A study of Jamaica’s preparedness for emergencies has recommended that more funding be provided for disaster management and that the roles of varying government agencies in the event of a disaster be clarified.

The study, while acknowledging that Jamaica has a clear operational, legal and institutional framework for the declaration of a disaster, advises that steps be taken by decision makers before and during a disaster should be better defined.

Organisation of American States Department of Sustainable Development consultant Judy Daniel on March 25 said there is a need for stronger budget appropriation for disasters in the Caribbean.

“It is in budget appropriation that you see the greatest weakness throughout the region, including Jamaica,” she told an awareness-building workshop for important stakeholders involved in disaster management in Jamaica.

Daniel indicated that because the Minister of Finance is responsible for the entire budget as well as the budget for disaster management, conflicts could result when funds are to be allocated.

“The finance minister authorises the payment of all monies (for disaster management) out of the consolidated funds, but it is that same finance minister who has responsibility for the disbursement of funds for the running of the entire country. There are pressing needs, but we are asking that he commit funds to something that may or may not happen,” she said at the Caribbean Emergency Legislation Project (CELP) workshop at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.

The OAS consultant, who is president of Environmental Advisors Inc, said despite the competing needs, disaster management should be adequately funded.

“He or she (the finance minister) should be motivated by the severity of what could occur,” Daniel said.

She also suggested that Caribbean countries consider relaxing their immigration rules to allow, for example, the entry of medical personnel in the event of a disaster. She also suggested that the laws concerning the disposal of dead bodies of humans be reviewed to allow for mass burial.

Daniel also said there was a need for a regulatory framework to examine media coverage, given the extensive reporting of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

“In Haiti we saw (on television) the disposal of human bodies in mass graves, yet in the United States there is a big discussion about that SeaWorld incident involving a single person as to whether the media should show what the whale did to her,” she noted.

She was referring to the death of a trainer at the SeaWorld attraction in Orlando, Florida last month after she was thrashed around by a killer whale. A judge granted an injunction from the trainer’s family for videos of the incident not to be shown or made public.

Daniel also called for the establishment of procedures for goods and services to allow for quicker delivery of emergency supplies into the island during a time of emergency.

Michelle Ann Williams, legal specialist in environmental law, policy and good governance told Environment Watch that the objective of the workshop was “to hear from stakeholders in legal and institutional framework as to what their roles are, and how they interact with each other in the event of a disaster”.

CELP focuses on 11 CARICOM member states and the Dominican Republic. The recent national workshop was the second, the first having been held in Grenada.