Efforts underway to prepare National Physical Development Plan

A three-day workshop to begin developing a National Physical Development Plan for Dominica, got underway today.

Senior Project Coordinatior, National Land Use Project, Annie Edwards, said at its opening at the Fisheries Division Boardroom, that it is very timely and is the second phase of a project which started about 5 years ago.

She said the the workshop marks the beginning of Phase 2 of a National Land Use Project funded by the Caribbean Development Bank in collaboration with the Government of Dominica.

Phase 1 of the project was the Development of a National Land Use Policy (NLUP).  This NLUP was approved by Cabinet in May 2015 and provides direction for issues related to land use planning in the Commonwealth of Dominica. The National Land Use Policy sets the foundation for all land use decisions and describes how best to manage development to improve quality of life for Dominicans, through economic and social development, protecting human health and safety, and conserving the natural environment.

Phase 2 is the Preparation of the National Physical Development Plan (NPDP) and it will be guided by the NLUP.   It will provide government agencies with a comprehensive planning framework for the efficient and effective coordination of development programmes and projects. Donor agencies and financial institutions will be guided by a comprehensive spatial development strategy, project profiles, and an action plan. Investors and developers will gain an increased level of confidence from the development plan, to make strategic land use and investment decisions.

“This project is just starting today but it is a six months project,” she said. “The first phase was the National Land Use Policy…we had several consultations and the final document which is presented here is the policy, after we took a little time, about a year, before it was finally adopted by parliament, but in May this year the policy was adopted.”

According to her, when the planning department had the vision to start this project five years ago nobody anticipated Tropical Storm Erika.

“But now that it has come, it was just a simple storm, it wasn’t a hurricane…but had a devastating effect,” she explained. “It really exposed the vulnerability of Dominica to climatic events, to natural hazards.”

Edwards continued, “It exposed our planning systems; it exposed the weaknesses of the planning system. So now we really have to look at where we approve residential buildings. We also have to look at our setbacks from rivers, our setbacks from steep areas…”

She said a National Physical Development Plan is also critical in terms of the sustainable development of the country.

“Just the value that has been placed from the damage from the storm tells us that we need to be very conscious about sustainable development,” she noted. “If one small storm can cost us in excess of $1.2 billion then we really have to look critically of how we develop our country.”

“The work we are going to be doing this month which will be done a lot of discussions on the radio, discussions in the community, a lot of brochures, flyers, billboards… All this is going to come on stream from this month,” Edwards stated.

Meanwhile Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and Investment, Gloria Joseph, who gave the feature address, said the recent severe natural disasters we have faced have highlighted the island’s vulnerability.

“In 2004, if you recall we had an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 which caused extensive damage to structures in the north of the island… in 2011 we could also recall the heavy rainfall associated with hurricane Ophelia causing extensive and costly damage in some communities located close to rivers and ravines, and major landslides on steep slopes which have resulted in loss of life and property in some of the inland communities…,” she explained.

Joseph pointed out that government is fully aware that severe hazard events that affect Dominica magnify the effect of inappropriate land use practice that has been occurring prior to these events.

“Inadequate land use planning and development control have been considered as key factors which contributed to the extensive damage which was incurred,” she said.

According to her, in addition to the adverse impacts of climate change and climate variability, ecologically and environmentally climate sensitive areas are being degraded as a result of unregulated anthropogenic activities.

“And by this I refer to the impact on human beings, on the biophysical environment, biodiversity and other resources largely as a result of pollution of one sort or another.”

Joseph encouraged participants to maximize the opportunities at the workshop.

The workshop is facilitated by the consultants, Dillon Consulting Ltd of Canada in collaboration with the Physical Planning Division.  The Physical Planning Division has primary responsibility for ensuring the proper land use and spatial development of the island through integrated land use planning and management, and public education.   The operations of PPD are guided by the Physical Planning Act, 2002 (The Act).

Other development partners have also come on board with the project.  The OECS Sustainable Land Management Project will fund this workshop as well as the public awareness component which will consist of radio and television discussions, flyers, televisions commercials and a jingle.  This will take place over next six months.