Regional symposium seeks ideas on climate change
Over the next three days officials from the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre and representatives of more than thirty regional organisations will meet in Belize to discuss information sharing and mitigation strategies against natural disasters and the impact of climate change. According to organisers, the idea is to pool ideas, methods, and resources to promote an atmosphere of sustainable development while creating a culture of safety in the region. This morning, I attended the first day’s session at the University of Belize auditorium in Belmopan.
Carlos Fuller, Technical Coord, C.C.C.C.C.
“I think the people in New Orleans can learn from the third world on how to get prepared for these sorts of disasters and to ensure that we have an emergency, but not a disaster.”
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
As their colleagues in the United States begin the slow road to recovery from the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, this week Caribbean climate experts have gathered in Belmopan to discuss the region?s own level of vulnerability and preparedness.
According to officials from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), in the past thirty-five years, eighty tropical systems have ranked at category three or above. In the last decade, five category five hurricanes, including the strongest storm on record, Ivan, have ravaged the region. That reality has prompted disaster management officials to create a think tank in the Caribbean basin, which would allow the free flow of information between agencies.
Carlos Fuller
“We are hoping that that is going to be what the participants come up with at the end of the three-day symposium. Already we have some ideas, for example we know all of us talk about technology transfer and some people know what is available but others don?t know about it. And so we want to have one spot, a one stop centre where people can go to find the resources that is available, what can work in the Caribbean and who are the experts locally who can then implement that for your local environment.”
And according to the experts, our collective impact on local environments can add to any catastrophe because land, water, and energy use has a direct correlation with the weather. Officials recommend that instead of driving, walk or use a bicycle, turn off the water when brushing your teeth, turn off the fan when you leave the room, use solar or wind energy instead of fossil fuels.
Jeremy Collymore, Director, CDERA
“I would like to really challenge the governments of the Caribbean community to look closely at the development choices that we make and to start thinking about the extent to which, through our development interventions, we can reduce that vulnerability where we cite our investments, and a kind of resistance resilience that is considered in what we develop. The short-term thinking must now be a thing of the past; we have to look at the implications of our development, not only for next year but for generations to come.”
According to Director of CDERA, Jeremy Collymore, lessons learned in Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast have also highlighted the need for hurricane plans to include food, water and medicine for at least three days in the case of a disaster.
Jeremy Collymore
“It is not feasible to expect that government might be in a position, given blocked roads etcetera to reach all of those shelter persons and provide relief support. I think that this calls for some personal responsibility for the family, the individual and even the business to make sure that they are so prepared that they do not have to depend solely on the government support, which as recognised, even in large countries can be challenging.”
From a local perspective, Chief Meteorological Officer Carlos Fuller says the need to get out of harm’s way has hit home.
Carlos Fuller
“I think that is the strength we have in the Caribbean. Having been unfortunately affected many times, we know what the dangers are and we really heed the warnings. Most people in Belize now have a personal or family plan of knowing, look during the hurricane season, this is where we will go to spend the hurricane. You heard horror stories in New Orleans, for example people getting in cars and when they were asked where they were going they said that they were following the car in front of them or they were on the highway and they hope this was going to Florida. They did not even know the evacuation routes. We have solved that problem in Belize and the Caribbean.”
The Climate Change Symposium will continue tomorrow at the Biltmore Plaza in Belize City. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the C.C.C.C.C. and the United Nations Environment Program, UNEP.
