|
| |
Bridgetown, Barbados, December 17, 2007 (CDERA) – A delegation
comprising of The Ministry of Tourism [Mot}, the Saint Lucia Hotels and Tourism
Association [SLHTA] and the Secretariat of the National Emergency Management
Organisation [NEMO] attended the 2nd Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive
Disaster Management in Barbados from December 10 – 14, 2007.
The delegation was honoured to make a presentation during the session on "Multi
Hazard Contingency Planning for Tourism Sector"
In 1999 the Hospitality Industry together with the Office of Disaster
Preparedness [later NEMO] finalized the first Hospitality Industry Response
Plan. Over the years it has been reviewed and improved. In May 2007 the
Organisation of American States [OAS] hosted one in a series of regional
meetings aimed at the Tourism Industry on the very theme of Multi Hazard
Contingency Planning for Tourism Sector - the OAS Program presents the Tourism
Industry with the opportunity to again review its protocols not only for
Hurricanes but for all hazards.
Recently the revised Hurricane Plan for the Industry was approved by the
National Emergency Management Advisory Committee [NEMAC]. In keeping with all
National Response Plans it too will be forwarded to Cabinet for final approval.
The 2nd Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management was hosted by
the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) in association with its
Partners and was held under the theme "Changing Landscape of Caribbean Disaster
Management – Vision Becoming Reality". It was a high level forum for assessing
the region's progress in disaster risk reduction and charting the way forward in
building disaster resilience through the Comprehensive Disaster Management
Strategy [CDM]. This event also contributed to the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction's (ISDR) global platform.
High ranking Government Officials from CDERA Participating States addressed key
issues of CDM implementation in relation to the Caribbean Single Market and
Economy (CSME), safety and security within a single space in emergency
management and response and disaster management within the national development
portfolio. Senior representatives of the donor community as well as other CDM
partners and sector leaders spoke to a harmonized programming approach for the
advancement of CDM.
The Conference focused on sharing of experiences and good practice in the areas
of ICT applications, mitigation and risk transfer applications and disaster
recover planning. An exhibition was opened to members of the public and
showcased a range of products and information materials for mitigation and
preparedness as well as emergency situations.
Delegates came from across the region and globally and included disaster
management and associated professionals, development partners, government and
private sector officials, civil society, researchers and other stakeholders.
The Conference received financial support from the Caribbean Development Bank,
European Commission, International Recovery Platform, Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) and the United States Agency for International
Development/ Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
For further information please contact:
Deputy Permanent Secretary – Ministry of Tourism:
Mrs. Judith
Crane-St Hill @ (758) 468-4605 or 451-9335
Deputy Director – NEMO:
Julian Du Bois @
(758) 452-3802
INFORMATION NOTE: Comprehensive Disaster Management encompasses an integrated
approach to disaster risk reduction and focuses on all hazards that threaten our
region, all phases of the disaster management cycle (prevention, mitigation,
preparedness, response, recovery and rebuilding (CDM) and all sectors of
society.
The 2007-2012 Enhanced CDM Strategy and framework incorporates the Caribbean
Community Regional Programming Framework 2005-2015 and supports the Hyogo
Framework for Action 2005-2015, a blue print for global action in Disaster Risk
Reduction.
|
