CDMP/UN-DERMS/CDERA
REGIONAL MITIGATION PLANNING WORKSHOP

July 6-10, 1997
St. Lucia

By Jennifer Worrell
USAID Regional Disaster Advisor

HONORABLE PRIME MINISTER, KENNETH ANTHONY; NATIONAL DISASTER COORDINATOR OF ST. LUCIA, MR. TIMOTHY JAMES; DERMS PROJECT MANAGER, MS JUDY THOMAS; CDERA DEPUTY COORDINATOR, MS. AUDREY MULLINGS. OAS REPRESENTATIVES MR. ANTOINE FACILITATORS, PARTICIPANTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

GOOD MORNING.

IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT I BRING GREETINGS TO YOU... ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID) IN KINGSTON JAMAICA,... ON THE OCCASION OF THIS FIRST REGIONAL MITIGATION PLANNING WORKSHOP.... FOR DISASTER MANAGERS AND SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNERS IN THE REGION.

THE CARIBBEAN HAS WEATHERED THE TWO WORST CONSECUTIVE YEARS ON RECORD OF HURRICANE ACTIVITY IN 1995 AND 1996,... WITH EARLY INDICATIONS OF AN ABOVE AVERAGE 1997 HURRICANE SEASON.... IN ADDITION TO THIS... WE ARE BEING FACED WITH THE UNFORTUNATE DEATHS, DESTRUCTION AND DISLOCATION... DUE TO THE ONGOING VOLCANIC CRISIS IN MONTSERRAT.

FOLLOWING THIS RECORD BREAKING 1995 HURRICANE SEASON.. OF 19 NAMED STORMS INCLUDING 11 HURRICANES,... THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER MITIGATION PROJECT (CDMP)... UNDER IT'S INSURANCE INITIATIVE ACTIVITY... SPONSORED A NATURAL HAZARDS STUDY FOR THE CARICOM WORKING PARTY ON INSURANCE AND REINSURANCE.... THIS STUDY CONCLUDED.... THAT THE DAMAGE TO THE REGION... WAS ACCENTUATED BY INSUFFICIENT ATTENTION TO RISK MANAGEMENT AND VULNERABILITY REDUCTION... AND RECOMMENDED THAT BOTH SHOULD BE INCORPORATED WHEN PLANNING FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS.

WE ARE SPEAKING HERE OF ESTIMATED LOSSES FROM HURRICANES LUIS AND MARILYN... OF $149 MILLION US DOLLARS FOR ST. KITTS AND NEVIS,.... $254 MILLION FOR ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA.... AND $175 MILLION FOR DOMINICA.

THIS IS COMING CLOSELY ON THE HEELS OF TREMENDOUS LOSSES SUFFERED PREVIOUSLY.... DURING THE 10 YEAR PERIOD EXTENDING FROM 1979-1989.... FROM HURRICANES DAVID, FREDERICK, HUGO AND GILBERT,... AND WE ARE NO WHERE COMPLETING THE COUNT OF LOSSES FROM THE SOUFRIE HILLS VOLCANO IN MONTSERRAT.

WHAT IS QUITE CLEAR FROM THE STATISTICAL DATA IS :

1) THAT CARIBBEAN DISASTERS ARE BIG TICKET ITEMS,.... WHICH WE CANNOT AFFORD,

2) THAT THE AMOUNT OF AID RECEIVED IN THE PAST FROM THE INTERNATIONAL DONOR COMMUNITY FOR DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY... IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE IN THE DAYS OF DAVID, FREDERICK, HUGO AND GILBERT.

3) THAT CARIBBEAN ECONOMIES CAN NO LONGER CONTINUE TO VIEW DISASTER MANAGEMENT AS PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE.... WE HAVE TO ACQUIRE THE MITIGATION SKILLS.... AND BE CREATIVE IN OUR DESIGN OF COMPREHENSIVE DISASTER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.... WHICH ADDRESSES ALL THE PHASES OF THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE... NAMELY PREPAREDNESS, MITIGATION RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.

4) AND FINALLY , THAT THE TIME HAS COME FOR US MAKE A PARADIGM SHIFT...... FROM OUR TRADITIONAL NOTION,... THAT NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS ARE ISOLATED UNFORTUNATE EVENTS.... WHICH RESULT IN DISRUPTION FROM TIME TO TIME... WE HAVE TO START TO VIEW THESE EVENTS.... WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF OUR LONG TERM GOALS... FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THIS REGION.

WE WILL NOT WAKE UP TOMORROW.... AND HEAR ON THE 6:00. O' CLOCK NEWS ....THAT THE CARIBBEAN REGION WILL NO LONGER EXPERIENCE HURRICANES, EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.... AND THAT THERE IS AN END TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION WHICH INCREASES THE VULNERABILITY OF OUR POPULATIONS,.... TO A WIDE RANGE OF NATURAL AND MAN MADE HAZARDS.

THESE HAZARDS ARE A PRODUCT OF OUR GEOGRAPHY,... GEOLOGY AND SOMETIMES NEGATIVE... SOCIO-ECONOMIC CULTURAL PRACTICES..... WHILE WE CAN WORK AT CHANGING BEHAVIOR... TO ADDRESS INDISCRIMINATE ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION,.... WE CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT THE PROBABILITY OF OCCURRENCE.... OF POTENTIALLY DAMAGING NATURAL PHENOMENA.

WE AS A REGION THEREFORE,.... HAVE TO DEVELOP MECHANISMS.... TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE..... AND COPE WITH THESE HAZARD IMPACTS.... IN WAYS WHICH WOULD NOT COMPROMISE OUR ECONOMIC VIABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

WE HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER PLANNERS AND DISASTER MANAGERS HERE THIS WEEK... WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF DEVELOPING AND STRENGTHENING LINKAGES BETWEEN THE AGENCIES THAT THESE PROFESSIONALS REPRESENT..... WHICH IN MY OPINION,..... HAVE MUTUALLY SUPPORTIVE GOALS OF DISASTER REDUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

IT IS SIMPLE.."INAPPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS INCREASE HAZARDS AND VULNERABILITY"

DESPITE THE DECLARATIONS OF THE 1990S BY THE UNITED NATIONS AS THE INTERNATIONAL DECADE FOR NATURAL DISASTER REDUCTION,.... REAL COMMITMENT TO DISASTER REDUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REMAINS ELUSIVE.

THIS HAS BEEN LARGELY DUE TO :

A) A LACK OF INFORMATIO...N AND RESIDENT SKILLS IN MITIGATION PLANNING ...AND IT'S USE AS AN EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING TOOL

B) A PERCEPTION AMONG POLICY MAKERS THAT MITIGATION IS TOO MUCH OF AN EXPENSIVE "ADD ON "

C) AND A LACK OF ANALYTICAL INFORMATION REGARDING IT'S COST EFFECTIVENESS.... AND LINKAGES TO ECONOMIC VIABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER MITIGATION PROJECT... WHICH IS FUNDED BY THE USAID... TO THE TUNE OF FIVE MILLION US DOLLARS.. FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS AND IMPLEMENTED BY THE OAS WITH MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT BEING PROVIDED BY THE USAID CARIBBEAN REGIONAL PROGRAM IN KINGSTON,...... IS ATTEMPTING TO BREAK THIS CYCLE OF ELUSIVENESS AND INACTION... BY PROVIDING DECISION MAKERS... WITH THE APPROPRIATE TOOLS FOR MAKING INFORMED DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS,... BY INCREASING AN AWARENESS OF THE MITIGATION CONCEPT.... AND BY EMBARKING ON PILOT MITIGATION ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE REGION..... TO DEMONSTRATE THE SOUNDNESS OF USING MITIGATIVE TECHNIQUES.... FOR REDUCING THE VULNERABILITY OF EXISTING AND PLANNED DEVELOPMENTS.

THIS MITIGATION PLANNING ACTIVITY WAS INITIATED BY THE USAID CARIBBEAN REGIONAL PROGRAM.... AND DEVELOPED BY THE OAS AS A CDMP PROJECT ACTIVITY IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CDERA/DERMS PROJECT.... THIS WORKSHOP REPRESENTS ONLY ONE OF THE SEVERAL COMPONENTS OF THIS ACTIVITY.

IT IS HOPED THAT AT THE END OF THIS WEEK,... ALL OUR PARTICIPANTS WOULD BE IN A BETTER POSITION TO MARKET " THE MITIGATION CONCEPT".... AND THAT YOU WOULD HAVE ACQUIRED THE NECESSARY SKILLS FOR FACILITATING THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.... REQUIRED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MITIGATION PLANS, POLICIES AND PROJECTS IN YOUR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO INITIATE... AND PROMOTE... THE MITIGATION DIALOGUE AND TO SELL THE CONCEPT AS "THE PREFERRED OPTION" BECAUSE IT FOCUSES ON THE CRITICAL LINKAGES BETWEEN DISASTER RISK.. AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

I ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU TO ENLIGHTEN AND ENRICH OUR DISCUSSIONS.... DURING THIS ENSUING WEEK... WITH YOUR EXPERIENCES, LESSONS... AND CHALLENGES... THIS WORKSHOP WAS DESIGNED FOR A HIGH LEVEL OF INTERACTION... AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS.

HAVE A PRODUCTIVE AND ENJOYABLE WEEK.

THANK YOU.