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Last Updated: Mar 10th, 2008 - 12:58:25 |
Source: http://www.stluciastar.com/NewsHome/LocalNews/tabid/571/newsid1152/3539/Default.aspx
OECS member-states will soon be better able to measure their level of vulnerability when it comes to natural and man-made disasters. This could be achieved with the Vulnerability Benchmarking Tool (BTool), which was developed by the OECS secretariat with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The launch of the BTool publication took place at the Royal St Lucian hotel on March 5.
According to the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States, the goal of the Btool is to improve the ability of public and private sector and civil society to plan and implement effective actions that would reduce their vulnerability to natural disasters and improve their economic resilience. The BTool could also allow the region to measure deficiencies and progress towards disaster risk mitigation.
"The Caribbean region because of its location, is susceptible to a range of natural disasters, that could severely affect the pace of development," said Michael Taylor, program management specialist, USAID. "We were vividly reminded of our vulnerabilities with hurricanes like Ivan and Emily among others and earthquake activity in Dominica in 2005. These resulted in the loss of millions of dollars."
Taylor said in order to counter vulnerabilities and ensure sustained economic growth, a holistic approach was critical to support to the region. It was against that background that the BTool was established. "The BTool can significantly improve the ability of national government, civil society and the private sector to proactively plan and implement actions to reduce regional vulnerability to natural disasters and in the process create a blueprint for greater economic resilience if and when such a phenomenon occurs," Taylor went on.
The USAID program management specialist recognized there were other instruments in the market addressing various areas related to risk reduction and assessment and for that reason, implementation of the BTool must be consistent with goals and objectives of the OECS Disaster Response and Risk Reduction Program as well as the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy being implemented by CARICOM’s CDERA.
In an interview with the STAR, program officer for the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States David Popo, said the BTool would be used to gather information and data on risk performance management in the context of disaster management. The instrument would be used within all sectors, government agencies like the ministries of planning, tourism, development, the private sector and civil society.
"The first thing you’re going to have is a team of persons in country who will be in a sense, established by the governments of these six independent countries and they’ll be responsible for collecting information and monitoring the use of the BTool," said David Popo. The Tool will also be used for planning purposes in various sectors and we hope that at the higher level, the BTool will be used as a mainstreaming instrument in terms of development and planning. At the end of the day countries will be better able to actually determine and evaluate how they’re doing in terms of risk performance management."
Following the launch, the training workshop continued at the Palm Haven Hotel. The workshop exposed technical personnel to the Btool and its application at the national level. It also provided participants with the necessary skills and information to spearhead adoption and implementation of the Tool in their respective countries. St Lucia came in third in the BTool pilot program conducted in 2006 in the six Independent OECS countries to determine individual vulnerability levels.
Tessa Mangal, minister in the prime minister’s office speaking at the launch said, though St Lucia came in 3rd out of the six countries assessed, the government recognised there was a lot of room for improvement if St Lucia was to reduce its disaster risks, increase the ability to respond to disasters and enhance economic resilience and recovery periods in the aftermath of such events.
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