In Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS), electrical power outages are frequent in the aftermath of major weather events. While local service disruptions often last a few days after these events, nationwide power grid failures lasting several weeks, or months have resulted in enormous social and economic impacts. In 2017, Hurricane Maria left 90 per cent of the population of Dominica without access to electricity for over four months (Commonwealth of Dominica, 2020) and caused a systemwide collapse of Puerto Rico's power grid that took 11 months to be entirely restored (Campbell…
During the course of this week, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) together with the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO) will conduct a series of training workshops on disaster assessment in Peru. The joint workshop will focus on the “Evaluation of the Socio-economic Impact of Disasters in the Health, Water and Sanitation sectors” and takes place on 6-7 February in Lima, and 9-10 in Piura.
The workshops are part of WHO/PAHO’sefforts to finalise a step-by-step field guide on assessing disasters. The guide relies on the Damage an…
The economies of the subregion were hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those dependent on tourism. As a result, the Caribbean has seen a reversal of the hard-won gains achieved in growing their economies and reducing unemployment and inequality. The inflation stemming from pandemic supply chain disruption, which has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, has made the sustained uptick in economic performance beyond pre-pandemic levels unlikely, notwithstanding strong growth estimates for 2021 and 2022. The last two years have taught the region that continued ‘business as usual’ is…
The application of technologies, research, development, promotion of innovative approaches and local knowledge to confront complex issues posed by hazards are important components of managing disaster risks and guiding informed decision-making. Hence commitments to support and enhance access to technologies and to foster innovative approaches to risk reduction, preparedness and resilient recovery are essential requirements for the management of current and future disasters in the Caribbean subregion. Considering the importance of Disaster and Risk Management (DRM), the aim of this study is to …
Flooding as an extreme event has become progressively evident in the Caribbean sub-region, as a result of an increased number of intense rainfall events, and storm surges from hurricanes. Such events in turn, have been linked to the impacts of global climate change, which has been shown to be the cause for several specific events including sea-level rise; global temperature rise, ocean warming and acidification, and the melting of glaciers. In the specific instance of the Caribbean subregion, flooding events often result in significant disruptions of economic and social life. This study uses a…
Three Caribbean countries will benefit from disaster training workshops over the last quarter of this year. Between October and December 2018, a team of experts from the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) subregional headquarters for the Caribbean, led by the Coordinator of the Sustainable Development and Disaster Unit, Dr. Omar Bello, will conduct Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) trainings in Anguilla, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos islands.
The training courses are offered as a follow-up to the disaster assessment missions carried out last year to quan…
Welcome remarks by Antonio Prado, Deputy Executive Secretary of the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF THE CARIBBEAN
Port of Spain, 5-7 May 2015
Excellencies, academic staff, ladies and gentlemen,
This is my first time in the Caribbean and it is a pleasure to be in Port of Spain and especially at the celebrated University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus.
Today, the Caribbean, like Latin America, is facing a future fraught with challenges and uncertainty. It is unclear whether the models and strategies that have d…
Over the last 35 years the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has assessed major disasters in the Latin American region. Based on those exercises, which that have been conducted in a systematic manner using an evolving but comparable methodology over the years1, there is now historical evidence of the economic consequences these events have on the region's economies. This evidence-based approach sheds light on the link between economic performance, development dynamics and how disasters, as external shocks, generate lingering…
Over one hundred Argentinian public officials benefitted from a comprehensive analysis of the DaLA approach vis-à-vis various sectors including population, housing, education, health, transportation, water and sewerage, and agriculture. The DaLA methodology adopts a multisectoral approach to estimate the effects and impacts of natural disasters in terms of damage, losses, and additional costs.
Both workshops were carried out at the request of the Ministry of Security of Argentina, which is the institution responsible for disaster response at the national level. The first training, which took p…
This paper will contend that the post-2015 development agenda presents a major opportunity for Caribbean countries to reverse decades of lagging economic performance and make the transition to balanced, holistic, and people-centred growth and development.
The MDGs, while valuable in promoting gains in poverty reduction, health, education, nutrition, and maternal well-being were not tailored to the growth and development needs of the region. This can now be changed by a post-2015 development agenda which goes beyond improving the welfare of citizens by meeting basic needs and enhancing access t…
ECLAC Caribbean recognizes that there are different sectors involved in disaster assessment, and this training is part of the continuing series of ECLAC training sessions aimed at strengthening the ability of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to assess damage and loss caused by disasters. Participants who benefitted from this particular e training were not only from disaster preparedness agencies, but also from the health, agriculture, public utilities, telecommunications, education, planning and tourism sectors.
An important aspect of this disaster assessment package for Trinidad w…
The training on the Disaster Assessment Methodology was requested by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (MIDEPLAN), as part of the ministry’s efforts to improve disaster risk management and reduce risk in the country.
The course is imparted during three days, and combines expositions of the methodology with practical cases to allow participants to apply the different concepts and methods. The training is designed for policy makers and professionals involved directly with disaster risk management and risk reduction. Additionally, and since the methodology has a multisectoral …
Over the past few months, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with its well-established experience in dealing with natural disasters, has helped strengthen the capacity of CENEPRED officers, and of national and regional government officials to plan, prepare and respond to such events.
This month, a team from the ECLAC Caribbean office travelled to the San Martin and Piura regions to provide training, aimed at strengthening the capacity of CENEPRED and regional government officials to assess damages and losses caused by disasters.
Over 70 officers fr…
ECLAC has been a pioneer in the field of disaster assessment and in the development and dissemination of the Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) methodology. Following several devastating hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters over the last few years in Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC has carried out several successful DaLA missions.
Now ECLAC has introduced a Disaster Assessment Methodology Exercise Guide, developed for the DaLA trainings. The guide consists of 12 practical exercises about how to estimate the effects on several sectors including electricity, educatio…
The first collaboration between ECLAC and UNISDR will be through a two-day training targeting members of the United Nations Development Group for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNDG LAC), and will take place on 18-19 February in Panama City, Panama. The training will inform participants of the complexities of a disaster, how different sectors might be impacted, and how to use the damage and loss assessment methodology affectively in a timely manner.…
La Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena, instó hoy a los países de la región a impulsar nuevas estrategias fiscales y una mayor cooperación internacional ante las asimetrías crecientes para financiar un gran impulso para la sostenibilidad, durante el Foro de Ministros de Medio Ambiente que se realiza en Costa Rica.
Alicia Bárcena fue la ponente principal del Diálogo de Alto Nivel “Acelerando las Finanzas”, que contó con las ponencias de Sonia Muñoz, Jefa de la División del Caribe del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI); Andrew St…
31 de octubre de 2024, Barbados – América Latina y el Caribe está enfrentada a una mayor incertidumbre, cambios socioeconómicos dinámicos, transiciones geopolíticas y al impacto duradero de la pandemia. En este contexto, el XVI Foro Ministerial sobre Desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe – coorganizado por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) en América Latina y el Caribe, y la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), y auspiciado por el Gobierno de Barbados – se inaugura hoy, reuniendo a representantes de 27 países, incluyendo 20 ministros y minis…
La Cuarta Reunión de la Conferencia Regional sobre Desarrollo Social de América Latina y el Caribe se realizará de forma virtual del 26 al 28 de octubre de 2021, organizada por la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), el Gobierno de Antigua y Barbuda y el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), que celebrará su XIII Foro Ministerial para el Desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe.
Durante la cita, a la que asistirán autoridades de las áreas sociales de los países de la región, la CEPAL presentará el documento Desastres y desigualdad en una crisis prolo…
Autoridades, funcionarios de las Naciones Unidas y representantes de la sociedad civil pidieron brindar apoyo urgente a los países del Caribe para que puedan avanzar en el cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de la Agenda 2030 en un contexto de gran debilidad financiera producto de la pandemia del COVID-19 y de los impactos de los desastres naturales, entre otros factores, durante una sesión de la cuarta reunión del Foro de los Países de América Latina y el Caribe sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible.
El panel titulado Construir un futuro mejor en el Caribe: temas clave para…
(9 de abril, 2010) La Secretaria Ejecutiva de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), Alicia Bárcena, destacó las políticas y estrategias que podrían implementarse para superar los déficits en materia de servicios sanitarios y vivienda en la región y para la promoción de economías bajas en carbono que ayuden a un desarrollo sostenible de los países.
La alta funcionaria de las Naciones Unidas participó en dos sesiones del Foro Económico Mundial para América Latina 2010, que se realizó en Cartagena, Colombia, tituladas "Erradicando los déficits de vivienda" y "Hacia una pr…