KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 28, 2005 (Caribbbean Net News) - Environmental and emergency response professionals throughout the Caribbean will be meeting at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, over the next two days at a conference to examine preparedness and response to natural hazards and disasters.
The conference themed ‘Beyond 2004 Events - Lessons for the Caribbean Region’ has been jointly organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Caribbean Disaster Response Agency (CDERA) and will allow some 150 participants from 25 countries to review the lessons learned from last year’s active hurricane season.
Last year the effects of four hurricanes resulted in excess of US$5 billion in damage to seven states stretching from Grenada to the Cayman Islands and north to the Bahamas.
During his keynote address at the opening ceremony, Minister of Land and Environment, Dean Peart pointed out that following Hurricane Ivan last September, Jamaica became aware of some of the weaknesses of its response and rehabilitation systems.
With that in mind, the Minister said “we must examine the lessons learnt, not just with the perspective of defining the correct measures and enhancing the best practices, but also in full recognition of the implications of our development as a group of nations”.
He noted that developing countries tend to fare worse than other countries as a result of natural disasters. “However, in order to avoid the impact, we must endeavour to put in place better infrastructures,” he said.
Minister Peart commended Prime Minister P.J. Patterson for the establishment of the Office of National Reconstruction (ONR), which he described as “a brilliant move”.
Apart from the damage to infrastructure and the interruption of basic services, Minister Peart said the social effects, which were enormous, were sometimes overlooked. “Lives are lost, housing, personal effects and family assets are destroyed and often never fully recovered,” he noted.
In addition, the Minister said countries often did not manage to fully replace national assets, much less to rebuild with the significant improvements necessary to reduce the risks.
He informed the gathering that the government of Jamaica continued to be concerned about the use of schools as shelters and the resulting inconvenience to the children. “We now look to your group for some suggestions on how to improve this situation,” he stated.
Mr. Peart invited the participants to examine the experience of all countries represented and to add their knowledge and expertise and provide the best practices that must go forward beyond 2004.
The Minister said he was looking forward to the publication of the outcomes of this workshop, in particular, the recommendations for improved responses.
The findings of the workshop will be shared with international donor agencies, disaster response agencies of regional governments and also non-government organizations. The outcomes of the meeting including assessments will be incorporated into a publication that will identify best practices and lessons learned from the disasters in the Caribbean in 2004.
Source: http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2005/04/28/examines.shtml
