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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
The
Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States
(OAS), Albert Ramdin, called today on member states of the institution
that have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the Inter-American
Convention to Facilitate Disaster Assistance, during the inauguration of
the Third Hemispheric Meeting of the Inter-American Network for
Disaster Mitigation (INDM),"Integrating Disaster Risk Management and
Adaptation to Climate Change in the Development Agenda," held at the
headquarters of the hemispheric Organization in Washington, DC.
Ambassador Ramdin noted that only six OAS member states have so far ratified the Convention
and called on those countries that have not signed or ratified it to
"begin this process as soon as possible." In this regard, the OAS
Assistant Secretary General highlighted the importance of the Convention
for the Hemisphere, noting that it is the "only regional legally
binding instrument in the world on matters of humanitarian assistance."
He added that the INDM operates in a spirit of mutual cooperation
between states, in tune with the way the OAS works, in order to achieve
common goals and overcome challenges in various areas. "The
Inter-American Network for Disaster Mitigation provides a forum to share
and exchange knowledge and practical experiences, so we can all learn
from each other and jointly work towards creating more resilient
communities,β said the senior OAS official.
In addition, Ambassador Ramdin said the OAS has a number of tools
and instruments to reduce risk and promote collaborative efforts such as
the Inter-American Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction (IACNDR)
which coordinates within the Inter-American system to address and
analyze situations related to natural disasters and others, including
the prevention and mitigation of their effects in coordination with
member states; with competent national, regional, and international
organizations; and with non-governmental organizations. Ramdin also
highlighted the progress made in strengthening coordination in this area
between the agencies of the Inter-American system and their UN peers.
For his part, the Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago
to the OAS and Chair of the Inter-American Council for Integral
Development (CIDI), Neil Parsan, said that disasters are experienced
almost daily that directly affect the lives of communities and human
development in those communities. In this regard, he noted that βit is
now well established that the extent and duration of the impact of a
disaster is a function of the level of preparedness and resilience of a
community, a city, or a country.β
In this regard, Ambassador Parsan called for more work to be done
on development policies to strengthen the capacities of countries to
respond to such problems. The diplomat suggested that states should
promote these policies, and as a very specific example, he indicated
that a farmer who is planting on steep slopes over buffer zones should
not be receiving incentives from the state. Instead, these incentives
should be tied to sustainable land management practices. He also said
the tax holidays offered to hotels should be tied to the extent to which
they protect priceless coastal assets, like coral reefs and mangrove,
which help attenuate the effects of storm surges and coastal erosion.
Meanwhile, the Chief of the Risk Management and Adaptation to
Climate Change Program, Pablo Gonzalez, related in his speech the
dynamics of the Third INDM Hemispheric Meeting, which will feature three
panels. The first panel will discuss the "Risk Management and Physical
and Environmental Planning,β the second will focus on "Risk Management
in Tourism," and the third on "Community-Centered Early Warning
Systems."
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