Bridgetown, Barbados, April 27, 2009 (CDERA) - The Regional Disaster Risk Management for Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean Project, being implemented by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), will conduct a two-day workshop in Trinidad on May 5 and 6, 2009.  The US$800,000 project, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, is developing a Regional Public Good (RPG) that is a regional risk management framework for the tourism sector in the Caribbean.  The RPG will contribute to the goal of reducing the vulnerability of the Caribbean’s economically-vital tourism sector to natural hazards. 

The project will develop standard methods for assessing the vulnerability of the Caribbean’s tourism sector to natural and man-made hazards, such as hurricanes, earthquakes and climate change.  It is also improving the human and material resources at CDERA, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), and other stakeholders in disaster risk management for sustainable tourism.

The workshop will outline: (i) the project’s purpose and objectives; (ii) the project’s progress since its inception; (iii) information on how individuals and organizations may benefit from the project; (iv) opportunities for participating in the major project activities; and (v) the capacity strengthening work at National Tourism Organizations (CTO members) in the area of Disaster Risk Management, and at the National Disaster Offices (CDERA members) in tourism sector initiatives.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. on May 5 and 6, 2009, at the Trinidad & Tobago Bureau of Standards Auditorium, Macoya, Tunupuna. 

Additional information is available from Patricia Maughan at the project’s CDERA-based Executing Unit at 1 (246) 425-0386 or patricia.maughan@cdera.org.