Nassau, Bahamas, May 26, 2010, (Nassau, Bahamas) – The growing need for wider adoption and implementation of Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategies in the Caribbean and the wider world was stressed at the Opening Ceremony of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management (CDEMA) at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort, Nassau, Bahamas last evening. Please click here to view photo gallery.
Addressing the Meeting, Minister of the Environment of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, The Honourable Earl D. Bernard, referencing recent catastrophic events said the Haiti Earthquake and the Louisiana Oil Spill provide a timely reminder that emergency events demand comprehensive responses.
“These two disasters – one wrought by nature and the other caused by man – provide a forceful reminder that the wider world, while noting your efforts and progress over the past nineteen (19) years, now demands a comprehensive and diverse approach, occasioned by the magnitude and frequency of disasters.”, he said.
Noting that the Bahamas is potentially at risk of being affected by the Oil Spill he noted that there is a need for capacity building in the Region with regard to that particular skill set. Bernard also stressed the importance of capacity building, development of knowledge management, sector risk management and community resilience.
Executive Director CDEMA, Jeremy Collymore said that this first meeting of the TAC since the re-focusing of the regional disaster management agency is a key step in intensifying involvement of participating states in policy making, planning and implementation.
“The organ has been repositioned to promote a deeper and more sustained involvement of Participating States in the identification of their priority technical assistance needs, the design of solution to these needs and in the full participation of their monitoring and evaluation.”, he said.
Collymore said that the meeting will consider the model legislation, organization structure and model Comprehensive Disaster Management policy. “The most catastrophic earthquake in this hemisphere in the last seventy five years at least, occurred in one of our newest Participating States: Haiti. The loss of more than 200,000 lives, displacement of more than one million persons and the devastation of the capital of the state clearly demonstrate why Disaster Risk Reduction must be a staple on our development and political agenda.”, the CDEMA Director said.
The Opening Ceremony marks the start of the first meeting of the TAC Meeting since the transition to CDEMA in September last year and is being hosted by the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and in collaboration with CDEMA.
TAC is a new organ under the governance mechanism of CDEMA. This Committee sets the tone for strengthening programme development and implementation.
For more information please contact:
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management
Building #1, Manor Lodge
Lodge Hill, St. Michael
Barbados
Tel. No. (246)-425-0386
Fax No. (246)-425-8854
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.cdera.org
National Emergency Management Agency
Cabinet Office
Rawson Square
Nassau
P.O. Box N-7145; Bahamas
Tel. No.(242) 322-2805
Fax : (242) 326-5456
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.