Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy and Programme Framework.

The present document presents a Programme Framework for an enhanced approach to Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) in the Caribbean. The revised/enhanced Framework, which is now termed Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management (CDRM), is intended to emphasize disaster loss reduction through risk management, and to follow a more programme based approach (PBA) with an emphasis on Results Based Management (RBM). Priority Outcomes have been determined and associated outputs suggested to cover a five-year period, that is 2007-2012. Its ultimate purpose is ‘to strengthen regional, national and community level capacity for mitigation, management, and coordinated response to natural (floods and hurricans) and technological hazards, and the effects of climate change».
Chapter 2 analyses the situation precedent to the present Strategy. Chapter 3 contains a section entitled the Way Forward considering the issues of capacity building, community level focus, integration and mainstreaming, knowledge management, collaboration among development partners. Chapter 5 the central part of the document outlines the targets to be achieved and activities to be undertaken to reach these results. It is also underlined that gender issues have been clearly highlighted in response to and recovery from recent events and should therefore be integrated into each of the four outcomes. Outcome 1 addresses Institutional support responds to the overarching concern that strong institutions are the pivot of a successful DRM in the Caribbean and argues that there remains much to be accomplished in that area, especially at the national level. Most important for this target is to build a strong system of monitoring, evaluation and reporting for Comprehensive Disaster Management which includes prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response, recovery and rehabilitation consisting in monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Outcome 2 seeks to harmonise the many initiatives, inter alia, strengthening knowledge management and sharing, as well as utilization of key data, while also emphasizing the need to enhance existing and proposed education, training and research programmes through a network of centres of excellence and incorporating of continuing education programmes. Outcome 3 addresses the issue of Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management with particular emphasis on key sectors of regional economies and the need for risk identification, reduction and transfer measures at the national as well as regional levels. To reach this target hazard information and Disaster Risk Management shall be integrated into sectoral policies, laws, development planning and operations, and decision-making in tourism, health, agriculture and nutrition, planning and infrastructure; Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, recovery and Rehabilitation Procedures shall be developed and Implemented in tourism, health, agriculture and nutrition, planning and infrastructure. Outcome 4 addresses the global emphasis and regional recognition of the need to strengthen communities to cope with the multiple hazards which seem to be increasing in scope, frequency and severity and in turn impacting on the many aspects of community vulnerabilities. Some of the actions to be taken in view of this latter: Standardize holistic and gender-sensitive community methodologies for natural and anthropogenic hazard identification and mapping, vulnerability and risk assessments, and recovery and rehabilitation procedures developed and applied in selected communities; Early Warning Systems for disaster risk reduction shall be enhanced at the community and national level.
The text consists of 8 Chapters as follows: Introduction (1); Conditions pecedent to the Enhanced Strategy (2); The CDM Review – Summary Findings and the Way Forward (3); The Enhanced CDRM Strategy and Framework (4); Proposed Programme 2007-2012 (5); Monitoring and Evaluation - Some Preliminary Indicators (6); Conclusion (7); Next Steps (8).