—Warns that shrinking decision windows demand greater investment in preparedness, regional cooperation

CARIBBEAN governments must move beyond treating disaster management as a response mechanism and instead build systems capable of anticipating and preparing for threats before they emerge, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the launch of the 14th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM 14), Phillips called for a fundamental shift in how regional states approach resilience, warning that increasingly complex risks are leaving governments with less time to react.
“We meet at a time of considerable pressure,” the Prime Minister said, pointing to climate volatility, economic shocks, infrastructure vulnerabilities, public health threats, supply chain disruptions, and rapidly evolving technological and security risks.
According to Phillips, these challenges are no longer isolated events but often occur simultaneously, placing unprecedented demands on governments across the Caribbean.
“This is why I have chosen to speak about resilience as statecraft. For much of our history, disaster management was treated as a function that only activated after an event occurred. That understanding is no longer adequate to the world we govern,” he said.

He argued that resilience must now be embedded in every aspect of governance, from economic planning and infrastructure development to national security and public services.
“To govern well in this environment is to govern at the speed of risk, anticipating threats before they mature, investing ahead of need, coordinating across borders, and acting with resolve when the moment demands it. The windows in which decisions must be taken are narrowing, and the cost of acting late rises with every passing season,” Phillips said.
The Prime Minister noted that resilience is increasingly becoming a measure of national competitiveness, with countries that can maintain critical infrastructure and essential services during crises enjoying greater investor confidence and economic stability.
“A country that can keep its ports and its power running through a shock, and its public services available to those who depend on them, is one that investors trust and that its people can rely on,” he said.
The Prime Minister highlighted Guyana’s vulnerability as a low-lying coastal state, noting that much of the country’s population and economic activity remains concentrated along the coast.
He said that as Guyana continues to expand its economy and energy sector, protecting infrastructure and communities from potential hazards has become increasingly important.
“For us, resilience and development are intertwined because neither can be secured without the other,” he said.
Phillips pointed to several measures undertaken by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to strengthen national preparedness, including the commissioning of a new multipurpose building at the agency’s headquarters in 2025 and Guyana’s hosting of the Mechanism for Disaster Cooperation Exercise (MECODEX) 2025.
He also highlighted the development of an Early Warning for All Implementation Plan with support from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the passage of the Oil Pollution Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Responsibility Act.
Looking ahead, the Prime Minister said the government’s 2026 budget supports a comprehensive disaster risk management programme aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals, Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030, and the CDC’s Strategic Plan.
Among the initiatives planned for this year are the implementation of the Oil Pollution Act, updated disaster risk management legislation, expansion of multi-hazard early warning systems using satellite and geographic information technologies, and the development of a Gas-to-Energy Emergency Response Contingency Plan.
New emergency response facilities in Lethem and Mahdia, along with multipurpose bonds in Georgetown, are also expected to become operational.
Phillips stressed that financing remains one of the most critical components of resilience-building and called for stronger partnerships between governments, development agencies, regional institutions and the private sector.
“No country secures resilience on its own, and no single budget can finance it,” he said.
The Prime Minister pointed to the importance of regional cooperation through mechanisms such as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), noting that Caribbean nations share common vulnerabilities and must continue to strengthen collective preparedness.
“The Caribbean has long understood that our security is shared. When one of our states is weakened, the region is weakened with it,” Phillips said.
Guyana will host CDM 14 in Georgetown from December 7-12 under the theme, ‘CDM Road to Resilience, Checkpoint 2026: Resilient Sectors, Sustainable Communities, Safer States.’
“The idea of a checkpoint is deliberate. It asks the region to pause and take honest measure of where we stand with regard to the readiness of our institutions and the soundness of the financing that must support them when the next shock arrives,” he said.
The conference is expected to bring together governments, development partners, private sector leaders, academia, youth organisations and civil society groups from across the region to assess progress in disaster risk management and chart a path towards a more resilient Caribbean.