KINGSTON, Jamaica —Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda has commended Jamaica’s tertiary institutions for establishing a Higher Education Disaster Task Force (HEDE) in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

Samuda in a statement on Wednesday, described the initiative as a timely and essential step toward strengthening the country’s scientific research, policy planning and long-term resilience.

The task force includes experts from the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology, the Caribbean Maritime University and the Northern Caribbean University.

The minister said the collective action demonstrated the kind of national alignment required in an era of rapidly escalating climate shocks.

“I think it’s incredibly important that the universities have decided to launch this initiative. And I want to thank Professor Williams for your leadership on this matter, because it has to be understood that we’re not living in normal times, and it will require deep thought as we guide decision makers right across the public bureaucracy and certainly even policymakers”, Samuda said.

He emphasised that Jamaica is living through a four-year stretch marked by unprecedented climatic extremes.

“Many may not have paused to absorb just how much the patterns have shifted. In the last four years, we’ve had our hottest day on record. We’ve also had our wettest day on record. In that same period, we’ve experienced two tropical storms, a category four hurricane and a category five or six hurricane in Hurricane Melissa, all on the back end of Covid”, the minister continued.

The HEDE has been established as a collaborative, multidisciplinary mechanism to support Jamaica’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa and to strengthen national resilience to future climate-related disasters. Bringing together the combined expertise of Jamaica’s tertiary institutions, the HEDE provides a platform for scientific analysis, policy support and civic engagement in post-disaster response and rebuilding.

The minister stressed that the universities will also play a critical communication role.

“I shared with Professor Williams that a dedicated subcommittee will be necessary, one involving psychologists and social scientists, to study the psychology of change. Some resilience measures will require relocation in communities shaped by low trust, and by the historical traumas of slavery, colonialism and politics. That psychology of change must guide our decisions”, he explained.