August 24, 2011 – The Virgin Islands have been chosen to host the first workshop, entitled “Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into the National Comprehensive Disaster Management Work Programme.”
Facilitated both yesterday and today by Mr. Leslie Walling and Ms. Nicole Brown, consultants contracted by CDEMA, it accommodated participants from various Government agencies with the responsibility for economic and social sectors which are also critical to the delivery of national Work Programme, and engaged them in interactive sessions at the Department of Disaster Management (DDM).
The main focus of the Workshop was the review of a Guidance Tool (G-Tool) being developed and tested under the Climate Change Disaster Management (CCDM) Project, designed to develop Climate Smart Work Programmes. It also seeks to identify existing and alternative adaptation options for the VI, capacities and adaptation measures for mainstreaming into the country’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Work Programme.
In her opening remarks, CDEMA Programme Coordinator Ms. Nicole Alleyne emphasised that this workshop seeks to analyse and prioritise Climate Change related issues for the Virgin Islands.
Lead facilitator Mr. Leslie Walling said, “Over the last two days the group has developed a disaster risk reduction analysis and a Climate Change Adaptation and vulnerability analysis. Going forward, the adaptation intervention and result statements that were developed will be mainstreamed into the Disaster Risk Management country Work Programme which will provide CDEMA and the DDM with recommendations on adaptation approaches that should be incorporated into the Work Programmes. CDEMA and DDM will then take the process to the next step in refining the interventions and mainstreaming them to complete a climate-friendly Work Programme.”
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS) and the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) are the key partners in a project that seeks to incorporate Climate Change adaptation into country Work Programmes.
The workshop was convened by CDEMA and hosted by the DDM through the support of the Austrian Development Agency’s funded, “Mainstreaming Climate Change into Disaster Risk Management for the Caribbean Region (CCDM)” project.
