Holness urges more support for RRM

THE member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have been urged to promote and maintain the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) coordinated by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in light of increasing threats of natural disasters.

Chairman of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holnesss, said in addition to promoting the RRM, the heads of government have been encouraged to lobby the International Community to align its support with the mechanism, including early recovery.
Disaster Management and Climate Change were among critical issues at the centre of discussions when the regional leaders converged at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Jamaica from July 4-6 for the 39th Regular Meeting of Conference for the CARICOM heads of government.

In reviewing the Region’s Disaster Management and Recovery Programme, the leaders took note of the vulnerability of CARICOM member states to national hazards, acknowledging that the effects of climate change remain key challenges to sustainable development and that innovative approaches were required in the era of superstorms.

In a statement issued by the CARICOM Secretariat, it said that the heads of government also acknowledged that the building of the Community’s resilience involved the interaction of social, economic and environmental policies, while enhancing physical infrastructure. They emphasised that Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) remains core to the achievement of a resilient Caribbean Community.

“They noted that the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) had a key role in facilitating national governments to have full control of the emergency response and early recovery phases of a disaster and that sustainability of the agency was therefore of vital importance, given its mandate and the range of post-disaster support member states require,” the secretariat explained in the statement.

The leaders also urged the various Councils of the Community to give special consideration to regional sectoral programmes, designed to build resilience with the intention of expediting implementation of recommended actions.
In August, 2018, a Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Mid-Term Review of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway (S.A.M.O.A. Pathway) will be held in Belize.

The Small Island and low-lying coastal Developing States (SIDS) Framework had its origin in the Barbados Programme of Action of 1994, further complemented by the Mauritius Strategy of Implementation (MSI) of 2005 and the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway (Samoa Pathway) of 2014. This places specific focus on the unique vulnerabilities of SIDS and provides the basic framework for international cooperation.

While expressing concern over the slow pace of implementation of the SAMOA Pathway, the regional leaders agreed to work closely with the International Community in the 2019-2024 period to strengthen implementation. They also used the platform to express appreciation to Mr. Milo Pearson for his contributions. Pearson retired after serving 11 years as Chair of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIFSPC).

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the 24th Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP\
24) in Poland. Ahead of this conference, the heads of government issued a declaration on climate change as a guide. In that declaration, the leaders committed to accelerate efforts regionally by ensuring that all CARICOM member states take the necessary action to ratify the Paris Agreement at the latest by December 2018, when the COP 24 is to be held.

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