Climate Change
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October 16, 2017565
Commonwealth finance ministers urged to change rules to make it easier to access funds
In a powerful intervention at the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (CFMM) in Washington DC, the prime minister of Saint Lucia called for the rules to be changed so countries affected by natural disasters could access funds more quickly. Over the past few weeks the Caribbean has been battered by three category five hurricanes which have left devastation in their wake. Parts…
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October 13, 2017625
CARICOM and Virgin Group discuss hurricane recovery and reconstruction
CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell and Founder of of the UK-headquartered Virgin Group of Companies Sir Richard Branson on Friday hosted a Discussion Forum on post hurricane recovery and reconstruction. The event took place on the margins of this week's annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington. Several…
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October 13, 2017655
Today is International Day for Disaster reduction – Is this year’s string of hurricanes a sign of things to come?
Joint Op-Ed by Achim Steiner is Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme www.undp.org Patricia Espinosa is Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change www.unfccc.int Robert Glasser is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction www.unisdr.org From Miami and Puerto Rico to Barbuda and Havana, the devastation of this year’s hurricane…
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October 12, 20171,297
COTED green-lights Agriculture Regional Emergency Response team
The Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) has approved the Regional Agriculture Emergency Response Sub-Committee to provide prompt action to help the agriculture sector in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States to rebound after natural disasters. Approval came at the 71st Special Meeting of the COTED on Agriculture held at the CARICOM Secretariat on Friday 6 October, 2017. The 71st Meeting of COTED…
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October 11, 20172,030
Antigua and Barbuda adopts ‘different vision’ for agriculture
With food security as its priority, the government of Antigua and Barbuda is pursuing a “different vision” as it moves to rebuild the agriculture sector of Barbuda which was destroyed following the passage of Hurricane Irma in September. That vision focuses on improving resilience and dealing with the impact of natural disasters, Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs,…
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October 9, 2017812
Effects of climate change in focus at Agriculture Meeting
The detrimental effect of climate change on the Region was brought in to sharp focus as a special Meeting of Agriculture Ministers got underway at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, on Friday. At the opening of the 71st Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic development (COTED), Chairman, His Excellency Soeresh Algoe, Agriculture Minister of Suriname, the…
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October 4, 2017701
Strong focus on Disaster Prevention/Risk Reduction as CARICOM welcomes new Austrian Ambassador
CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque accepted the Letters of Credence from the new Austrian Ambassador to the Caribbean Community on Wednesday and delivered the following remarks: Your Excellency, I am honoured to accept your Letters of Credence and to extend congratulations to you on your second tour of duty as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Austria to…
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September 29, 2017859
Caribbean storms show urgency of rethinking aid for small island states
A series of devastating storms in the Caribbean has highlighted the vulnerability of small island states, where a single hurricane can undo years of development and plunge prosperous households into poverty from one day to the next. Hurricane Irma turned 90 percent of homes on Barbuda to rubble and left financial losses of USD 100-200 million. Hurricane Maria has knocked…
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September 27, 20171,432
‘Agriculture in Dominica, as we know it, now ceases to exist’ – OECS Commissioner
Hurricane Maria has destroyed the agriculture sector in Dominica. The Category Five hurricane flattened Dominica on 18 September. Both the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) – which is leading the Community’s response to the disaster – and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said that there was 100 per cent destruction of agriculture on the island. According to information…
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September 27, 20171,455
Emotional PM Minnis outlines plan to assist Dominicans
NASSAU, The Bahamas, Guardian – As he laid out a part of the government’s plan to assist Dominican children and their families today, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis choked back tears as he recounted the devastation that Hurricane Maria unleashed on the small island nation and expressed shame at the vitriolic response of some Bahamians to his pledge to assist…
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