Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

Pulse of the Caribbean 28

Sail boats anchored in Portsmouth Harbor, Dominica

in mind. One is the importance of communication and coordination among all stakeholders involved in the recovery and rebuilding effort, including the Government, donors, relief agencies and local communities, to allow for efficiency and effectiveness in the recovery and rebuilding phases. A persistent problem in the region is lack of data. Reliable baseline data, including population, meteorological and other data, are important for making data-driven assessments, recommendations and measuring progress. Due to the communal system of land tenure on Barbuda, most residents did not have property insurance and therefore, have to face rebuilding costs alone. The importance of national leadership cannot be overstated. The Dominican Government has been at the forefront of the disaster response in that country, and has indicated that the focus is not just on rebuilding, but rebuilding for resilience. Dominica plans to become the world’s first climate resilient nation, sending a powerful signal that while it was knocked down, the country would not be knocked out. Dominica The scale of the recovery and rebuilding task in Dominica is a gargantuan task and is estimated by the PDNA at 230% of GDP. OnMarch 9 th , the Dominica Government launched the Climate Resilient Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD), an agency which aims to be ‘fit for purpose’, with the aid of the Governments of Canada and the United Kingdom. While CREAD draws on best practices from around the world, including from the Aceh (Indonesia) experience following the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, it aims to be tailored to Dominica’s unique needs.

It will be a new dedicated one-stop-shop agency which will oversee Dominica’s climate resilient rebuilding and coordinate with ministries to create an integrated climate resilient system, collect data on projects, as well as interface with development partners to ensure support is well-targeted. One of its three committees, the Policy Advisory Committee will have responsibility for establishing a Climate Resilient Recovery Plan, which will set the context for the Agency’s workplan and work. Legislation for establishing the agency is being drafted with the assistance of the Government of Canada. Legislation for establishing the agency is being drafted with the assistance of the Government of Canada and a CREAD Transition Team is already in place. 9 CREAD will have a four year mandate and its powers will revert to the existing ministries and agencies after its expiration. If successful, CREAD could be a model for other post-disaster countries. Ensuring Sustainability Ensuring sustainability involves resilience-building at the regional, national and micro-levels. CARICOM has established a Planning For Climate Compatible Development in the Caribbean Regional Framework and announced plans to become the world’s first climate resilient region, but does not as yet have a Regional Climate Change Policy. Jamaica is the only CARICOM country to have established a National Climate Change Policy Framework. However, like other Caribbean countries, Jamaica lacks climate-specific legislation which would bring the force of law to requirements for climate risk mainstreaming in development planning. As disasters affecting Caribbean countries originate not

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