KINGSTON, Jamaica, -Jamaica now has more than 100 specialists trained in the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) methodology following the recent training of 25 persons in the tourism and culture sectors by the Planning Institute of Jamaica with support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) the PPCR (Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience) Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project (ICDIMP), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Jamaica’s economy is dependent on tourism and heritage resources which are exposed to climate change and other natural hazards. These include world famous beaches, historical monuments and heritage sites.
The message from the Caribbean Development Bank, read by Nadine Brown, Director, Sustainable Development and Regional Planning, Planning Institute of Jamaica, at the workshop emphasised the importance of assessments following a disaster.
“Building the damage and loss assessment expertise, especially as it relates to the tourism sector, is of immense benefit to the country as it will put the government in a position to better define prioritise and respond to the recovery and reconstruction needs of the sector.”
Participants in the workshop series included representatives from the Ministry of Tourism; the Tourism Product Development Company; the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport; and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust.
Noting the importance of post disaster needs assessment to Tourism, was the Director, Tourism Facilitation, Tourism Policy and Monitoring Division, Ministry of Tourism, Osbourne Chin.
“I am happy that the partnerships that we have formed have provided an organised and integrated approach to disaster management at all phases of the disaster management cycle. This has allowed us to
The participants of the training were engaged in a field exercise in Port Royal during which a mock post disaster needs assessment (PDNA) of cultural and tourism resources was conducted. Participants were also trained in the importance of climate data and information produced by agencies such as the Water Resources Authority. This information is used in the Disaster Risk Management Cycle for recovery, building with resilience among other applications.
Director, World Heritage and Cultural Conventions Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Debra-Kay Palmer gave the ministry’s ongoing commitment to protect cultural resources.
“We must be prepared to minimise as much as possible the effects of these hazards and risks but also when they do occur, how to recover, and build resilience through the post disaster needs assessment process. We can even think of our own Jamaica and the various sites that we have islandwide. Two that we should know – Port Royal that is being proposed for the world heritage list and the Blue and John Crow Mountains, a site that is on the world heritage list, both susceptible to hazards of varying kinds.”
The PIOJ provides strategic and innovative policy and programmatic responses to emerging issues at the national and organizational levels in pursuit of sustainable development. The importance of disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change is emphasized in the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan and related Medium Term Socio-Economic Framework documents.
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