The annual meeting of the National Disaster Management
Council (NDMC) took on added significance this year with the signing of
Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the British Virgin Islands Airports
Authority (BVIAA) and the Insurance Association of the British Virgin Islands
(IABVI).
Both agreements formalise working relationships that
have been established between the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) and
the respective agencies and to support initiatives aimed at capacity building
and building institutional as well as Territory-wide resilience.
In his first meeting as Chair of the NDMC, His
Excellency, Governor John S. Duncan, OBE cited resource mobilisation as one of
the critical aspects of the disaster management programme.
“As
a Government, we cannot always provide all of the resources needed to manage
and operate a disaster management programme. We must also look to forge
partnerships with stakeholders in the private sector, locally, regionally and
internationally. One way to solidify
these partnerships is to enter into mutually beneficial agreements,” Governor
Duncan stated.
The
MOU with the IABVI is particularly important as it seeks to promote sustainable
insurance as a way to reduce risk, develop innovative risk management solutions
for individuals and businesses in the BVI.
“It
is expected that through this agreement the IABVI and the DDM can work together
to facilitate and promote greater incentives for businesses and individuals in
the areas of business continuity and maintaining adequate protection of
property from hazard impacts,” Governor Duncan expressed.
The
MOU with the BVIAA will support the acquisition of data from weather stations
owned and operated by the authority and facilitate access to seismic equipment.
“Historically,
there has been a lack of documentation on the impact of climate change in the
region due to an absence of data.
Decisions about climate change adaptation are complex, costly and have
long-term implications and they rely on quality data,” the Governor said,
adding “There must be greater collaboration between the public and private
sectors to capture data relating to weather, climate, water resources and agriculture
so that political leaders and policy-makers have access to the best available
evidence for effective decision-making.”
The MOUs were signed by His Excellency, Governor
Duncan on behalf of the BVI Government along with Managing Director of the
BVIAA, Mr. Denniston Fraser and President of the IABVI, Ms. Sarah Hatcher.
Both
agreements are part of ongoing efforts by the DDM to further engage
stakeholders in disaster risk reduction initiatives to improve resilience in
the BVI.
Similar agreements have been signed with the Royal Virgin Islands
Police Force, BVI Red Cross and the three telecommunications providers in the
BVI, CCT, Digicel and Lime
