Disaster resilience in Saint Lucia is being stepped up by the creation of a strategic alliance between the local private sector, the National Disaster office and other regional and international stakeholders to reduce disaster risk and build resilience in the country.
On Friday, April 5th, 2019, the National Emergency Management organization, in collaboration with the St Lucia Chamber of Commerce, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and CDEMA will launch the local chapter of a UN initiative, ARISE, to harness the power of the private sector to reduce the country’s exposure to disasters and the huge economic losses that comes with them.
ARISE is the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Communities and is supported by the UN-Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. ARISE was launched internationally to create greater understanding of disaster risk in the business community. ARISE aims to facilitate the exchange of experience and knowledge on how to implement projects in disaster risk management (DRM) strategies, investment, benchmarking and standards, education and training, legal and regulatory, urban risk reduction and resilience, and insurance.
Created in Geneva in 2015, with more than 140 companies and businesses worldwide, ARISE seeks to reduce disaster risks through better informed decision-making and a greater collaboration with the private sector. The Sendai Framework advocates for partnership with the private sector to reduce disaster losses. Direct economic losses from disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and flooding are now reaching an average of US$250 billion to US$300 billion annually. The World Bank estimates that disasters cost the global economy US$520 billion annually.
Businesses are one of the first entities to be affected by disasters and they are therefore, the best partners to reduce risks if they are well informed and prepared. It is vital to the economy of the country that the private sector is resilient to the impacts of disasters and climate risks. Hurricane Tomas in 2010 cost US$336 Million, whilst the Christmas Eve Trough cost US$99 Million in direct and indirect losses.
As the captains of industry, the business sector has tremendous influence, through the investment they make, on the resilient of the country to disaster impacts due to climate risks and other hazards. Businesses must resolve to minimize economic losses for the well-being of their employees and the communities where they are located.
The St Lucia chapter of the ARISE network will see the creation of a advisory group comprising of private companies and businesses and public sector organizations working to build a more resilient country against disasters and climate risks. ARISE St Lucia will be launched at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort on Friday April 5th, 2019. The launch will be preceded by a one day training in Business Continuity and Risk Assessments in the Business Sector on April 4th, 2019.
ARISE St Lucia is a great step forward in understanding disaster risk among business circles, creating business opportunities, and will assist the country in reducing disaster losses from climate risk and other new and emerging hazards.
Business Persons interested in participating should contact Mr. Andrew George at NEMO on or before April 2rd, 2019 at 485-1145 or email training@nemo.gov.lc or Mr. Brian Louisy at the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce for registration and guidelines.
