31 • Continued from previous page view from St. George's Hill looking southwest. support can be available during times of crisis or disaster and for a long time after the event or series of events. 4. We Should Accept the High Level of Vulnerability to Natural Hazards in the Caribbean and Plan Appropriately as a Region The work of both CDEMA and CARICAD, should be more closely integrated into national development planning and plans. Comprehensive Disaster Management (C.D.M) should be embraced as a fundamental strategy. Disaster Management in the Caribbean has focussed primarily on Disaster Relief and much less on Preparedness and Planning for Resilience. Recent events have highlighted the inadequacies of an approach which does not seek to engage pro-active actions and policies that could mitigate these losses. Experience also shows the importance of building capacity across the entire public sector for dealing with crises of all kinds. Capacity building should include preparation for dealing with the full range of special needs requirements for special populations in all groups. Since 1950, the region has been hit on average, by seven disasters per year, that have killed hundreds of thousands of people and affected millions more. Annual damage in the Caribbean accounts for 40 per cent of global damage. Caribbean small states have suffered more damage at greater frequency than both other small and larger states. – Dr. Asha Cambon 5. Effective Responses to Large-scale Disasters Require Political Approaches which are Fundamentally Equitable and Altruistic I can speak from personal experience when I say that post-disaster response and recovery efforts have repeatedly shown us that Recovery works best when narrow, partisan political interests are sublimated to the broadest national needs. This means that as far as practicable, systems of Relief and Response should be designed in a manner that promotes collaborative political action in preference to partisan divisiveness. It is worth proposing the creation of a National Disaster Response and Recovery Code of Practice to which all political parties can be invited to endorse and adhere to. 6. People are Willing to Endure Great Hardships and Make Remarkable Sacrifices for the Longterm Good of their Country but they Demand Effective Leadership I have been involved in several significant post-disaster situations in the region. That experience reinforces the importance of leadership at all levels in times of disaster. The most effective leaders: • Operate within the parameters of the laws, regulations, international conventions and rules • Have a strong focus on a Vision – always – personal and organizational; more than being tied to specific processes and methods • Continues on next page
32 Publizr Home