The main challenges

Due to its geographic location, the Dominican Republic is highly vulnerable to the impact of adverse events triggered by natural hazards or by human intervention. The project entitled ‘Strengthening the organizational and functional structures of Disaster Risk Management in the Dominican Republic’ sought to help reduce vulnerability and exposure to these threats.

Implementing actors and responsibilities

The project was coordinated by the National Emergency Commission and the Directorate-General for Multilateral Cooperation and financed by the European Union. It was carried out through the coordinated effort of the leaders and technicians of over thirteen institutions that participate in the National Emergency Commission.

A comprehensive project executed through more than twenty different actions

Over twenty actions have been carried out to achieve the three expected results of the project. In order to help foster a culture of disaster risk reduction, a national capacity-building plan for disaster risk management was developed for the National School of Risk Management, with a five-year implementation strategy. The project has enabled the execution of forty percent of this Plan, which translates into 30 training courses for over 1000 relevant actors at the local and national level.

Part of the project entailed the creation and launch of the National Integrated Information System (SINI), which aims to organize and leverage data about threats, vulnerabilities and risks in order to gage the capacity for response of institutions charged with managing disasters.

At the regional level, a regional Caribbean meeting welcomed 170 participants from 15 countries to exchange experiences and foster regional connections, collaboration and cooperation.

In order to strengthen resilience and local disaster risk management capabilities at the municipal level, as well as to promote sustainable development in vulnerable areas, an analysis was made of the Prevention, Mitigation and Response Committees, and high-risk human settlements were evaluated and prioritized. Furthermore, seven community networks were created, trained and ratified: 3 in Santiago de los Caballeros; 2 in San Juan de la Maguana and 2 in San Felipe de Puerto Plata.

In coordination with the National School of Risk Management, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and the Caribbean University, over 121 evaluators were trained in safety indicators for critical infrastructure. They carried out practical evaluations of vulnerability, security and resilience levels.

An innovative country tool developed to determine security indicators for aqueducts was applied to 20 major aqueducts by simultaneous multidisciplinary teams including geologists, engineers, administrators and technicians from the service providers.

Additionally, in collaboration with the National Office for Siesmic Evaluation and Vulnerabilities of Infrastructure and Buildings, a standard methodology was designed and validated to assess the seismic vulnerability of infrastructure and buildings.

Promising results

Through its various actions and results, the project contributed to the strengthening, awareness, capacity building, equipping and empowerment of the actors involved in disaster risk reduction and of the institutions. This follows the Dominican government’s national policy, centered on territorial security with a sustainable, transformative and inclusive approach, to continue building a stronger and more resilient nation.

Project features

Year: 2014 – 2019

Implementing Agency: National Emergency Commission

Benefiting Zone: Dominican Republic

Funded by: The European Union through the Natural Disaster Risk Management Programme in the CARIFORUM.

Thanks to the State of the Caribbean Climate (SOCC) Report, Caribbean stakeholders and other interested groups now have access to a one-stop reference document for climate variability and change in the region to support planning and decision-making efforts.

The SOCC Report was prepared to strengthen the strategic planning and decision-making processes that will be required to accelerate resilience-building efforts in the Caribbean, specifically within the 19 Borrowing Member Countries of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). By providing significant climate data, information, analysis and references the SOCC Report should become the premise for actionable recommendations that will support climate proofing at national and regional levels.

A good base for future reports

The production of future updates will now be more easily and quickly accomplished. This has been the case for the State of the Jamaican Climate Report, from which the concept of a State of the Caribbean Climate Report was derived. Throughout the project, stakeholder feedback on the report has been very positive, confirming that the SOCC document is a valuable resource for the region. The production of future updates to the report will be vital to its continued relevance.

Interactive Climate Smart Workshops

The interactive Climate Smart Workshops continue to be one of the good practices and successes of the SOCC Project. The second Climate Smart Workshop was held 27-28 February 2020 in Nassau, Bahamas. The workshop was attended by approximately 26 Caribbean nationals (including workshop organizers and presenters), representing the following sectors: finance/economic development, tourism, health, and energy. While media coverage of the event was eclipsed by increasing focus on COVID-19, participant feedback was very positive. Attendees rated the workshop content and presenters as excellent and useful for their individual countries, sectors and work programmes. As part of the workshop, a public lecture, “Climate Matters”, was held on 27 February 2020.

Project features

Year: 2017 – 2020

Total cost of the project: € 568 339

Implementing Agency: Caribbean Development Bank

Benefiting Zone: 19 Borrowing Member Countries of the CDB

Cooperation and technical assistance:

Funded by: The European Union through the Natural Disaster Risk Management Programme in the CARIFORUM.