Service Category: LEGAL REVIEW

Client:  Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)

Description:  Review and assessment of legislation and institutional capability for hazard mitigation intended to inform the development of hazard mitigation plans by broadly determining the existing level of national capability for hazard mitigation.  This process was a part of the Caribbean Hazard Mitigation Capacity Building Programme (CHAMP), which represents a continuation of efforts to strengthen national and regional capacity to address vulnerability reduction through hazard mitigation. The legislative review and institutional assessment was undertaken in the three (3) CDERA member states and CDB borrowing member states of Belize, Grenada and Saint Lucia.  The legislative review and institutional assessment for Grenada was carried out within the framework of the post-Ivan reconstruction programme of 2004 - 2005.  The process involved a review of existing laws relevant to hazard mitigation as well as consultations with a wide range of public, private, quasi-government and non-governmental organisations using questionnaire and interview survey methods.

Challenges: Institutional assessment was affected by the limited availability of documentation on existing and emerging policy initiatives, the low level of questionnaire responses and the limited quantitative data collected during the interview processes.  Also, there was limited involvement of the private sector in the assessment process, and the time frame for the conduct of interviews in each state was also limited.

Ecoisle Solutions: The consultative process needs to be strengthened through a refinement of the questions developed and greater participation from a wider cross section of stakeholder agencies in order to be an effective tool in the assessment of institutional capability.  The time frame allocated "in-country" for interviews should be extended, and it was recommended that CDERA creates or enhances communication channels between the national government agencies, citizens and businesses about opportunities and challenges that may arise in implementing hazard risk reduction measures. This heightened awareness should be used as a platform for participation in and feedback on legislative, institutional, financial, technical and political capability.  As a result of this exercise recommendations were made for the future conduct of similar exercises in other member states.