KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) — The Disaster Risk Reduction Centre of the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) at the University of the West Indies has announced plans for new courses aimed at equipping policymakers across the Caribbean with the skills required to help make the region more adequately prepared for and resilient to disasters

The ISD said that with the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season beginning on today,  it will pilot the first of two courses as part of a new online Disaster Risk Management graduate programme.

It said the community-based Disaster Resilience pilot will be held from June 12-15 in Barbados while the Communications for Disaster Risk Management offering will be piloted in Jamaica, July 2-3.

Director of the UWI’s Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (DRRC), Dr Barbara Carby said that this initiative is a direct response to the pressing need for more effective and timely percolation of existing knowledge to those who can make a real difference in creating a safer and more resilient Caribbean.

“Globally, the problem has been that despite the mountain of accumulated knowledge, losses as a result of natural disasters have continued to mount,” she said.

She said one possible reason is the lack of a functional flow of information between the creators of new insights within the scientific community and those who create and implement public DRM policy.

“The fact that scientists are producing facts, data information, knowledge… does not mean that this is driven by policy or development needs.

“We might be producing something quite esoteric, which is great for theoretical knowledge, but in practical terms, nobody else really has an interest in it… so increasingly we must ensure that the research we do solves real problems,” she added.

The ISD said it was this clear gap that gave rise to the ‘Enhancing Knowledge and Application of Comprehensive Disaster Management (EKACDM) Initiative, a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada, and housed at the ISD. It is essentially a knowledge management project in which aims to facilitate the direct application of knowledge to improving DRM policy and practice.

Carby who is also Co-Principal Investigator of the EKACDM Initiative argues that apart from creating new and more directly relevant knowledge, success depends on a participatory and multi-disciplinary approach.

“What we need to do is create champions who will take the responsibility of translating that science to all the critical stakeholders to better secure the future of the region by making is more resilient to hazards, and ultimately minimizing the impact of natural disasters.”

One key function of the EKACDM Initiative is to support the implementation of the regional Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Framework 2014-2024 of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) by helping to train key personnel in the public and private sectors, and civil society groups.

At least 50 participants from across the region have been invited to participate in the review of the courses through the piloting exercise, the ISD said.