The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) through the Directorate for Disaster Risk Reduction, Environment and the Caribbean Sea (DECS), under the stewardship of the Director Ana Leticia Ramirez Cuevas, hosted a meeting with representatives of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) on May 9th 2022. Representing the UNDRR were Mr. Carlos Uribe, Risk Knowledge Program Officer and Mr. Jair Torres, Disaster Risk Reduction Advisor. During the meeting, the DECS and ACS discussed common focal areas and priorities that will lay the groundwork for a beneficial partnership going forward.

The mandate of the UNDRR was made clear in the meeting and the current initiatives in the region were discussed including important work in the development and coordination of disaster management networks, use of multi-hazard early warning systems, climate change adaptation and mitigation. The importance of partnering with regional partners such as the ACS was emphasized in order to fulfill UNDRR’s goals. Mr. Uribe and Mr. Torres shared important information about the current status of the UNDRR’s projects in the region as well as the challenges that have been observed so far.

Director Ana Leticia Cuevas Ramirez highlighted the fact that many of the priorities of the UNDRR align with the priorities of the recently approved ACS Plan of Action 2022-2028 and a partnered approach will definitely yield positive benefits to the region. It was clear that synergies and potential collaborations would be mutually beneficial for both organisations. Discussions were held regarding the ACS’ collaboration in upcoming meetings and workshops. The meeting was fruitful and lay the foundation for the development of joint actions and projects for the benefit of the Greater Caribbean region.

Members of the Directorate of Disaster Risk Reduction, Environment and the Caribbean Sea (DECS) and the Directorate of Cooperation and Resource Mobilisation (DCRM) participated in the meeting including Director Ana Leticia Ramirez Cuevas, Mrs. Cherisse Braithwaite-Joseph, Advisor- DECS; Mr. Lionel Michel, Advisor-DCRM; Ms. Christal Benjamin, Research Assistant –DECS; Ms. Luisa Capri Sanchez, Research Assistant – DECS and Mr. Johakson Moncada, Research Assistant -DCRM