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22 23 THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY onwhatwashappening intheaffectedmember countries. “But through lessons learned,throughexperiences,through the initiativesof the team,then,andworkingwiththebroader stakeholder community,theagencypromoted,by2001,the first comprehensiveagenda that lookedat tacklingdisaster issues, includingthe recognitionof climatechangeasacrosscutting issue,andadvancingand linkingthatparticular agenda tothe efforts towards sustainabledevelopmentwithintheCaribbe- an.Thatushered inaneraof the transformationof theagency by2009,intowhat theoriginal intentwas,whichwasamore comprehensivedisastermanagementorganizationthatwasnot onlyfocusedondrivingdisaster responseoperationsandcapac- itybuildingand information,but alsodevelopingtools,products, regional publicgoods,andtheadvocacytowardsadisaster loss reductionandmitigationagendawithinCARICOMmember states.Hence,by2009,theagencywas renamedCDEMAwith the‘M’replacingthe‘R’torepresent thebroader agendaof managingrisk.Andthiswasconsistentwiththeagenda that the agencywaspromotingwithinthecontextof theComprehensive DisasterManagementStrategyof2001.” As reorganized,CDEMArefocused itsattentiononComprehensiveDisas- terManagement (CDM).“WhenCARICOMcreatedCDEMA,it lookedat the contextwhichexistedthen-fragileeconomiesandecosystems inextreme- lyvulnerablecondition,and it sought tounlockthepotential for regional integrationmovement and,inparticular,functional cooperation inCAR- ICOMinrelationtodisastermanagement,”Jacksonsays.CDM,then,isan integratedandproactiveapproachtodisastermanagement that seeks to reduce the riskand lossassociatedwithnatural andtechnological hazards andtheeffectsof climatechange toenhance regional,sustainabledevelop- ment.Theagencyfocusesonall phasesof thedisastermanagement cycle, involvingall sectorsof thesociety,andconcentratingonall hazards. Today,with its regional headquarters inBarbados,CDEMAcomprises 18participatingstates:Anguilla,AntiguaandBarbuda,Commonwealth of theBahamas,Barbados,Belize,CommonwealthofDominica,Grenada,