Sint Maarten, 4 December 2019, (CDEMA) – The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) along with the European Union launched the 11th EDF Natural Disaster Facility in the CARIFORUM Programme. This initiative aims to contribute to the reduction of the vulnerability to disaster risks, and to promote the sustainable development of the countries of this region.

The launching of this initiative was held on 3rd December 2019, in the framework of the 11^th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management, an event hosted by CDEMA in collaboration with the Government of Sint Maarten from December 2-6, 2019. The conference which is being convened under the theme “The Road to Resilience Checkpoint 2019 – Safeguarding Our Communities, Livelihoods and Economies”, gathered the most relevant decision makers and disaster management professionals, contributing to improve capacities and partnerships to fight climate change and strengthen disaster management strategies.

The total cost of the Programme is EUR 14,000,000. CDEMA will implement EUR 7,000,000 through a grant contract while the Dominican Republic will implement an estimated EUR 3,000,000. Furthermore, ECHO has been contracted EUR 4,000,000 from the programme to implement activities in order to carry out humanitarian DRR activities aligned with CDM Strategy.

The launching ceremony of the 11th EDF Natural Disaster Facility in the CARIFORUM was presided by Honourable Prime Minister of Sint Maarten Ms. Silveria Jacobsand by His Excellency Fernando Ponz Cantó, Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.  

Mr. Ponz Cantó emphasized the EU commitment to reduce vulnerability in the Caribbean Region, including the potential impacts of climate variability and change. He also referred to the importance of the participation of the Dominican Republic Government in this mechanism, as it increases the cooperation and share lessons learned among all the countries and territories of this region.

Representatives of humanitarian organizations from different countries of the region participated in this event. Outstanding was the intervention of Mr. Ronald Jackson, Executive Director of CDEMA, who highlighted the impact and result of the actions and projects financially supported under the 10th EDF Natural Disaster Risk Management (NDRM) Project, as well as the fruitful cooperation between the implementing partners of this programme along the period 2014-2019.

Release: CDEMA