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Earth Today | Sint Maarten embarks on resilient crisis management project

Published:Thursday | June 2, 2022 | 12:07 AM
Silveria Jacobs (second left), prime minister of Sint Maarten, shares a light moment with Clive Richardson (fourth left), disaster management coordinator and fire chief, at the recent project launch event. Looking on are Edward Turvill (left), programme ma
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Silveria Jacobs (second left), prime minister of Sint Maarten, shares a light moment with Clive Richardson (fourth left), disaster management coordinator and fire chief, at the recent project launch event. Looking on are Edward Turvill (left), programme manager with RESEMBID; ElineVeermer (right), project manager from VNGI; Fabian McKinnon (third left), programme director at RESEMBID and Hensley Plantjin, secretary general.

BUILDING ON its experience in dealing with natural and man-made hazards, Sint Maarten is adopting a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to crisis management.

The Sint Maarten government, in partnership with the global cooperation agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) International, recently announced the launch of a €1-million project to provide the island with a more adaptive mode of crisis response.

The 18-month project, funded by the European Union (EU) through the regional Resilience, Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity (RESEMBID) Programme, is implemented in partnership with VNGI.

The multifaceted initiative is of strategic significance for the implementation of the islands’ vision to build comprehensive disaster risk management, as well as for the other 12 overseas countries and territories of the Caribbean (OCTs), including Aruba, Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Maarten, and Turks and Caicos.

The new programme builds on prior disaster preparedness technical assistance and goes further by establishing standard operating procedures to make crisis response more effective, efficient and timely.

It is also to create a network of certified trainers; and develop the first crisis knowledge centre by collecting and institutionalising available knowledge and expertise, which will be made available to the island and other OCTs through a library, online courses and in-person training. The project is also to enable efficacious regional coordination mechanisms for disaster management, particularly among the Dutch OCTs.

At the launch of the initiative during the Steering Committee of Disaster Risk Management, held on May 16, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs expressed gratitude to the European Union and RESEMBID for the financial and technical assistance provided, emphasising the importance of the contribution to her and her government’s vision for Sint Maarten’s comprehensive disaster risk management.

ONLY ONE IN THE CARIBBEAN

The knowledge centre is the only one of its kind in the Caribbean region and is set to become a centre of excellence, offering wide-scale training to internal and external stakeholders of Sint Maarten.

“I am very pleased to be at the launch of this crisis management project. It deals with disaster preparedness and gives a broader strategic approach to strengthening the resilience of Sint Maarten to disasters and climate change,” said Director of the RESEMBID Programme, Fabian McKinnon.

“It reflects the sense of urgency prevalent among small islands in combating climate change. RESEMBID and I salute Prime Minister Jacobs for your vision, resilience, leadership, and commitment to modernising disaster risk management and streamlining the Sustainable Development Goals across the work of the government,” he added.

RESEMBID Programme Manager for Resilience, Edward Turvill, said pre-existing governance arrangements, limited financial resources and low human resource capacity are among the major constraints faced by small islands when it comes to disaster risk management. He predicted that the project would be transformative for the island.

“The RESEMBID Programme appreciates the strong support granted by the Steering Committee of Disaster Risk Management, and is particularly proud of the added value of this EU regional assistance and the opportunity to build bridges between the countries and territories,” he noted.

It is expected that the project will be implemented within the broader strategy of the island and contribute to other efforts, such as the development of disaster management policy; and significantly improve the capacity to deal with the diverse and recurring crises the island faces.

“We would like to thank RESEMBID and Expertise France for all the support that we get. This project will position Sint Maarten as one of the first countries in the region to have systems in place like this,” said Angelique Gumbs of the Department of Interior and Kingdom Relations.