Monday, 6 th December, FINAL REPORT (14 January 2011)

Transcription

1 5 th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management Montego Bay, Jamaica National Disaster Coordinators and Meteorologists Dialogue: Advancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean Monday, 6 th December, FINAL REPORT (14 January 2011) 1. Introduction 1. This Dialogue is part of a series of consultations and workshops to develop a comprehensive approach to strengthen Multi-Hazards Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) capacities in the Caribbean region. 2. During the Costa Rica MHEWS workshop 1 (March ), it was recommended to develop an initiative to strengthen the Caribbean MHEWS capacities, building on the existing institutional mechanisms, capacities and in the region. Follow up consultations led to the development of a road map (see Annex I), that proposes to strengthen National MHEWS in the Caribbean with a 6-8 year vision together with phased, with 2-year implementation cycles, with the following objectives: (i) To strengthen national and regional institutional capacities and cooperation among the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) and Disaster Risk Management (DRM) agencies through development/strengthening of components of early warning systems with a multi-hazard approach for hydro-meteorological hazards; (ii) To enhance coordination among hydro-meteorological warning systems (building on the existing regional coordination) and other hazards (e.g., tsunamis). 3. During the Barbados MHEWS Workshop 2 (November ), a detailed assessment 3 of the capacities, gaps and needs of the Caribbean countries and territories in EWS was discussed by technical experts from all countries / territories, and priorities for this initiative were identified. 4. During the 50 th Session of the Caribbean Meteorological Council (Cayman Islands November ), the roadmap and the outcomes of the Barbados MHEWS were discussed and endorsed by the Directors of the NMHS of the Members of the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation. 1 Costa Rica final report and meeting documents and presentations: 2 Barbados final report and meeting documents and presentations 3 In addition to the two workshops above, consultation have included a series of visits to various countries/territories of the Caribbean and regional agencies including CMO, CIMH, CDEMA and ACS.

2 2. About the Dialogue 5. This Dialogue was held during the 5th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management organised by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), in Montego Bay, Jamaica from 6 to 10 December, and was convened by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) together with the National Meteorological Service of Jamaica, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with support from the USA -National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration - National Weather Service (USA-NOAA-NWS) Objectives 6. Following a series of consultations and workshops, which identified the gaps, needs and priorities for the strengthening of MHEWS in the Caribbean, this Dialogue was focused on the next steps. The specific objectives of the Dialogue on MHEWS were to: (i) Discuss an implementation plan for project development and implementation for strengthening of Multi-hazard EWS capacities, (ii) Identify regional forums for DRM and NMHS information sharing and planning, building on existing mechanisms and platforms Participants 7. The participants of the Dialogue on MHEWS included Directors or their representatives of NMHS and DRM agencies from the CARICOM countries and from Dutch, French and Spanish speaking countries/territories of the Caribbean, as well as representatives from regional organisations, development agencies and bi-lateral donors engaged in the implementation and funding of EWS and disaster risk reduction in the Caribbean. The list of speakers is attached as Annex II Format of the Dialogue 8. In the introduction of the Dialogue, WMO presented the gaps, needs and priorities for strengthening MHEWS in the Caribbean, and the next steps of this initiative. 9. During the first segment of this Dialogue, directors and senior officials from the DRM Agencies and NMHS of Cuba and French West Indies presented their experiences and lesson s learnt in EWS and coordination in emergency preparedness, planning and operations, which have been identified as good practices globally. In addition, representatives from Jamaica, Bahamas, Curacao, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla reflected on their EWS capacities and challenges. 10. The second segment of the Dialogue included a panel discussion engaging leading experts from Caribbean regional organisations (CMO, CDEMA and CIMH) as well as representatives from Dutch, French and Spanish speaking countries/territories that are not Members of these organisations. The Panel discussed major gaps, needs and priorities that have emerged from the consultation process and opportunities for strengthening national capacities and regional cooperation and coordination for strengthening of MHEWS in the region. The Agenda of the Dialogue is attached as Annex III. 3. Synthesis of Discussions Reflections on existing capacities and challenges in EWS in the Caribbean 11. In the first segment, presentations and follow-up discussions highlighted a number of challenges regarding national capacities in EWS in the Caribbean, which were aligned with the gaps, needs and priorities identified through the assessment process and discussed during the Barbados MHEWS workshop. Specifically, the following areas were mentioned: (i) There is a need to integrate DRR into national and regional legislation, policies and planning at all levels. National and Regional Policy Dialogues on DRR with all national/regional stakeholders should be a priority for Phase I of the initiative.

3 (ii) There is a need to strengthen the existing EWS on tropical cyclones in the region, to integrate them with other existing national / regional EWS (e.g. for tsunami) and expand them to other hazards such as flooding and drought. (iii) There is a need to strengthen regional cooperation on forecasting hazards in the region. The idea of developing a regional operational multi-hazard platform for products / guidance / data exchange should be explored, based on existing regional organisations and coordination mechanisms. (iv) There is a need to strengthen coordination and collaboration between the NMHS and the DRM agencies and other EWS stakeholders and to establish Quality Management systems (QMS) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) (v) There is a need to improve warning messages disseminated through EWS in the Caribbean region to make them more effective. This would include inter alia to: - Tailor the warning messages to the specific needs of the targeted audiences - Include risk information and advices to the population in the warning messages - Develop feedback mechanisms, particularly with the media - Address language issues (multi-lingual countries, tourists) (vi) There is a need to strengthen the warning dissemination mechanisms in the region. In this respect, the sharing of good practices in the region such as the implementation of the Common Alert Protocol (CAP) system in Anguilla should be promoted. (vii) There is a need to improve coordination and harmonisation for watch and warning systems in the region. This is particularly crucial in the cases of: - Type II relationships when countries/territories are relying on the Meteorological Service from another countries/territories to support their Meteorological Service and / or their Disaster Risk Management Agency; - Islands that are shared by two countries/territories and neighboring islands Long-term objectives to strengthen MHEWS in the Caribbean, and priorities for Phase I 12. The discussion highlighted that the 6-8 years vision of the initiative to strengthen MHEWS in the Caribbean was aligned with the challenges faced by the countries/territories in the region, as well as its long-term objectives that are as follows: (i) Established legislation and institutional arrangements supporting disaster risk reduction and EWS. (ii) Risk assessments capacities developed and applied multi-sectorally for planning (iii) QMS and SOPs developed between NMHS and other EWS stakeholders (iv) Strengthened operational meteorological, hydrological and climate services to support DRM (v) Coordinated Multi-Hazards EWS at the national and regional levels 13. In addition, the following priorities for Phase I identified through the consultation process were also considered: (i) Identification and mapping of national and regional stakeholders and organization of national and regional policy dialogues to address DRR and EWS plans, legislation and resources with a multi-sectoral approach (ii) Development of a network of experts from various agencies in the countries/territories and regional agencies in the Caribbean with a multi-sectoral approach. (iii) Data rescue programmes, data management systems, training, tools and methodologies in hazard analysis and initiate discussion on data exchange in support of risk assessment. (iv) Operational cooperation (NMHS, DRM, other EWS stakeholders) building on QMS development for aeronautical (2012 deadline of ICAO) supported by Finish and USA and its extension to DRM sector. (v) Development of a clear regional cooperation framework for strengthening of forecasting capacities in support of Multi-Hazard EWS, building on tropical cyclone cooperation and determine technical leveraging opportunities with Tsunami Warning Systems. (vi) Enhancement of the EWS Dissemination mechanisms, CAP and relationship with Media

4 (vii) Possibilities for leveraging major regional meetings to establish an annual forum for information sharing (e.g. annual meeting of WMO RA IV Hurricane Committee, CDEMA- CDM annual conference, others) Next steps of the initiative for strengthening of Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean Region in During this segment, discussions focused on the next steps of the initiative for strengthening MHEWS in the Caribbean. Specifically, it was considered that : (i) An overall implementation plan should be developed for this initiative, based on a clear articulation of priorities and sequencing a series of capacity development activities that build from phase to phase. This plan should include timelines, milestones and deliverables. (ii) Capacity development with national and regional dimensions to address the needs and gaps identified should be developed (iii) Annual regional and national multi-stakeholders forums linked to existing events and platforms (Hurricane Committee, CDEMA-CDM, others) should be identified for the implementation, planning, progress monitoring and evaluation, resource mobilization of this initiative. (iv) A resource mobilization strategy should be developed for this initiative, with linkages to institutionalized funding mechanisms, both internal (e.g., government budgeting and cost recovery models) and external (e.g. donors, development banks ), to ensure sustainability of the capacities developed. (v) Phase I launch is expected in early 2012 upon availability of funding. 4. Conclusions, recommendations and next steps 15. The participants in this Dialogue recognized the alignment of the long-term objectives of the initiative for the strengthening of the MHEWS in the Caribbean, with their capacities, gaps and needs. These objectives are as follows: (i) Established legislation and institutional arrangements; (ii) Risk assessments capacities developed and applied multi-sectorally for planning; (iii) QMS and SOPs developed between NMHS and other EWS stakeholders; (iv) Strengthened operational meteorological, hydrological and climate services to support DRM; and (v) Coordinated Multi-Hazards EWS 16. Priorities of the Phase I of the initiative, including (i) national and regional DRR policy dialogues; (ii) development of a network of experts (iii) data rescue, management and exchange; (iv) development of QMS in NMHS and DRM operational cooperation; (v) regional cooperation plan for monitoring and forecasting other hazards than tropical cyclones; (vi) enhemcement of EWS dissemination mechanisms and relations with the Media; and (vii) annual forums for information sharing; were proposed and considered favorably by the participants. 17. The participants of this Dialogue considered the next steps of the roadmap to be developed in These include (i) an overall implementation plan, (ii) capacity development, (iii) annual regional and national multi-stakeholders forum, (iv) a resource mobilization strategy, and (v) the launch of Phase-I in early Specifically the two concrete next steps for the development of the initiative will be as follows: (i) Consultation with countries / territories, regional organizations and partners for the planning of national and regional policy dialogues on DRR (ii) Technical discussions on a regional cooperation plan for strengthening of monitoring and forecasting of hydrometeorological hazards (building from cooperation in tropical cyclones) during a meeting on March 7th 2011 at the Hurricane Committee meeting In Cayman Islands

5 ANNEX I MHEWS Training Workshop Costa Rica March Consultants missions in the region and assessment of all assessment and June September MHEWS Technical Cooperation Workshop Barbados November Consultation Cayman Is. November Hurricane Committee - Cayman Islands March 2011 Official Regional Meeting to endorse Phase I project proposal rr/events/mhewscostarica/inde x_en.html prog/drr/events/barbados/ index_en.html Consultation Jamaica December Develop overall plan, phase I project proposals, implementation plan, resource mobilizations and identification of forums for on-going regional dialogue with Members, development partners and donors Phase I Project Launch Figure 1: Roadmap for the project design to strengthen Caribbean MHEWS capacities Consultations, Major Milestones and Timelines Initiative to strengthen MHEWS capacities in the Caribbean Roadmap Overall objectives Technical aspects of regional cooperation in forecasting addressed Phase I developed Funds raised Phase I launched Consultations, review of assessments and Gaps, needs and priorities documented Overall Implementation Plan (timelines, milestones, deliverables) Options for Regional Forum for coordination Phase I endorsed Figure 2: Roadmap for the project design to strengthen Caribbean MHEWS capacities Outcomes

6 ANNEX III 5 th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management Montego Bay, Jamaica National Disaster Coordinators and Meteorologists Dialogue: Advancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean Monday, 6 th December, from 8:30 am to 12 noon. Facilitator: Dr. Maryam Golnaraghi (WMO) AGENDA Welcome statement Background and expected outcomes of the Dialogue: Opportunities for strengthening of the Multi-Hazard EWS: Outcomes of assessment s and consultations in the Caribbean (15 min) Dr. Maryam Golnaraghi (WMO) Good practices in Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean French West Indies experience in Early Warning Systems (30 min.) Lt-Col Philippe Cova, Chief of Staff, French West Indies Civil Security and Mr Jean-Noël Degrace, Météo-France Cuba Tropical Storms Early Warning Systems (30 min.) Dr Jose Rubiera, Director of the National Forecasting Center, Institute of Meteorology of Cuba Short Coffee break Reflections on existing capacities and challenges in coordination and operational MHEWS capacities in the Caribbean min. statements Jamaica Mr Ronald Jackson, Director General, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and Mr. Evan Thompson, Deputy Director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica Bahamas Captain Stephen Russell, Director, National Emergency Management Agency Antigua and Barbuda Mr. Philmore Mullin, Director, National Office of Disaster Services and Mr. Keithley Meade, Director, Meteorological Services and PR of Antigua and Barbuda with the WMO Curaçao Dr. Albert E Martis, Director of the National Meteorological Service and PR of Curacao with the WMO Dominica Mr. Nathanael Isaac, National Disaster Coordinator, Office of Disaster Risk management Anguilla Ms. Elizabeth Klute, Director of Disaster Risk Management Department Panel Discussion: Building on Three Decades of Regional Cooperation for Strengthening of Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean Region :00 Panellists: - Mr. Tyrone Sutherland (CMO) - Dr. Jose Rubiera ( Cuba) - Ms. Andria Grosvenor, (CDEMA) - Lt-Col Philippe Cova (French West Indies) - Dr. David Farrell (CIMH) - Dr. Albert E. Martis (Curaçao) 8/8