response coordination. The others are Belize, Dominica, Guyana, and St. Lucia.
WFP Head of Office for Barbados, Regis Chapman, made the disclosure while addressing the Shock-Responsive Social Protection in the Caribbean Regional Symposium in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, on June 27. He said that the WFP, along with international development consulting firm Oxford Policy Management “is developing five case studies in the Caribbean region… as part of our efforts to build evidence of shock-responsive social protection in the Caribbean.”
Speaking in an interview with JIS News, Mr. Chapman explained that the countries were selected “based on their level of linking social protection with disaster management”. He said that Jamaica “is one of the more unique cases because of the history of linking social protection with humanitarian assistance. We actually chose Jamaica to serve as a model, particularly in the areas around coordination.”
Field work for the case studies has been conducted and entailed interviews with government counterparts along with other stakeholders in the areas of social protection and disaster management; visits to communities; and meetings with beneficiaries of key social protection programmes.
“We are working with the ministry that oversees social protection and the ministry that oversees disaster management,” Mr. Chapman said.
“The idea is to share this evidence and look to see how we can link some of the experiences across the Caribbean, so that we can learn from each other and so that Caribbean countries can provide Caribbean solutions to Caribbean problems,” he noted.
Researchers are now analyzing the data to submit, within a month, the findings and key recommendations to the governments of the respective countries for review. The final case studies should be ready to be shared within the next three months. Mr. Chapman said that Jamaica’s case study is also viewed “as a tool that the Government can use to look for gaps (and) how to go about addressing (them”.”
The Shock-Responsive Social Protection in the Caribbean Regional Symposium provides a platform for countries across the region to share their experiences and learn from each other.
It was hosted by WFP and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in collaboration with the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The event brought together regional Ministers for social protection, disaster management and tourism, and Permanent Secretaries and Heads of disaster management agencies, to share information on how to protect and assist the poor and vulnerable locally and regionally, in order to build disaster resilience.
Contact: Charnele Henry
Release: JIS
Photographer: Charnele Henry
Photo: World Food Programme Head of Office for Barbados, Regis Chapman, addresses the Shock-Responsive Social Protection in the Caribbean Regional Symposium in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos on June 27.
KINGSTON, April 29 (JIS):
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the outcome of discussions arising from the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) will assist in guiding the Government’s planning for climate change.
This, he points out, is important for climate mitigation as well as building Jamaica’s resilience.
“We look forward to the discussions that will, no doubt, take place. We look forward to the basis of planning for the Government to streamline its investments to ensure you have the tools that you need to better advise us, that the WRA (Water Resources Authority) has the tools to digitise its monitoring network, and that all of the agencies that touch our planning mechanisms have the tools. But we need to know what we are facing, and we’re guided by your expertise,” Minister Samuda said.
He was addressing the opening ceremony for the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Monday (April 29).
Senator Samuda said given the fact that the climate has changed and continues to do so, investments in and collaborations on building Jamaica’s predictive and scientific capacity must be prioritised.
“Ultimately, we need to be able to assess our current climatic realities if we are to better plan, if we’re to insist and ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs that we need it to. I’m very happy that this event is happening… because this is a critical issue.
“Jamaica, last year, faced its worst and most severe drought… and this year, we’re already seeing the impacts of not quite as severe a drought but, certainly, a drought with severe impacts, especially in the western part of the country,” he said.
Principal Director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Evan Thompson, explained that the forum aims to, among other things, establish a collaboration platform for climate services providers and users to understand risks and opportunities of past, present and future climate developments, as well as improve inter-agency coordination of policies, plans and programmes.
Among the other presenters were Ambassador, European Union to Jamaica, Her Excellency Marianne Van Steen; Chief Scientist/Climatologist, Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Adrian Trotman; and Head, Regional Climate Prediction Services, World Meteorological Organization, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia.
The Meteorological Service of Jamaica hosted the Jamaica National Stakeholder Consultation on Climate Services and the 1st National Climate Forum (NCF-1) in partnership with the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology and the World Meteorological Organization.
The National Stakeholder Consultation is a governance mechanism that guides how different sectors or actors work together to create products that contribute to adaptation and resilience-building. It seeks to create a road map for the development and implementation of climate services to inform decision-making.
NCF-1 aims to bridge the gap between climate providers and users. It increases the use of science-based information in decision-making and operations with the aim of generating and delivering co-produced and co-designed products and services.
CONTACT: CHRIS PATTERSON
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