Bridgetown, Barbados, December 8, 2007 (CDERA) - The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) in association with its Partners will host the second Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management at the Hilton Barbados, Needham’s Point, Barbados, December 10-14, 2007.  The Conference, being held under the theme “Changing Landscape of Caribbean Disaster Management – Vision Becoming Reality”, is a high level forum for assessing the region’s progress in disaster risk reduction and charting the way forward in building disaster resilience through CDM.  This event will also contribute to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) global platform.

High ranking Government Officials from CDERA Participating States will address key issues of CDM implementation in relation to the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), safety and security within a single space in emergency management and response and disaster management within the national development portfolio.  Senior representatives of the donor community as well as other CDM partners and sector leaders will speak to a harmonized programming approach for the advancement of CDM.

The Conference focus will also be on sharing of experiences and good practice in the areas of ICT applications, mitigation and risk transfer applications and disaster recover planning. The exhibition will be open to members of the public and will showcase a range of products and information materials for mitigation and preparedness as well as emergency situations.

Delegates are expected from across the region and globally and will include disaster management and associated professionals, development partners, government and private sector officials, civil society, researchers and other stakeholders.

The Conference has received financial support from the Caribbean Development Bank, European Commission, International Recovery Platform, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the United States Agency for International Development/ Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.

For Further information please contact:
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency
Bldg # 1 Manor Lodge Complex
Lodge Hill
St.Michael, Barbados
Tel. No. 246-245-0386; Fax No. 246-425-8854
E-mail cdera@caribsurf.com
http://www.cdera.org/

INFORMATON NOTE:Comprehensive Disaster Management encompasses an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction and focuses on all hazards that threaten our region, all phases of the disaster management cycle (prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rebuilding(CDM) and all sectors of society.

The 2007-2012 Enhanced CDM Strategy and framework incorporates the Caribbean Community Regional Programming Framework 2005-2015 and supports the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, a blue print for global action in Disaster Risk Reduction.