Dominica

Dominica Moves One Step Closer to Finalising its Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan (CRRP)

Dominica Moves One Step Closer to Finalising its Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan (CRRP)
In announcing that his Government is on the threshold of releasing the CRRP to Dominica and the world, Senior Minister Hon. Reginald Austrie, described the highly anticipated document as a comprehensive and implementable management framework of dedicated leadership on climate change action.

Minister Austrie was addressing a capacity room of key stakeholders at the first National Stakeholder Consultation on the CRRP at Goodwill Parish Hall on Friday, January 24, 2020 where he recapped: “We are all acutely and intimately aware of the devastation Dominica endured at the hands of Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Maria; and we are all also witnessing daily the rapid restoration of our beautiful island. There has been tremendous progress to date and the work continues every day to restore Dominica to its pride of place in the Caribbean.”

Adding that just over two years ago, at the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, committed to rebuilding Dominica as the first climate-resilient nation in the world in a climate changing era. “A significant part of this process was developing a strategy to achieve this herculean task. To be frank, devising such a plan was also a mammoth task.”

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The Senior Minister added that each of the persons attending the Stakeholder Consultation was in an enviable position since their contributions will be integral to the process contributing to the final legacy document.

In applauding the resilient people of Dominica, Minister Austrie said: “I want to thank and congratulate the resilient people of Dominica for the role that each of them has played and continues to play in the re-development of our nature island. Dominica is rebounding at a fast pace and is open for business! We have seen tangible achievements in the areas of the economy, tourism, infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries, community development and reducing disaster vulnerabilities.”

He further reiterated that the draft CRRP will translate Dominica’s vision of becoming the world’s first climate resilient nation into specific activities that will be delivered against by all government ministries and the CREAD. Through this Plan we can send the political and market signals for a transformation to a resilient economy for better lives, better jobs, better health, improved food security, more equality and sustainable growth.

CRRP Targets Announced!
CREAD Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Pepukaye Bardouille announced Dominica’s 20 climate resilience targets and top ten initiatives at the National Stakeholder Consultation. Listen Above.

See the 20 targets here and top ten initiatives here

CRRP Stakeholder Consultation
Panel Discussions
#1 Panel Discussion — Strong Communities and Collective Consciousness
Moderator — Mr. Lucien Blackmoore, Permanent Secretary, Community Development
Panelists — Dr. Lennox Honychurch;  Local Government Commissioner, Mr. Glenroy Toussaint and Mr. Colin Scaife, Chief Operating Officer, CREAD

#2 Panel Discussion — Robust Economy
Moderator — Ms. Mandra Fagan, Permanent Secretary, Environment
Panelists — Mr. Kenny Green — Private Sector; Mr. Collin Robinson — Ministry of Finance and Ms. Kira Thompson-Aird — Private Sector

#3 Panel discussion — Well-planned & Durable Infrastructure
Moderator — Ms. Denise Edwards, Permanent Secretary, Public Works
Panelists — Mr. Burnette Biscombe – Private Sector; Mr. Kelvin Rolle – Chief Physical Planner and Mr. Glen Laville, Senior Projects Manager, CREAD

#4 Panel Discussion — Strengthened Institutional Resilience Initiatives
Moderator — Ms. Careen Prevost, Permanent Secretary, Governance
Panelists — Ms. Francine Baron — former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ambassador Edward Lambert and Dr. Donald Peters, Dominica State College (DSC)

Five high level panels with expert contributors addressed the topics of: Strong Communities and Collective Consciousness; Robust Economy; Well Planned and Durable Infrastructure; Strengthened Institutional Resilience Initiatives; and Opportunities and Approaches for Financing the CRRP.

Each panel generated thoughtful questions from the stakeholders in the audience, as well as, meaningful discussion. Feedback from the audience has been incorporated in the final document.

CREAD’s 2019 Status Report
CREAD is excited to share its first Project Status Report since commencing operations in January 2019.

Click here to view the full report which details the road to CREAD, CREAD’s approach to climate resiliency, project statuses and next steps.

SBSM Relaunches at
Newtown Primary School
Newtown Primary School is encouraging augmented participation in its Strong Minds, Strong Bodies (SBSM) afterschool program, funded by the United Way Trinidad and Tobago (UWTT) and coordinated by the National Youth Council of Dominica (NYCD) with support from the Climate Resilience Execution Agency (CREAD).

After a commendable commencement of the program on September 30th, 2019, Newtown Primary School Principal Anita Williams has two wishes for 2020 – increased overall community involvement and bigger participation in the extra-curricular football program. She is appealing to parents of the primary school students to register their children for any of the eight activities available this term.

Additionally, Coach Joffre Faustin who leads the afterschool football program at Newtown Primary, said that since Newtown has become known as a strong football community through the decades, it is his aim to revitalize the sport through the youth in the area. He joined Principal Williams in her petition to attract more students to the football program.

In an effort to assist Coach Faustin with his mission, the SBSM Program recently donated much needed football kits, uniforms and equipment to the participants to facilitate the sport and ensure that they have access to the necessary equipment that will maximise their skills. The presentation was witnessed by excited students plus representatives of NYCD and CREAD.

The SBSM Program continues in Soufriere this term with six activities and will launch in the Kalinago Territory this year.

Hi! I’m Nadia…
The ability to impact on the livelihoods of a critical mass of our population is the engine which drives my passion for agriculture. The fact that agriculture continues to be a significant contributor to our country’s GDP, rural employment, women’s empowerment and most importantly food security, summarizes its importance to the overall growth and development of Dominica.

I remain most humbled to have been able to contribute in various capacities to the agriculture sector both nationally and regionally over the last 19 years of my professional life. I am committed to continuing to impact my knowledge and experience in project management, fresh produce standards, agriculture marketing/trade, agri-business development/agricultural health and food safety as a team member of CREAD.

I look forward to the opportunity to aid in the transformation of the agricultural sector by fostering critical partnerships with relevant stakeholders, aligning resources and interventions all in an effort to harness a robust and resilient sector.
Nadia Anselm-Paquette (Dominica), CREAD Agriculture Sector Growth Specialist

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