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28 29 members,thenthecostof operation,permember,becomeseven lessburden- some.” “Historically,we’vebeenable toprovidea real returnon investmentsby member states,without eventaking intoaccountdisaster responsesupport. Wewereoperatingat aminimumof aone-to-one,toa four-to-one,return oncontributionsbymember states inthebestof times.This is real financial returnsanddoesnot include thecostof thehumanresources that arealso employed inprovidingservices.So,if Iwere toaddthehumanresource,techni- cal assistancesupport that themembers stateshavecalledon,andweprovid- ed,andwewouldthen layerontopof that thevalue fromour respondingto theseevents,itwouldbe tremendouslyhigher,and it’s somethingwe’regoing tobeworkingtobetter illustrate tomember andnon-member states. Goingforward,Jacksonbelieves thatCDEMA’smission ismore relevant today thanwhen itwas first established,becauseof thepotential dangersposedby climatechange.“I thinkthechallenges facingthe regionfromthechanging climate,or theclimate’svariability,present a real threat tothesecurityof thecit- izensof the region,whichwill result inmorehumanitarianconsequences,”he declares.“Andthis iswhereCDEMA,intermsof itsabilitytoharness the region’s capacityandrespondtotheneedsofmember states is reallyilluminated,and thatpresentsgreatopportunities for the region inadvancingtheagenda for resilience.CDEMAwas the first institutionthatput thisconversationonthe table in2001andfocusedon it fromastrategicpointofview.That agenda, which isnowbecomingsocentral inthediscourse,still remainsa fundamental agenda forCDEMAandso,I think,the futurepresentsa lotof opportunities for the regional system,inthat regard. “In itscreation,itwas innovative,the firstof itskind.It isasystemthatwas designedbythe region’speople,for the region’speople,andoperatedby the region’speople,which isunique inthat ishasacultural sensitivitytothe Caribbeanregion.Ithasbeenat the forefrontof thediscourseonresilienceand promotingastrategicroadmapfor achieving integratedriskresiliencewiththe region’scountries for theattainmentof sustainabledevelopment.Thesituation nowfacedbytheCaribbean,under theagendaof climatechange,makes the agencyanevenmore relevant institution.However,theseemergingoppor- tunitieswill onlybe realized inasmuchas the region,itself,iswillingtoreally invest intheabilityof the institutionto fullyoptimize theopportunities that will bepresentingthemselvesover thenext severalyears.” THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY