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The forum saw participation by representatives of the Ministries of Housing and Water, Labour and Human Services and Social Security, as well as entities such as Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), Digicel (Guyana), University of Guyana (UG) and Guyana Red Cross Society.
Addressing the audience in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Carifesta Avenue Club in Georgetown, CDC Director General (ret’d) Chabilall Ramsarup reminded that disaster is everybody’s business and a vital component of its management is a national early warning system (EWS).
He said that the document seeks to ensure that the populace of Guyana, with proper warning, can minimise their losses and damage and urged that the more persons prepare the better off they will be.
According to Ramsarup, it is imperative that persons know the EWS and practice it, as his agency wants to finalise the documentation as early as possible, so that it can be put to Cabinet, probably, in another 10 days.
Partnering agencies
He said the CDC has been involved with other partnering agencies, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to further the mandate of disaster risk management.
Making particular reference to the 2005 flooding and several other subsequent instances of floods and droughts, he said the CDC recognised the need for comprehensive disaster management where all its phases are looked at, so that they can be nipped in the bud.
He said the stage has been reached where they are looking at disaster risk reduction and expressed hope that, at the end of yesterday’s forum, they would get the input from the public through those persons who are most affected.
Ramsarup said, since all the participants from yesterday were not able to fully read the document, the CDC hopes to receive feedback, from them as well as the general public, by Friday, May 3, that can be viewed on the website www.cdc.gy
He said, that, whether persons like it or not, disasters are here to stay and the frequency with which they occur has been increasing over the years.
Ramsarup declared that what is heart-rending is the tremendous damage they leave behind, in terms of lives lost, destruction to livelihoods, the environment and economic loss.
He announced that a national stakeholder consultation on the national multi-hazard, as well as flood-preparedness response plan will be held on Tuesday, May 7, at the same venue from 10:30hrs to 12:30 hrs.
Another national stakeholder consultation on the Disaster Risk Management Policy is also scheduled for Thursday, May 23 at the same venue and time, Ramsarup advised.
He said they hope that, by the end of the three open forum discussions, they will be better placed to continue the disaster risk reduction programme with the involvement of everyone.
Present yesterday, too, were CDC Operations and Training Officer, Major Kester Craig, who made a contribution on the EWS.
2012 plan
According to the 2012 plan, an EWS can be defined as a set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information of the possible extreme events or disasters that threaten people’s lives.
It states, further, that the EWS deals with the earlier and more accurate prediction of potential risks associated with natural and human-induced hazards, which enable persons to better manage and mitigate the impact on society, economies and the environment.
The documentation includes the roles of stakeholders in early warning, such as taking into account effective governance and institutional arrangements, a multi-hazard approach and the involvement of local communities.
It said, among the key actors and institutions are communities, local and national governments, regional institutions, international bodies and non-governmental organisations.
