With the 2024 hurricane season forecasted to be the worst on file, companions from the worldwide and regional enterprise neighborhood, greater than a dozen Caribbean authorities our bodies, and worldwide humanitarian and growth companies are taking motion now to collaborate to deal with this historic problem.
As one of many world’s most disaster-prone areas, yearly, Caribbean nations are topic to tropical cyclones, volcanoes, earthquakes, and different pure hazards, with local weather chage exacerbating the severity and frequency of those catastrophes, and record-warm ocean temperatures resulting in unprecedented ranges of threat.
In opposition to this backdrop, 70 representatives from Caribbean regional and nationwide catastrophe administration companies and chambers of commerce, this week got here along with representatives from worldwide organizations and multinational firms for a three-day high-level assembly on “Constructing Public-Personal Partnerships for Catastrophe Resilience within the Caribbean.”
In delivering opening remarks , Govt Director of the Caribbean Catastrophe Emergency Administration Company (CDEMA) Ms. Elizabeth Riley instructed the gathering: “This can be a significantly vital alternative as we proceed navigating the advanced multi-hazard atmosphere that necessitates sturdy partnerships to construct safer, extra resilient, and extra sustainable nations.”
The target of the assembly was to make sure that clear mechanisms between the non-public sector, authorities, and humanitarian and growth companions at nationwide and regional ranges had been established earlier than disasters strike. “Relationships and procedures have to be put in place now, forward of a disaster, in order that once we are in an emergency state of affairs all stakeholders already know what to do and methods to coordinate their efforts,” stated Mr. Simon Springett, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Jap Caribbean.
Collaboration between the private and non-private sectors is essential for catastrophe resilience, given that companies drive investments, assist livelihoods, and supply important items and providers. Leveraging the sources and experience of the non-public sector is vital to enhancing society’s capacity to resist and recuperate from disasters. On this regard, Mr. Kareem Elbayar, Programme Coordinator of the OCHA-UNDP Connecting Enterprise Initiative underscored: “No single entity, whether or not authorities, enterprise, or civil society, can successfully deal with the advanced calls for of catastrophe administration alone.”
Contributors shared regional and world greatest practices in public-private cooperation and examined catastrophe response protocols. In addition they developed a typical agenda for integrating and scaling up non-public sector engagement in catastrophe preparedness, humanitarian coordination, response, and restoration. The protocols will probably be applied through the upcoming hurricane season and will probably be revised and expanded to cowl a wider vary of humanitarian emergencies within the coming months.
The United Nations is dedicated to supporting native and regional leaders as they work to strengthen the resilience of Caribbean peoples and societies.
