Following the devastation wrought on his Caribbean island home by Hurricane Maria, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Mr. Roosevelt Skerrit, is calling on the world not “to turn its back” on the problem of climate change and for greater investment in disaster risk reduction.

In a message for International Day for Disaster Reduction which is celebrated around the world on Friday, October 13, 2017, Mr. Skerrit says: “Both this year and last year all 72,000 people living on Dominica have been affected by disasters. Some have lost their roofs and livelihoods for the second time as a result of Hurricane Maria.

“The only way we can reduce the number of people on this island from being disaster affected is to build back better to a standard that can withstand the rainfall, wind intensity and degree of storm surge which we can now expect from tropical storms in the age of climate change.”

His message in full:

“Home Safe Home” is the slogan for this year’s International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR), and it resonates strongly with the Caribbean people who have just experienced hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

“Home Safe Home” is also a strong reminder that in 2017 millions of people around the world have been displaced by drought, floods, storms, wildfires and earthquakes. These events often deprive people of the ability to earn a living as well.

Today, thousands in Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Cuba, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are without a roof over their heads, and lack adequate access to water, schools, medical services, or roads. And too many are in mourning for lost loved ones.

Hurricanes not only destroy property and take lives, they leave psychological scars. The howling of the wind, the sound of a roof lifting; these are experiences many never forget.

The 2017 edition of the International Day for Disaster Reduction is about reducing the numbers of people affected by disasters, one of the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by UN Member States two years ago.

Both this year and last year all 72,000 people living on Dominica have been affected by disasters. Some have lost their roofs and livelihoods for the second time as a result of Hurricane Maria.

The only way we can reduce the number of people on this island from being disaster affected is to build back better to a standard that can withstand the rainfall, wind intensity and degree of storm surge which we can now expect from tropical storms in the age of climate change.

In Dominica, we aim to become the world’s first climate-resilient nation. We cannot do this alone. We need international cooperation.

We are among those countries which contribute least to climate change but over the last two years we have suffered the consequences of two devastating storms which have left us struggling to stay on the path of sustainable development.

More funding must be made available to vulnerable countries so that they can effectively mitigate the risks associated with such events.

Climate change is a hard reality for all of us here in the Caribbean.

On International Day for Disaster Reduction we ask that the world does not turn its back on this problem but starts to address it in a meaningful way through reducing greenhouse gas emissions and investing in climate action and disaster risk reduction for small island developing states where unique ways of life are in danger of extinction.

In the framework of the West African South-South Network on Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and Transparency, which was initially launched in October 2016 in Lomé, Togo, Senegal is hosting the second annual meeting of the Network, which commenced on Wednesday, October 11 to end on Friday, October 13, 2017.

The meeting is convening the two nominated focal points from each country member of the Network, a guest country invited to share its experience (for 2017, the Government of Morocco), as well as West African regional institutions and international organisations involved in the MRV/Transparency framework.

No fewer than 14 countries have taken action to be part of the Network and nominated focal point to the Network (one1 for the energy sector and one for the AFOLU sector). These countries include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Nigeria is being represented at the meeting by senior officials in the Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment: Ann Umar and James Okeuhie.

The ongoing meeting seeks to accomplish the following results:

• Develop an action plan for the Network which can provide short and long term benefits to its member countries by facilitating concrete opportunities for regional exchanges, peer to peer collaboration and improved capacity building on MRV and Transparency;
• Provide participants with a better understanding of the linkages between the existing MRV arrangements and the Enhanced Transparency Framework established under the Paris Agreement, which will be instrumental for the implementation and tracking of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs);
• Share success stories and lessons learnt on MRV from the West African region; and,
• Facilitate and support trust building among actors to enhance climate action and collaboration.

The meeting is being technically and financially supported by the UNDP/UNEP GSP and the Regional Collaboration Centre of Lomé (RCC Lomé).

With the Democratic Republic of the Congo depositing its instrument of accession on Wednesday, October 4 2017, the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety needs only one more instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to enter into force.

DR Congo has thus emerged the 39th country Party to the treaty, which requires a total 40 instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to enter into force.

Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said: “I welcome the accession of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Biosafety Protocol.

“I urge all Parties to the Biosafety Protocol that have yet to do so, to ratify the Supplementary Protocol as soon as possible. I also urge Parties to the Biodiversity Convention that have not yet done so, to ratify the Biosafety Protocol so that they can also become Parties to the Supplementary Protocol.”

Adopted in October 15, 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, the Supplementary Protocol to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety aims to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by providing international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress relating to living modified organisms.

The Supplementary Protocol will enter into force on the 90th day after the deposit of the 40th instrument of ratification, accession, acceptance or approval.

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is developing capacity building materials and undertaking a range of awareness-raising activities to expedite the entry into force and implementation of the Supplementary Protocol.

Opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and entering into force in December 1993, the CBD is an international treaty for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. With 196 Parties so far, the Convention has near universal participation among countries.

The Convention seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including threats from climate change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives and processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders including indigenous and local communities, youth, NGOs, women and the business community.

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing are supplementary agreements to the Convention. The Cartagena Protocol, which entered into force on September 11, 2003, seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. To date, 171 Parties have ratified the Cartagena Protocol.

The Nagoya Protocol, on the other hand, aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies. It entered into force on October 12, 2014 and to date has been ratified by 102 Parties.

According to the United Nations (UN), the 2017 International Day for Disaster Reduction campaign, which is being observed on Friday, October 13, seeks to raise global awareness about effective actions, policies and practices taken to reduce exposure to disaster risk at the community level, thereby contributing to saving homes and livelihoods.

The global body describes it as a considerable challenge which can be accomplished only through coordination, cooperation and collaboration among many stakeholders.

Last year saw the launch of the “Sendai Seven” campaign by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), centered on the seven targets of the Sendai Framework, the first of which is reducing disaster mortality. The campaign seeks to create a wave of awareness about actions taken to reduce mortality around the world.

The Sendai Seven Campaign, adds the UN, is an opportunity for all, including governments, local governments, community groups, civil society organisations, the private sector, international organisations and the UN family, to promote best practices at the international, regional and national level across all sectors, to reduce disaster risk and disaster losses. This year’s target is focused on prevention, protection and reducing the number of people affected by disasters.

At the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, the international community was reminded that disasters hit hardest at the local level with the potential to cause loss of life and great social and economic upheaval. Sudden onset disasters displace millions of people every year. In 2014, 19.3 million people were newly displaced by disasters. Disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change, have a negative impact on investment in sustainable development and the desired outcomes.

It is also at the local level that capacities need to be strengthened urgently, experts say. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is said to be people-focused and action-oriented in its approach to disaster risk reduction and applies to the risk of small-scale and large-scale disasters caused by man-made or natural hazards as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks.

The International Day for Disaster Reduction was started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every October 13, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.

By resolution 44/236 (December 22, 1989), the General Assembly designated the second Wednesday of October International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction. The International Day was to be observed annually during the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, 1990-1999.

By resolution 64/200 of December 21, 2009 the General Assembly decided to designate October 13 as the date to commemorate the Day and to change the Day’s name to International Day for Disaster Reduction. The objective of the observance is to raise awareness of how people are taking action to reduce their risk to disasters.