The small islands are among the most vulnerable to hurricanes, tectonic activity, sea level rise and other climate-related disasters. Climate change is only expected to worsen this scenario. For example, between 2000 and 2019, Caribbean countries lost the equivalent of 3.6 percent of aggregate GDP per year to damages and losses related to natural hazards, compared to 0.3 percent in all emerging market and developing economies. Despite the level of impact and urgency to build resilience in the region, investments are still low. In 2017, 6 percent of total aids flow to the region were for climate change in general with only USD 467 million for climate adaptation. A similar situation is true for other SIDS across regions.
Participants in this session will understand why investments to build resilience in SIDS are still low and what can be done about it. Is it because the risk information is not accurate or not available in a suitable format for decision-makers? Or is it a lack of knowledge or capacity in the line Ministers to incorporate risk information into policies and projects? Or is it the low implementation rate of projects and low recovery processes? Maybe it is the inadequacy of public financial management systems to respond to disasters.
These and more questions will be discussed with distinguished panelists. Panelists include government officials from the Caribbean and the Pacific, development partners such as Canada, and technical experts on disaster risk and public financial management.
“It is very intentional that the Sendai framework for disaster reduction prioritizes understanding disaster risk, which is really about risk information. Similarly, in the regional comprehensive disaster management strategy for the Caribbean, we have also identified this issue of knowledge management and evidence-based decision making as very fundamental to addressing the issues of disaster risk management, because disaster risk management has to be based on an understanding of disaster risk in all of its forms.”
