News release 61/2006
(04 April 2006)

Honourable Senator Giampaolo Bettamio, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Gerardo Carante Other members of the Italian Delegation Representatives of the Media Colleague staff members of the CARICOM Secretariat

It is with pleasure that I welcome you today, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, at the signing of a scientific cooperation agreement on Cooperation in Hydro-Meteorological Monitoring, Natural Disaster and Early Warning between the Government of Italy and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). That the Vice-Minister has made a special detour to Georgetown for the ceremonial signing of this agreement, is indicative of the importance the Government of Italy places on collaboration with the Caribbean Community in this area which is of such great import to us in the Region. For this, we are most appreciative.

Unfortunately, the Secretary-General is unable to be here at this ceremony today to witness the operationalisation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed during his visit to Italy in July 2005. He has asked me to convey his personal good wishes to you, Vice Minister, and your Delegation.

This scientific cooperation agreement will launch a feasibility study, which we anticipate will provide benchmarks on those areas for the establishment of a modern hydro-meteorological monitoring system, more popularly known as an early warning system, in the Caribbean. This initiative, born out of a desire to strengthen and accelerate programmes crafted as a result of the partnership between CARICOM and the Government of Italy, marks an advance in relations between Italy and the Caribbean Community.

This cooperation agreement is an appropriate, timely and extremely welcome initiative, coming, as it does, a short nine weeks away from the official start of the 2006 hurricane season on 1 June. The 2005 hurricane season, preceded by a not insignificant 2004 season, brought an unprecedented 13 hurricanes to the Caribbean region. Scientists forecast already, that there will be 9 hurricanes this year, of which 5 will be major hurricanes of category 3 or higher. This excludes tropical storms which are expected to number 17. Such natural disasters, combined with the associated market losses and declining export earnings exacerbate our vulnerability and present challenges to our sustainable development.

Recent devastating experiences have underscored the fact that the extreme climatic events that are increasingly becoming the norm worldwide pose as great a challenge for those countries with even greater resources than ours. We cannot emphasise enough, therefore, the great urgency for our countries to build the mechanisms necessary to monitor, mitigate and prepare for these extreme events and to take the necessary steps to minimise their impact on our development.

The Caribbean Community has set the highest priority on addressing the many challenges related to climate change and disaster mitigation and management. We are among the first countries of the world to recognise the growing threat to our vulnerable economies and societies of climate change and the need to adapt to the increasingly severe phenomena.

The Community has therefore established independent institutions such as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), to address disaster mitigation and management issues in the Region; the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO), with its technical arm the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) to provide training and research, as well as a coherent and consistent framework for the provision of reliable early warning information to safeguard the region; and last, but by no means least, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCC) which was set up in Belize specifically to spearhead our efforts in addressing climate change and to which the Government of Italy is also making a significant contribution.

Effective resilience-building, however, requires more than the strengthening of institutions. It also requires the use of modern systems and technologies capable of providing constituents with sound and reliable information that can be utilised for efficient decision-making.

In this endeavour, the Region is working through its Institutions, to develop comprehensive strategies that integrate the management of all natural and human-induced hazards, which include prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery and restoration.

This cooperation agreement will assist in bridging the gap among the scientific communities in the Region, policy makers and the general public.

The gigantic step taken by the Region on 1 January 2006, with the coming into being of the CARICOM Single Market and the next phase in this ambitious enterprise – the establishment of a framework for a Single Economy by 2008 - go to the heart of the Community’s sustainable development. This requires that all our energies and resources are focused on completing the necessary steps and measures to achieving this goal. Reliable early warning systems, which can inform disaster preparedness and readiness are therefore vital components of our sustainable development.

This Agreement is an important tool and checklist for the present and future management of climate-related extreme events. It is my pleasure therefore, on behalf of the Community, to extend appreciation to the government of Italy for its generosity in signing this Scientific Cooperation agreement which is so important for the Region.