Anguilla News covers Anguilla
 |
|
Anguilla News
Bridging
Gaps & Expanding Horizons. |
|
|
|
|
|
Anguilla News covers Anguilla and the wider
Caribbean.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
x |
|
|
|
The Greater
Caribbean This Week: Success in Ayiti |
By: Luis Carpio Director of Transport and Natural
Disasters of the Association of Caribbean States.
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Lewis Carroll; "Jabberwocky", in Through the Looking-Glass
[1872]
 December
07, 2007: Though the above-cited poem was well received
by its 19th Century audience because it sounded good, it was
not until later, when Carroll provided the key (Brilling
means four pm: time for broiling things for dinner), that it
was understood by anyone.
The ACS High-Level Conference on Disaster Reduction, held
from 14th to 16th November 2007 in the stunning seaside
resort of Saint-Marc, Republic of Ayiti (Haiti), was the
first-ever meeting on the subject for the countries of the
Greater Caribbean. It was attended by high-level delegations
from 21 ACS Members and 19 international and regional
organisations as well as members of civil society. In all,
over 120 people participated in the Conference.
The Conference was financed by the government of the
Republic of Haiti, the ACS, the UN International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction and the Government of the Republic of
Turkey. Crucial technical and other support was also
provided by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response
Agency, the Coordination Centre for the Prevention of
Natural Disasters in Central America, the Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the
Inter-American Development Bank, the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Pan
American Health Organisation, the United Nations Development
Programme, and the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The Meeting was unique in many respects, not the least of
which was the climate of extreme frankness which prevailed,
allowing countries to showcase not only their current
activities and past triumphs in this field, but also to
share their deepest concerns by highlighting shortcomings at
the national and regional levels.
This Conference now becomes a landmark for all those who
labour in the Greater Caribbean in the field of disaster
risk reduction. The Meeting reinforces the ACS’ place as the
premier forum in our region to bring together a group of 28
countries, so dissimilar in relative size, language and
culture but which, nevertheless, face a common challenge in
this key area of our sustainable development. Though we must
of course wait upon the nod from the Ministerial Council,
once approved, the Saint-Marc Plan of Action, as the major
Conference outcome is to be known, will become the new road
map for the region to follow, with the Member Countries as
the engines for change.
By finally linking our regional agenda to the larger
international agreement (the Hyogo Framework for Action)
reached in Japan, in 2005 and by providing a template to
bring together the pioneering work already being carried out
by CDERA, CEPREDENAC and others, we will ensure that those
who believe that in our small, semi-enclosed sea, the ACS
and organizations such as CDERA and CEPREDENAC can only
compete, are in for a pleasant surprise.
Furthermore, by sticking to internationally agreed goals and
terminology, the Plan of Action will also allow for a more
fluid exchange with the UN System, particularly UNISDR and
ECLAC and with the international donor community, thus
greatly facilitating access to badly needed financial and
technical resources and providing enhanced accountability
and transparency for donors.
Finally, as in the case of the poem, bringing our countries’
Japanese agreement down to Earth at the regional and
national level, will allow us to operationalise complex
concepts which regularly encounter particular challenges as
a result of our idiosyncrasies. In other words: If we can
translate Hyogo into Creole, Patois, etc, we will stand a
much better chance for success.
|
Advertisement - Article continues
below
|
| |
|
Anguilla Business Quick Links
|
