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20 21 THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY PROMOTING RESILIENCE AND RESPONSE AT A GLANCE THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY WHAT: A regional agency of CARICOM WHERE: Headquarters in St Michael, Barbados WEBSITE: www.cdema.org CDEMA THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY T heCaribbeanDisaster EmergencyManagement Agency(CDEMA) isa re- gional inter-governmental agencyfordisastermanagement in theCaribbeanCommunity(CARICOM). “CDEMAwasan institutionthat came outof an initial project calledthePan CaribbeanProject forDisasterPre- parednessandPrevention,”explains Ronald Jackson,CDEMA’sExecutive Director.“Andthatproject cameabout after theexperiencesof the1970s and1980sdisasters that affected the region.Thereneededtobesome focusonthe issues relatedtopromot- ingprevention,reducingexposure to disasters,andstrengtheningcapacity torespond.Theprojectwasquite RONALD JACKSON,EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR successful,andtherewasaviewthat thereneeded tobesomesustainingof thegoodoutcomesof the project,movingbeyondaproject format and intosome institutionalizationof itskeyplanks,movingforward.In that regard,whatwasenvisioned,then,wasaCARICOM institutionthatwas supposedto focusondrivingan agenda fordisaster loss reduction,lookingat reducing vulnerabilityof thehousingsector,critical infrastructure andtourism.TheAgencywasalsorequiredtochange thewaypeopledealt withrisk,inadditionto dealingwithresponse requirementsof the member states.” CDEMA’sprecursor wascreated in1991as CDERA–theCaribbean DisasterEmergency ResponseAgency-with theprimaryresponsibilityforprovidingcoordinated emergencyresponsesupport andrelief efforts to participatingstates that requiresuchassistance.“Unfor- tunately,whenCDERAwascreated,itsmandate,at the time,focusedononlyonehalf of thebroaderoutcome ofPanCaribbeanProject forDisasterPreparedness andPrevention,”Jacksoncontinues,“whichwas thehalf that lookedatmobilizingandcoordinatingdisaster relief support,mitigatingandeliminatingtheconse- quencesofdisasters inparticipatingstates, coordinatingrelief to anaffectedmember countryofCARICOM, andalsoproviding informationtoany partner,be it interested governments,organi- zations,or stakeholders