NATIONAL OFFICE OF DISASTER SERVICES

Director of the National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) Philmore Mullin represented Antigua and Barbuda at the first meeting of the CARIFORUM/OCT/FCOR/EU Disaster Management Task Force recently held in Trinidad and Tobago.

The meeting was convened at the Hyatt Regency in Trinidad by CARIFORUM in collaboration with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).   

Mullin said the Task Force discussed a number of priority areas for deepening collaboration on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction among the CARIFORUM States, French Caribbean Outermost Regions(FCOR)  and the British and Dutch  Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT).
Jeremy Collymore, Executive Director of CDEMA, in giving his remarks at the Meeting  said, “The Task Force presents a unique opportunity to facilitate discussions among CARIFORUM, FCOR and OCT countries, as well as the European Union (EU), notwithstanding the diverse political arrangements and languages, for the identification of common challenges and to facilitate the development and implementation of shared vision and standards for regional capacity building programmes in Disaster Management.” 

 He cautioned that, “The Task Force must be careful not to want to limit its engagement to cooperation on projects and programmes. The potency of this mechanism for informing and shaping the global agenda must not be undervalued.” 

The meeting was attended by participants from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Martinique, Saint Lucia, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Sub-Regional Focal Points (SRFPs) (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago), the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), and the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies.  Also in attendance were representatives of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and the EU Delegation for Barbados and the OECS.