Monday, June 22, 2026
Facebook Instagram Soundcloud X Youtube
Home Blog Page 99

Hurricane Maria Advisory #009 – 1100 AM AST Mon Sep 18 2017

Hurricane Maria

BULLETIN
Hurricane Maria Advisory Number 9
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL152017
1100 AM AST Mon Sep 18 2017
…MARIA RAPIDLY INTENSIFIES INTO A MAJOR HURRICANE…
…THE EYE IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE LEEWARD ISLANDS LATE THIS
AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING…
 
SUMMARY OF 1100 AM AST…1500 UTC…INFORMATION
———————————————–
LOCATION…14.7N 60.1W
ABOUT 60 MI…95 KM E OF MARTINIQUE
ABOUT 95 MI…150 KM ESE OF DOMINICA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…120 MPH…195 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT…WNW OR 285 DEGREES AT 10 MPH…17 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…959 MB…28.32 INCHES
 
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
——————–
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:
A Hurricane Warning is now in effect for the U. S. Virgin Islands.
The Meteorological Service of Antigua has issued a Hurricane
Warning for the British Virgin Islands, and a Tropical Storm Warning
for Anguilla.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for…
* Guadeloupe
* Dominica
* St. Kitts, Nevis, and Montserrat
* Martinique
* St. Lucia
* U.S. Virgin Islands
* British Virgin Islands
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Saba and St. Eustatius
* St. Maarten
* Anguilla
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for…
* Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra
* Saba and St. Eustatius
* St. Maarten
* St. Martin and St. Barthelemy
* Anguilla
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for…
* Barbados
* St. Vincent and the Grenadines
A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected
somewhere within the warning area. Preparations to protect life and
property should be rushed to completion.
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are
expected somewhere within the warning area.
A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible
within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours
before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force
winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or
dangerous.
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are
possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.
Interests elsewhere in the Lesser Antilles and the Dominican
Republic should monitor the progress of this system. Hurricane
Warnings will likely be issued for Puerto Rico and the nearby
islands this afternoon.
For storm information specific to your area in the United
States, including possible inland watches and warnings, please
monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service
forecast office. For storm information specific to your area outside
the United States, please monitor products issued by your national
meteorological service.
 
DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
——————————
At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Maria was located
near latitude 14.7 North, longitude 60.1 West. Maria is moving
toward the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h), and this motion
with some decrease in forward speed is expected through Tuesday
night. On the forecast track, the center of Maria will move across
the Leeward Islands late today and tonight, over the extreme
northeastern Caribbean Sea Tuesday and Tuesday night, and approach
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Wednesday.
Reports from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate
that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 120 mph
(195 km/h) with higher gusts. Maria is a category 3 hurricane on
the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional rapid
strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Maria is
expected to be a dangerous major hurricane as it moves through the
Leeward Islands and the northeastern Caribbean Sea.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from the
center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles
(205 km).
The minimum central pressure estimated from the Hurricane Hunter
aircraft data is 959 mb (28.32 inches).
 
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
———————-
WIND: Hurricane conditions are first expected within portions of
the Leeward Islands by late today, with tropical storm conditions
beginning during the next few hours. Hurricane conditions should
spread through the remainder of the hurricane warning area tonight
through Tuesday night. Hurricane conditions are possible within the
hurricane watch area Tuesday through Wednesday, with tropical
storm conditions possible later today or tonight. Tropical storm
conditions are possible in the tropical storm watch area through
tonight.
STORM SURGE: A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and
destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 6 to 9 feet
above normal tide levels in the hurricane warning area near where
the center of Maria moves across the Leeward Islands and the
British Virgin Islands.
The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause
normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters
moving inland from the shoreline. The water is expected to reach
the following heights above ground if the peak surge occurs at the
time of high tide…
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands…6 to 9 ft
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to
the north and east of the landfall location, where the surge will be
accompanied by large and destructive waves. Surge-related
flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal
cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information
specific to your area, please see products issued by your local
National Weather Service forecast office.
RAINFALL: Maria is expected to produce total rain accumulations of
6 to 12 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches across the
central and southern Leeward Islands, and the U.S. and British
Virgin Islands through Wednesday night. Rainfall amounts of 6 to 12
inches with isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches are expected
across Puerto Rico. Maria is also expected to produce total rain
accumulations of 2 to 4 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 8
inches over the remaining northern Leeward Islands from Barbuda to
Anguilla, eastern portions of the Dominican Republic, as well as the
Windward Islands and Barbados. Rainfall on all of these islands
could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
SURF: Swells generated by Maria are affecting the Lesser Antilles.
These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip
current conditions. Please consult products from your local
weather office.
 
NEXT ADVISORY
————-
Next intermediate advisory at 200 PM AST.
Next complete advisory at 500 PM AST.
$$
Forecaster Beven
NNNN

Acting PM Lenard Montoute on Tropical Storm Maria

Lenard "Spider" Montoute

Statement by Acting Prime Minister, Hon. Lenard Montoute on Tropical Storm Maria.


17 September 2017 – A Tropical Storm warning was issued for Saint Lucia at 11:00 AM on Sunday.
Tropical Storm Maria is expected to affect Saint Lucia and the Lesser Antilles from Sunday night.
In accordance with the guidelines for a national systematic shutdown and having consulted the MET Office, NEMO, the Ministry of Education and the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, I have ordered that all schools, businesses and government offices be closed on Monday, September 18, 2017 and remain closed until the ALL CLEAR is given.
Residents and motorists in areas prone to flooding and landslides are advised to be vigilant and exercise extreme caution.
Small craft operators and other marine interests should remain in port and secure equipment. Persons are urged not to venture out, till the ALL CLEAR has been declared.
The NEMO Secretariat and the MET Office will continue to monitor the situation and to keep the public informed.
Residents are URGED to continue listening for advisories, stay alert and be in a constant state of preparedness. The public is again reminded that the official source for information are the MET OFFICE and NEMO in Saint Lucia.

Tropical storm watches issued for a portion of the Lesser Antilles

Tropical storm

Tropical storm watches have been issued for St Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Dominica.

Interests elsewhere in the Lesser Antilles have been told to monitor the progress of a potential tropical cyclone located 755 miles east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles.
Additional tropical storm or hurricane watches will likely be issued later today.
At 11 a.m. the disturbance was centred near latitude 12.2 North, longitude 50.5 West. The system is moving toward the west near 22 mph (35 km/h). A slower west-northwest motion is expected during the next couple of days. On the forecast track, the system is expected to approach the Leeward Islands on Monday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is expected during the next 48 hours. The disturbance is forecast to become a tropical storm later today and could be near hurricane strength when it approaches the Leeward Islands.
Satellite images indicate that the disturbance has become better organized, and it is expected to become a tropical cyclone later today or tonight.
More: https://cpressrelease.com/tropical-weather-outlook-200-edt-fri-sep-15-2017/

The status of the implementation of UNCAC

UNCAC

Attorney General’s Ministry Reports on the status of the Implementation of UNCAC.

Since acceding to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on the 12th of December, 2016, significant preliminary steps have been taken towards implementation. The Government of Belize through the Attorney General’s Ministry, the designated Focal Point for UNCAC, has made a concerted and devoted effort to assess the legal and institutional framework in Belize, with the aim of identifying and strengthening anti-corruption regimes in Belize.
Contextually, Belize is considered as a country with an economy in transition, as such, any plans and programmes to combat corruption has to be measured in line with Belize’s capacity financially, technically and otherwise. Nevertheless, the Government of Belize on a voluntary basis has subjected Belize to the implementation review mechanism established by the Conference of the State Parties to review and monitor implementation of the UNCAC (the Mechanism). The Mechanism includes a review process that is intergovernmental in nature.
The review process is conducted in two review cycles based on a timetable, which is set and controlled by the Secretariat of the Conference of State Parties, which is also the Secretariat of the Mechanism. The First Cycle involves an assessment of the legislative and institutional framework of Belize in relation to Chapters III (Criminalization and law enforcement) and IV (International cooperation); and the Second Cycle likewise in relation to Chapter II (Preventative Measures) and V (Asset Recovery). Each review cycle includes: the submission of a Comprehensive Self-assessment Checklist; a desk review of the Self-assessment Checklist by the Reviewing States; and an optional country visit by the governmental experts of the Reviewing States.  It is worthwhile to highlight that participation in the Mechanism is not mandatory for State Parties.
The Mechanism will technically assist Belize in the effective implementation of the UNCAC. It is capable of assisting us in identifying and providing solutions at the earliest possible stage to counter difficulties that will be encountered in the fulfilment of our obligations under the UNCAC. Additionally, the Mechanism promotes cooperation amongst States and facilitates the sharing of expertise and good practices. More importantly, the Mechanism takes into account the level of development of States and is an ongoing and gradual process.
Accordingly, a strategic and time-sensitive approach has been employed by the Government to enable Belize to implement the necessary reforms to our legal and institutional framework in line with the time-table set by the Mechanism.
Under the auspices of the Government of Belize, through the Attorney General’s Ministry (the Focal Point), United Nations Development Project (UNDP) and United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the following steps have been taken towards implementation of the UNCAC, since accession in December 2016:

  1. In February 2017, the project “Strengthening National Systems to Support UNCAC Implementation in Belize” (SNS4UNCAC) was initiated, as a partnership between the Government of Belize, inclusive representatives of various branches of Government, UNDP, UNODC and the stakeholders of civil society, inclusive of a representative from the opposition, the NGO community and a representative from the NTUCB. The Project Board is tasked, amongst other things, with assessing and identifying where national capacities are lacking and to create an action plan for the effective implementation of the UNCAC. The board conducts regular meetings to plan and evaluate its objectives and is in the ultimate stages of approving a rigorous public information and advocacy campaign in an effort to address the embedded cultural acceptance of corruption. This partnership is confirmation that it is the Government’s priority to streamline our legislative and institutional frameworks to satisfy the international anti-corruption standards set out in the provisions of the UNCAC.
  2. On the 3rd and 4th of May 2017, a two day training workshop entitled “Implementation Review Mechanism of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) Training in Belize” was held at the Inspiration Centre, George Price Highway, Belize City where members of the Project Board and other stakeholders of civil society were given introductory training on the provisions of the UNCAC and what is required for implementation. This demonstrates Government’s commitment to specific training programmes to ensure its personnel responsible for preventing and combating corruption is equipped with the knowledge to effectively execute its obligations under the UNCAC.
  3. On the 24th of May 2017, two Governmental Experts from the Attorney General’s Ministry participated in the Basic Training Programme in Public Procurement facilitated by a joint effort of the European Union and CARIFORUM held at the Biltmore Hotel, Philip Goldson Highway, Belize City, where the participants were given a general sensitization and awareness training to facilitate a wider understanding of public procurement, its value to society as a whole and its potential development impact through international trade.  This is indicative of the Government’s efforts towards capacity building in the areas of competition, public procurement and customs and trade facilitation.
  4. In June 2017, the Focal Point, the Honourable Attorney General of Belize, Michael Peyrefitte and a Governmental Expert from his Ministry participated in a training programme for Focal Points and governmental experts participating in the Review Mechanism for the UNCAC, at the Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria from 14th – 23rd of June 2017. The focus of the training was on the methodology, key concepts and guiding principles in the implementation review process. Further, there was sensitization on the Comprehensive self-assessment checklist that will support the development of a national anti-corruption Implementation Plan.
  5. On the 16th of June 2017 to initiate the implementation of the UNCAC, Belize was selected, by the drawing of lots, as a State Party to be reviewed in the First Cycle, since we are the most recent State to accede to the UNCAC. We are to be reviewed by Haiti from the regional group and Tuvalu from the international group. Noteworthy, a State Party selected to be reviewed in any given year may, with reasonable justification, defer participation to the following year of the review cycle. However, Belize has taken a proactive approach and did not exercise its deferral option.
  6. The review process commenced on the 25th of July 2017 and over the last month and a half the governmental experts at the Attorney General’s Ministry have been engaged in a rigorous analysis of the legal and institutional framework of Belize with the aim of completing the Self-assessment Checklist and submitting it to the Secretariat on the due date of the 25th of September 2017. Within three months of the submission of the Self-assessment Checklist, in December 2017, a desk review will be conducted, and two months after, in February of 2018, there will be a country visit to Belize by governmental experts from Haiti and Tuvalu.
  7. A “South-South” exchange scheduled for the 12th – 16th of September 2017 with Jamaica was organised by the Project Board and facilitated through the UNDP to allow Belize to examine the legal and institutional framework of Jamaica and its best practices in the context of its anti-corruption regime; however, due to the unpredictable forces of nature and the devastation caused in Miami by Hurricane Irma the exchange was postponed to the 24th – 28th of September 2017.

In conclusion, the Government of Belize has made several successful steps towards the implementation of the UNCAC. Although a large portion of the work is foundational in nature, it is essential if we are to effectively execute our obligations under the UNCAC. The Government remains committed to combatting corruption at any level it may exist, and affirms that the proper implementation of UNCAC is a priority at this time.
 

CDB President pays courtesy call on Prime Minister of Dominica

CDB President
The President of CDB, Dr. Wm. Warren Smith (left) and Prime Minister of Dominica, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, during the courtesy call on September 14, 2017.

On September 14, 2017, a delegation from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) led by President Dr. Wm. Warren Smith, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit.

They discussed opportunities for strengthening the relationship between CDB and Dominica, accelerating the implementation of Bank-funded projects in Dominica, and how CDB could further support the country in meeting its development priorities. After the courtesy call, the Prime Minister and the President briefed media on their discussion and CDB-Dominica relations.
Smith was accompanied by Monica La Bennett, Vice-President (Operations) and Daniel Best, Director of Projects, CDB. Officials from the Government of Dominica were also present: the Hon. Miriam Blanchard, Minister of Public Works and Ports; the Hon. Dr. John Collin McIntyre, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and Investment; Denise Edwards, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Works and Ports; Gerard Jean-Jacques, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister; and Francisca Pascal, Acting Financial Secretary.

CDB President
The delegation from CDB and officials from the Government of Dominica meet at the Office of the Prime Minister on September 14, 2017.

Dominica is a founding Borrowing Member Country of CDB. Between 1970 and 2016, the Bank approved more than USD275.4 million (mn) in loans, equity and grants to support economic and social development in the country.
Recent interventions include a USD30 mn loan approved in December 2015 to assist with reconstruction after passage of Tropical Storm Erika. Under the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund, last July, the Bank approved a grant of GBP794,000 to prepare a feasibility study and detailed designs for the rehabilitation of the Loubiere to Bagatelle Road, which was badly damaged during the storm.

Financial Model Workshop

Workshop

A three-day regional workshop will be held here next week to examine the issue of Financial Modelling for Sustainable Energy Applications.

The training is being spearheaded by the Promoting Access to Clean Energy Services (PACES) Project, in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat and the Germany-based organisation, GIZ.
The workshop is targeting Project Developers; Representatives from the Financial Sector and Key Government Stakeholders.
The sessions will be held from next Wednesday September 20th to Friday September 22nd, at the National Insurance Services (NIS) Conference Room.
The opening session will hear addresses from the Chairman of the National Energy Committee Dr. Jerrol Thompson; Director of Energy, Ellsworth Dacon; Financial Adviser for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at GIZ, Simon Zellner; UNDP Resident Representative for the OECS, Stephen O’Malley and Project Officer for Energy at the CARICOM Secretariat, Nadia Mohammed.
The keynote address at the opening will be delivered by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.

Creating a Cultural Tourism District

Cultural Tourism District
Finola Jennings-Clark, former Director of Business Development and Marketing at the Cultural Development Foundation (CDF), has stated that traditional crafts in Saint Lucia are destined to die out unless the industry is revitalized.
As part of her master’s degree thesis project, Mrs. Clark stated that “the craft traditions of Choiseul are cherished by many Saint Lucians, but this does not translate into solid economic and social support for their continuation. Poverty, low social status, poor work conditions, lost channels of commerce and urban drift, have all led to the current situation where the traditional crafts of Saint Lucia, as practised in the Quarter of Choiseul, will largely die out with the current generation of practitioners unless we can revitalize the industry.”
Her thesis is titled “Revitalizing the Traditional Crafts Industry in Choiseul Saint Lucia Through the Creation of a Cultural Tourism District,” and is part the World Heritage and Cultural Projects for Development program at the University of Turin, through the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO).
Mrs. Clark has long worked in the training and development of artisans in communities around Saint Lucia and decided to put this background to the test in authoring her thesis project. She hopes that the concepts in the project can provide a foundation for community-led development in the district of Choiseul, that could provide community-wide sustainable livelihoods and become a case study for similar approaches around the island and even in the wider Caribbean.
The thesis demands a well-planned, integrated strategy that goes far beyond the surface-level short-term actions that have been tried with limited success over the past 20+ years. Mrs. Clark said she combined her accumulated experience of business innovation techniques, insights from working in Choiseul over the last 25 years, and the economic, social and cultural theories and techniques learnt during graduate study. She hopes it will not remain just an academic exercise and she has begun to make her full draft available to both community groups and heads of various agencies in Saint Lucia, who could take an active role in fully developing the concepts and putting them in action.
The Cultural Tourism District concept takes tried and tested industrial district techniques such as have been practiced in Italy, for instance the well-known Murano glass artisans of Venice, where independent smaller enterprises work under a management system that uses a ‘common mark’ which identifies the unique skills and products of the area and provides benefits of common marketing and various other business services. The “cultural tourism district” builds on these concepts with an integrated approach based on community engagement, local solutions, sustainable development, and community cultural tourism. The creation of a cultural tourism district, over a five-year period, would also encompass developing related systems of regulations and organization, infrastructural and facility development, improved linkages with the tourism industry, strengthened market penetration, tailored capacity development activities, and incubatory support.
A fundamental outcome of the project would be to address the reluctance and fears of the younger generation toward entering the profession. The project advocates not just creating tools targeting the youth, but actively involving them in the recording of the traditions and the related submission to the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List, the design of tools and methods to ensure the story of Saint Lucia’s traditional crafts, the technical, scientific and social aspects; are translated into resources such as digital repositories that can be accessed and continually built by the youth, into new products – fashion, science projects, video-games and the like.
The project has several components including suggested improvements to existing artisan studios to make them accessible for tours, but also, the recreation of a Craft Centre in Choiseul which itself becomes a ‘must see’ for both locals and visitors to the island: This ‘hub’ would boast an outstanding design that would use local crafts techniques but re-created in innovative architectural detailing to create an ambiance similar to a 5-star ecocultural resort.  The process leading to this would take an innovative workshop approach, bringing existing artisans, youth, hoteliers, architects and designers together to turn assumptions about the crafts on their heads and create new products based on interactions between buyer and maker. Ms. Jennings Clark notes that the driving of design by the buyers’ needs is actually part of the tradition of craft production in Choiseul and was most recently exemplified by the much-loved couple Sabi and Eugenia of Livity Arts Studio who sadly died during Hurricane Tomas in 2010.
The Craft Centre décor would then display products made by existing artisans, Choiseul youth and artists, creating a place deeply reflective of the people of the community; becoming a historical monument. The Centre would of course provide a sales outlet but also a museum component where artisans could be seen practicing the traditions alongside historical displays and visitors would be able to take classes with the master-crafters. The role of the crafts in Saint Lucia’s cuisine would not be overlooked, with a restaurant featuring genuine local cuisine using traditional methods such as coal pot and ‘kannawi’ cooked foods alongside fusion cuisine specials. Ms. Jennings-Clark says ideally, the centre would incorporate facilities for small shows – dance, téyat pèp-la (theatre of the people), community training and importantly, school learning visits.
The combined approach is designed to create a future for the crafts profession that is based in the principles of the ILO concept for ‘Decent Work’.  The main expected result of the project is the long-term preservation of the cultural values related to the traditional craft production. The broader social outcome of this would be an increased sense of community, with community pride and identity maintained and reduced in urban drift and vulnerability of the district through improved job and earning opportunities, thus maintaining a demographically healthy community in Choiseul.  The project aims to contribute to sustainable development by empowering community through targeted and long-term capacity building to be much more capable of generating their own development. Ms. Jennings-Clark says she thinks it would be idealistic to expect that the district would not continue to need the support of incentives from government, citing the example of the type of long-term support given to the main tourism players, but the project should enable the community to be much better able to maximize the effect of any support they receive.

2017 High-Level Caribbean Forum

IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in partnership with the Government of Jamaica, is organizing a high-level conference on Thursday, November 16, 2017 in Kingston, Jamaica.
The conference is entitled “Unleashing Growth and Strengthening Resilience in the Caribbean” and will focus on the unique issues the Caribbean region is facing and the opportunities that can be found within to cope with the changing global landscape.
Topics to be discussed include crime and youth unemployment, fiscal policy and political cycles, and financial stability and growth tradeoffs.
The event, a follow-up to last year’s high-level conference in Trinidad and Tobago, will bring together Heads of States from the Caribbean region, central bank Governors, and other high-ranking officials from Caribbean countries–as well as the IMF’s Managing Director, senior IMF officials, and other international financial institutions. Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and private sector representatives will also be in attendance.
The event will be open to media.

Climate Change Impact on Genders to be Identified and Addressed

Climate Change
Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Lt. Col. Oral Khan (centre), listens to a point being made by Principal Director of the Climate Change Division in the Ministry, Una May Gordon (right), during a climate change gender analysis forum at the Alhambra Inn in Kingston on September 12. The forum was organised by the Ministry in tandem with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (Foundation for Social Democracy – FES) in Germany, and the South Centre in Switzerland. Others (from left) are Deputy Director General, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, Richard Thompson; gender activist and FES Consultant, Judith Wedderburn; and Senior Research Fellow, the South Centre, Mariama Williams.

Climate Change Impact on Genders to be Identified and Addressed.

The Government has commenced work focusing on the extent to which climate change impacts genders and how these issues can be comprehensively addressed.
This undertaking is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, through the Climate Change Division (CCD), which is hosting stakeholder consultations in tandem with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (Foundation for Social Democracy – FES) based in Germany, and the South Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.
The consultations take the form of fora being staged under the theme ‘Supporting Gender Equitable Development – A Gender Analysis of the Climate Change Policy Framework’.
Central to the engagements are discussions on a draft Concept Paper developed by the FES, which presents a review and gender analysis of the policy framework.
It is anticipated that recommendations and suggestions emanating from the discussions involving a wide cross section of stakeholders will serve to inform the final Ministry-commissioned research document, being prepared by the FES.
The first of two stakeholder fora was held at the Alhambra Inn in Kingston on September 12, with the second slated for the Altamont West Hotel in Montego Bay on September 18.
Speaking at Tuesday’s forum, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Lt. Colonel Oral Khan, noted that the policy framework, which was adopted in 2015, supports the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan’s target of reducing risks posed by climate change to the country’s sectors and development goals.
Additionally, he said the framework acknowledges that Jamaica’s vulnerability to the impact of climate change is worsened by social challenges, such as poverty.
The Chief Technical Director said against the background of the fact that women comprise 51 per cent of the population and that a significant percentage of households are headed by females, “the effect of climate change on females is a particular concern for us”.
Noting that gender, like climate change, is a cross-cutting issue, Lt. Col. Khan said the Ministry wants to ensure that “we have the necessary interconnectedness between gender and the goals and objectives of the climate change policy framework”.
In this regard, he welcomed the collaboration forged between the CCD and FES, pointing out that “the work of the Climate Change Division is executed through strong value-added partnerships”.
“We hope that as we get into the details of the policy framework, that we will find opportunities to highlight how the policy may be impacting differently on the genders and that we will come away… with some important conclusions,” Lt. Col. Khan said.
Director for Policy and Research in the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Sharon Robinson, who also spoke at the forum, welcomed the Ministry’s decision to pursue gender mainstreaming within the climate change policy.
“To the extent that the policy framework highlights the critical role of a gender analysis to climate change, it will undoubtedly redound to the benefit of all stakeholders and partners in keeping with our commitments under the (United Nations post-2015) Sustainable Development Goals,” she said.
For her part, Principal Director of the Climate Change Division, Una May Gordon, noted that the policy framework proposes the development of 12 sector strategies and action plans.
“Therefore, if we can look at this policy (in detail), then it will give us a lead-in to ensure that as we direct the development of the sector strategies and action plans, that they will be developed in a gender-responsive way,” she said.
The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is a non-profit foundation funded by the German Government, which is headquartered in Bonn and Berlin.
This Foundation is involved in the development and consolidation of civil society and state structures, thus promoting democracy and social justice, strong and free trade unions, as well as advocacy for human rights and gender equality.
The South Centre is an intergovernmental organisation of developing nations. It was established by an Intergovernmental Treaty that came into force in July 1995.
It functions as an independent policy think tank, whilst also holding Observer status at the United Nations and other development agencies.

Compensation Committee Gets Extension

Ruel Reid
Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid - file photo
The West Kingston Incursion Victim Compensation Committee has been given a one-month extension to complete its work.
Making the disclosure at yesterday’s (September 13) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, said Cabinet has approved payment of a balance of $23.9 million to the Chairman and Commissioners of the Committee.
Senator Reid said the additional time is necessary, given the volume of work to be completed.
The Committee, which is Chaired by Hon. Justice Seymour Panton, is looking into issues of compensation for the estate of persons who were killed, detained or suffered loss and damage to property during the May 2010 West Kingston upheaval.
The establishment of the Committee was one of the recommendations of the Commission of Enquiry Report.
The mandate of the Compensation Committee is to investigate and determine claims for compensation, loss and damage to properties and to determine the compensation payable to injured persons and to the personal representatives of deceased persons in respect to the events of May 2010.
Other members of the committee are Ministers of Religion, the Reverends Rennard White and Herro Blair Jr. Carlene Larmond, an attorney experienced in litigation, serves as Legal Advisor to the Committee.
1...9899100...269Page 99 of 269
Audio Theme

Follow us on Instagram @cpressrelease

© 2026 Caribbean Press Releases | Developed by Fire Online