PROVISIONS will soon be made in Guyana’s legislation to allow for the development of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) here.

The MHEWS could address several hazards and/or impacts of a similar or different type in situations where hazardous events may occur alone, simultaneously, cascading, or cumulatively over time. It also takes into account the potential interrelated effects.

These developments will be made possible through targetted investments by the government to improve early-warning systems in Guyana.

Addressing participants and officials at the opening of the Improving Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems’ Governance Consultation with National Disaster Risk Management Offices in the Caribbean workshop, Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips said the consultation is an important one for the country.

“The importance of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems for national and local government cannot be underemphasised. It is important that we have this consultation on a regular basis, so that a country like Guyana could update and improve on what we are doing in the areas of early warning, because, as you heard before, early warning saves lives, and if we can forecast and we can warn people at an early time of any upcoming disaster, it can also minimise the damage that people suffer during times of disaster,” he said.

The Prime Minister noted that Guyana’s vulnerability to multi-hazards, specifically floods and droughts, has been further exacerbated by climate change. So, the development of early warning systems that are end-to-end and people-centred is critical at this time.

“The government is committed to ensuring these provisions in our legislation to support the Early Warning Systems. Guyana’s efforts at improving Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will allow us to transition to a better system of what is termed impact-based forecasting.

“Our plans to ensure that Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, however, will be based on sound scientific and technical approaches that are centred around those in our society who are most at risk or most vulnerable,” Prime Minister Phillips related, adding that there are plans to improve and digitise risk data across all sectors.

“We are committed to ensuring that all our efforts are aligned with Guyana’s country work programme, our Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030, CDEMA’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction,” he said.

Prime Minister Phillips said lessons learnt from previous disasters in Guyana and around the region will be incorporated into the government’s approach to mitigating the impact of natural disaster.

Guyana’s goal is to have a robust and comprehensive system of hazard monitoring that will enable individuals, communities, the government, and the business sector in Guyana to take timely action to reduce disaster risk.

The outcomes of the workshops will be incorporated into the framework to improve governance as it pertains to disaster risk reduction in Guyana.

The two-day workshop aims to revise existing governance mechanisms in the Caribbean region to identify good practices and recommendations to monitor and manage multi-hazard early warning systems.

Participants include representatives from the World Bank, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the Guyana Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). (DPI)