Bridgetown, Barbados – CDEMA officially launched its Caribbean Resilient Recovery Facility on December 7, 2021 to build capacity through holistic approaches for climate resilient Caribbean. The facility, launched during the agency’s Regional Recovery Symposium, is aligned to the Regional Response Mechanism and will be a turning point for recovery planning in the region.

Giving the opening remarks at the launch, Chairman of CDEMA Hon. Vincent Byron, Jr. shared that the facility was a response to a call for a regional mechanism to tap into resilient recovery after the unprecedented 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. He said, “The CRRF is a regionally owned and driven mechanism for the coordination of ex-ante and ex-post resilient recovery to CDEMA’s Participating States, directly supported by the five interrelated pillars of the 2018 Caribbean Resilience Recovery Framework.”

CDEMA will be the pioneer for strategic guidance to resilient recovery, supported by interested stakeholders. One key goal of the facility is to build capacity in the region, and the Chairman urged local governments to use this opportunity to invest in strong institutional frameworks for each phase of the disaster management cycle.

Secretary General of CARICOM, Dr. Carla Barnett highlighted the extent of impact the region has faced since 2017 and the need for stronger collaboration among the public, private and civil sectors. “Given the magnitude of the disasters, the scope and cost of recovery are huge, overwhelming the capacity of individual states to cope and require regional and international support. This provided the impetus for the CRRF,” Dr. Bennet said.

The CRRF aligns to the five pillars of the 2018 Caribbean Pathway for Disaster Resilience: (i) Social Protection for the Marginal and Most Vulnerable, (ii) Safeguarding Infrastructure, (iii) Enhancing Economic Opportunity, (iv) Environmental Protection, (v) Operational Readiness and Recovery.

It is envisioned to be implemented over a three-year period, supported by the UNDP administered EnGenDER project funded by Global Affairs Canada and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UK FCDO). Assistance is also provided under the 11th EDF Building Disaster Resilience in the Caribbean (BRIC) and the USAID Caribbean Resilience Initiative (CCRI) projects to support ex-ante recovery.