Bridgetown, Barbados, May 30, 2008, (CDERA) – The Caribbean will get a boost of more than US$8 million over the next five years to reduce the risks posed by hazards in the region through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) partnership support for the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) program.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will give CDN$3.0 million (US$3.2 million) as part of its Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Programme (CDRMP) 2008-2012, while the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) will contribute £2.4 million (US$ 4.7 million) as part of its Development Strategy for the Caribbean Region 2008-2013.
The funds will support the region’s drive towards Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM), as set forth in CARICOM’s Enhanced CDM Strategy and Programming Framework 2007-2012. CDM is a proactive approach to disaster management that places greater emphasis on reducing risks before disasters strike. Its success depends on taking a strong results-based approach that recognises where we are in regional disaster management and the clear setting of priorities for going forward and the monitoring of these.
CDM is being spearheaded in the region by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) with the support of a consortium of partners. CIDA/DFID funding will support mechanisms aimed at making the efforts of collaboration and harmonization among the region’s CDM players more efficient and effective.
Jeremy Collymore, Coordinator of CDERA said “this joint initiative is a landmark intervention that will strengthen our efforts to promote programme-based approaches to disaster management in the region. This program will also contribute to more effective use of scarce resources available for promoting risk reduction in the region”
The CIDA/DFID support will assist national and regional disaster management institutions in the development and implementation of disaster risk reduction programmes, and improvement of Caribbean communities’ abilities to respond to and recover from natural and technological disasters, and the effects of climate change.
“A major beneficiary of this initiative will be the poor who are the most vulnerable. They will be empowered through training in safer building practices and with information and tools for identifying the mitigation of risks in their communities.” said Collymore
CDERA and its 16 Participating States in partnership with the Organisation of the Easter Caribbean States (OECS) are also giving financial support to the region’s CDM initiative.
Statements from Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Organisation of the Easter Caribbean States (OECS)
CIDA Statement
Canada is pleased to be embarking on the support of a regional, results-based programme for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction in partnership with UK DFID, CDERA and the OECS. Canada views disaster risk reduction as an integral component of poverty reduction & sustainable development.
The pursuit of this harmonised programme-based approach offers a significant opportunity for an increasingly diverse range of regional stakeholders to work in a more coordinated and accountable way toward achieving collectively identified, and mutually expected, risk reduction outcomes.
Canada’s support is part of a new regional programme focusing on strengthening the Region’s capacity in democratic governance, facilitating economic renewal and social capital formation.
DFID Statement
The UK International Development Minister, Shahid Malik, speaking at the annual meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank in Halifax, Canada this week, praised the Caribbean’s Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Framework that will save lives, property and infrastructure in the Caribbean.
He said: “The small island states of the Caribbean are very vulnerable to the effects of natural disasters, and with six out of ten of the world’s most disaster-prone countries located in the region, future economic development is at risk without the right investment in disaster management for the Caribbean. For too long natural disasters have slowed down growth in the region and have hit the poor worst of all. Today’s support will help reduce the financial and human cost of climate change.”
OECS Statement
The CIDA-DFID regional programme will contribute to the implementation of the OECS Disaster Response and Risk Reduction Programme. With support from the UNDP, the programme focuses on the adoption of risk reduction strategies to address landslide risks in low income communities.
The additional support from the CIDA-DFID initiative will help expand the existing programme of activities and consequently assist the OECS Secretariat to effectively collaborate with CDERA in the implementation of the strategic objectives and results identified in the revised CDM Strategy.
For more information please visit:
http://www.cdera.org/projects
http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/CIDAWEB/cpo.nsf/vLUWebProjEn/1579998CFAF1440585257300006AABB5
http://www.dfid.gov.uk
http://www.oecs.org
