Enhancing Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean

Improving regional disaster preparedness through South-South Cooperation

Towards a Solution

The increasing frequency and intensity of disasters impact reinforces the need of implementing EWS and foster exchanges and collaboration among countries and linkages with regional institutions. Therefore, five countries in the Caribbean – i.e. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – set out to improve their EWS counting on technical advice from Cuba through South-South cooperation.

An effective early warning system contributes to resilience, reduces vulnerability, and minimizes the loss of life and economic impact of a hazardous event, playing a key role in disaster risk reduction in the Caribbean region. Therefore, it contributes to achieve the SDG target of 11.5 related to “reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected by disasters and decrease the direct economic losses relative to the global gross domestic product caused by disasters,” and SDG target 13.3 related to improving awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

This initiative aimed to increase access to EWS tools and knowledge o at the regional, national and local levels, through the development, improvement and adaptation of models, methodologies and toolkits. It is supported by two consecutive 18-month projects financed by ECHO and implemented by UNDP, in coordination with CDEMA and the IFRCD.

The project followed four key steps for effective South-South knowledge transfer: (i) Strengthening the capacities of the offering country (Cuba) to transfer knowledge, which included the systematization of the conceptual, methodological, technical and institutional aspects of the proposals (EWS Toolkit), the training of the technical experts on pedagogical skills and the establishment of coordination mechanisms among the Cuban entities involved; (ii) Defining the demand, based on gaps and needs assessments, whereby the countries requesting cooperation select the most suitable options from the Cuban EWS Toolkit and reached agreements on potential areas of collaboration; (iii) Preparation of solutions packages by Cuba and recipient country governments, including the definition of a Priority Action Plan (i.e. objective, activities, resources and budget), adaptation, implementation and transfer; (iv) Systematization and communication, to create and share knowledge capturing the South-South cooperation activities and offering them within and beyond the region.  

With Cuban Government support – which included training missions to Cuba, remote technical assistance, and implementation missions of Cuban officers – the requesting countries were able to carry out the following actions:

• Antigua and Barbuda developed the Common Alert Protocols (CAPs) digital tools, testing them through community simulations and drills.
• Dominica produced a hazards, vulnerability and risks study/methodology in the Rousseau River basin, while training an in-country technical team in this methodology.
• The Dominican Republic implemented numerical forecasting for flash flooding by using a free and open software.
• Saint Lucia produced a hazards, vulnerability and risks study for intense rains and coastal floods in the Dennery community, while training an in-country technical team.
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines promoted a volunteer river observers’ system, including community-based equipment and trainings.

Each action is innovative by itself and has leveraged pertinent knowledge among countries sharing similar contexts (e.g. weaknesses and need for capacity-building) and exposure to similar hazards. Furthermore, this promotes an important and growing trajectory of coordination and harmonization across the region.

This initiative has strengthened regional and national capacities in preparedness and prompt action. The five countries have advanced in policymaking and programming for early warning systems. Multiple stakeholders, including community members and vulnerable groups, were involved in the process, broadening the understanding and ownership of early warning and preparedness and integrating national and community levels.

Lessons learned from the South-South cooperation initiative undertaken in the Caribbean may contribute to the global knowledge pool. These include a precise definition of the demand, the packaging of the offer based on the “know how” and the adaptation of the tools to the local context and needs. The experience highlights the importance of carefully considering the key steps for effective knowledge transfer. Main challenges are related to the need of a results-based planning approach that measures the impact of the South-South cooperation initiative, the need for a sustained investment to promote sustainability and the institutionalization of the transferred capacities.