Integrating climate resilience measures into national planning imperative

Apr 02, 2017 News

The integration of climate resilience measures into Government’s decision-making and planning processes, is imperative at this juncture as the effects of Climate Change continue to be a major source of concern for many

Some of the participants at the closing ceremony of the workshop.

countries.
This was repeatedly expressed at a ceremony which was hosted at the Grand Coastal Hotel, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, on Friday, to commemorate the closing of a five-day workshop where more than 21 persons were exposed to the Caribbean Climate Online Risk and Adaptation Tool (CCORAL).
The event was sponsored by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the United States Agency for International Development/Eastern and Southern Caribbean’s (USAID/ESC) under the Caribbean Climate Adaptation Programme (CCAP).
Participants were drawn from the various Ministries and state-run institutions including the Communities Ministry, the Office of Climate Change, the Ministry of the Presidency, the Department of Environment, and the Civil Defence Commission.
CCORAL comes as part of a continued effort by CARICOM Heads of Government to strengthen climate adaptation.
A few years ago, Heads of Government approved the 2011-2021 Implementation Plan (IP) to operationalise the Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change.
The IP was designed by the CCCCC with funding from Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DFID).
One priority challenge identified in the IP was the need to develop a risk management ethic in decision making in the Caribbean, ensuring the use of risk management processes and tools, management of uncertainties and integration of climate change into national development planning and decision making. CCORAL has been developed in response to this need.
CCORAL was developed by the CCCCC with support from the CDKN, based on a thorough consultation process involving significant inputs from across the region.
The online support tool is an important step towards increasing the climate resilience of the region and has already been embraced by several CARICOM member states, including Grenada. Training is also being conducted in other nations throughout the Caribbean.
Presenter and Sustainable Development Coordinator within the Department of the Environment, Edon Daniels, with the assistance of Karen Roopchand, the Special Projects Officer and Environmental Coordinator of the Ministry of Communities, provided an overview CCORAL to the invitees on Friday.
Daniels noted that the tool is a data-driven programme which guides users through several steps, helping them to quickly identify whether their activity is likely to be influenced by climate change.
It states also if their activity is a priority for further investigation and recommends taking action to increase climate resilience.
Specific guidance is also provided on how to address climate impacts with regards to legislation, national planning, strategy, policy, programmes, projects and budgets, Roopchand asserted.
Water Resource Manager at the Guyana Water Incorporated, Orin Browne, during his presentation provided a background on how CCORAL can be applied.
Browne said that the tool is unique in that is has been designed for users of all skill levels, with different resources provided, depending on user needs and experience.
He added that it is “resolutely pragmatic” in its approach, promoting the right tools and techniques to fit the context of Caribbean decision-making, available time and resources and uncertainty about climate variability and change.
He noted that by using CCORAL, decision-makers will also be able to demonstrate to funders, investors and development partners, that climate resilience has been considered and integrated into relevant activities.
Brown, during his presentation, provided a case-study where he took a particular project that was done some 11 years ago and applied CCORAL. The findings, he pointed out, vary from the actual outcome of project. He added also that CCORAL is not limited to infrastructural projects but caters for a wider range of sectors.

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