Transition to climate resilience mandatory says President Savarin

The President addressing parliament on Wednesday morning

Pointing to a series of major natural disasters suffered by Dominica in its short history as an independent state, the transition to climate resilience is mandatory for the island, President of Dominica His Excellency Charles Savarin has said.

He was speaking at the opening of the First Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament on Wednesday morning.

“This is mandatory for continued social and economic advancement of ourselves and of our country,” he said. “We must improve our capacity to withstand these catastrophic natural events which we are told are like to become more frequent and even more devastating and to mitigate the effect and recover more quickly if and when impacted.”

The President stated that the alternative would be what he called “retrogression with each and every event.”

“The government has taken the initiative in articulating the vision to make Dominica the first climate resilient country in the world,” he stated. “It is however incumbent upon each of us, whether at a household level, at the community level or within individual enterprises to play our part.”

He said in going forward, everyone must collaborate around a designated “climate resilient pathway for overall success and survival as a country and as a people.”

He noted that the question can be asked as to what exactly does the transition to a climate resilient country entails and how associated programs be implemented in practical terms.

“Conceptually, there is an inverse relationship between the vulnerability and resilience,” the President stated. “That is a decline in vulnerability means an increase and improvement in resilience. Accordingly, a society which is climate resilient as measured by the objectivity of the verifiable indicators is also a society whose vulnerability to weather-induced disasters or catastrophes is low. Not that in the real world of today vulnerability of any society or country to adverse climatic conditions can never be eliminated completely or quickly. Rather, the magnitude or extent of such vulnerability may be reduced or mitigated or alternatively, the adaptive capacity of relevant entities in the society may be strengthened.”

He stated that the resilience of the local economy and climate change resilience have “perhaps emerged as the pre-eminent challenge of the 21st century and hence the onus is on us both individually and collectively to address our own vulnerability urgently.”

“The problem is rooted in the phenomenon of global warming and climate change, the evidence on which indicates that the causal factor associated with global warming and climate change originated largely outside the Caribbean and specifically in industrialized countries,” he stated.

President Savarin said Dominica and other countries have essentially become innocent victims of “man’s assault on the environment.”

“That situation, notwithstanding, as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, Dominica has a responsibility to seek to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on its people and to devise strategies towards finding solutions to this problem,” he remarked.

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16 Comments

  1. July 26, 2018

    Dominicans don’t want any one to sit in large chairs in offices doing nothing, enough of the talks action is what we want and we will make it happen.

  2. Uncle
    July 26, 2018

    Transition? It is you that is in transition too Charles and don’t forget it. It can not be avoided so it must be mandatory also. Humble pie would buy you more respect before that time comes.

  3. Karl Orndem
    July 26, 2018

    Plant marijuana if you want to be resilient. Resilient homes, resilient health care, resilient bank accounts, resilient textiles, resilient agro processing etc. Marijuana – A resilient cash crop

  4. Paul
    July 25, 2018

    Garson cone out there ! We don’t even know if you alive .. u dus dere drawing money in a blasted state house. .wicked set of people

  5. RastarMarn
    July 25, 2018

    Aright so since that last disaster Mista dem been preaching from the same verse and scripture about what needs be done,,,

    It’s been a year and counting and up till now there is no strategic planning to be implemented for the bogus concept,,,

    Garcon as president and as a former Civil servant why don’t you start with revitalizing the Public Works department, both on the south and North of the Island to make sure they have enough Man power, equipment and a robust budget to tackle the disasters once they come!!!

    When wind start blowing there is nothing allyou can do to stop it but wait for it to stop so the next best thing allyou can do is to set Assets in place to deal with the devastation when it comes,,,

    Long Term: allyou need to think about relocating people from those riverbeds and washbasins they living in not just clean up the river but incentivize people to build more sturdy structures,,, “Duty Free” all forms of Building Materials!!!

  6. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    July 25, 2018

    “Pointing to a series of major natural disasters suffered by Dominica in its short history as an independent state, the transition to climate resilience is mandatory for the island, President of Dominica His Excellency Charles Savarin has said.”

    Savarin, stop being a hypocrite!

    You Charles a single individual has caused more damage to  Dominica in 1979 than all the preceding hurricanes prior to Maria. The damage you caused the country during the civil war which you instigated and overthrow your own labor party, ousting Patrick John; the damage you did set Dominica back a hundred years!

    What transition  to climate resilience are you talking about?

    What sort of scientific methods, and technology are you utilizing to effect this mandatory change? I submit to you  Charles there are no system of building you can use in Dominica or anywhere in this universe that can be considered resilient technology.

    If there was a maybe in that regard; America the richest nation on earth…

  7. jamie
    July 25, 2018

    Dominica is doomed,as long as you guys are in power,the foces of God will continue to batter the evil structure in place,More to come before the year is ended.

  8. Ibo France
    July 25, 2018

    Every thing adverse in recent times has been blamed on climate change. Although there is some element of truth that weather patterns are changing for the worse, man’s action is the predominant factor in global upheavals and sufferings. Greed, jealousy, hatred, selfishness, ignorance, vindictiveness and political strife have done more damage to this world, particularly Dominica, than any natural disaster. Astute leadership, practical solutions and more inclusionary strategies and policies must be the way forward if we are to make meaningful progress. We MUST endure that the HAVE-NOTS catch up to the HAVES, otherwise, there will be Hell to pay.

  9. FAKE NEWS
    July 25, 2018

    PLEASE PLEASE. FAKE NEWS

  10. Jonathan Y St Jean
    July 25, 2018

    On examination of the facts in the country, global warming only cannot be to blame for the dismal state of the economy and the physical infrastructure in Dominica. Look at our neighboring countries and see the strides they have made even if the threats and devastation of global is as real for them as well. The decline in the economy because of poor performance under Skerritt is what is responsible for the country, the economy, the infrastructure and services are in a dismal state. Losses in agriculture, failure to develop the tourism product, poor health sector services, the demise of the fledgling manufacturing sector, reduction of air access, high unemployment mass migration of skilled and trained personnel and on and on. Despite the fact that Dominica was hit by catastrophic storms, the foundation just wasn’t there to help the citizens help their country, but the heavy reliance on aid has meant that the country can’t pull itself up in times of great need. Look at our neighbors.

    • Ibo France
      July 25, 2018

      Mr. St. Jean, this is an excellent read. No one can honestly refute your argument. I’ve said the same things before in an ineloquent manner. I’m ecstatic to know that there are still erudite, forthright and courageous people like you still around to speak truth to power.

  11. %
    July 25, 2018

    More of the charade.From the political platform to the presidency.Climate resilient?When so many citizens are left out? Why not treat the opposition supporters as Dominicans?
    Where The Wicked Rule The People Mourn
    This is a Wicked and Evil Party

  12. Dumas
    July 25, 2018

    There is plenty of man-made assault right here in Dominica: dumping garbage everywhere, the ubiquitous use of polystyrene containers and plastic bags, no proper recycling, no vehicle emissions testing, chemical fertilizers and weedkillers such as Roundup. If we don’t deal with these things, climate resilience is meaningless and we are all a bunch of hypocrites.

    • Child if Itassi
      July 25, 2018

      @Dumas
      Your a-political comment is worthy of infinite “likes”.

      Here in Dominica, we enjoy luxuries like pesticides, computers, automobiles, TVs, cell phones, etc., but there is no long-term “environmentally safe” system in place for the disposal of these items.

      A Switzerland company Syngenta manufactured the weedkiller Gramoxone (Paraquat) which was and may still be used in Dominica even if it was banned in Switzerland.

      In the 70’s a spray plane and backpack sprayers were used to spray this poison in Dominica killing chickens, birds, insects and other farm and wild animals.
      Most if not all of the backpack sprayers (in Vieille Case) have died of cancer.

      Our current generation is having its cake, but our future generation won’t have any unless we do something now before it’s too late.

      His Excellency Charles Savarin used many big words, but said nothing on what we need to do to be climate resilient.

    • vrai den
      July 25, 2018

      What about the noise pollution, every vehicle blasting music morning, noon and night, everyone affected, no control, noise abatement is not in the duties of the police. The young, the middle aged, the elderly, sickly, all have to tolerate this abominable invasion on all.

    • Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
      July 26, 2018

      Dumas, there is no such thing as climate resilient. Charles of England, the one they called Prince, after Maria sighted Dominicans as a resilient people!

      Days before that clown Roosevelt Skerrit declared that ” Dominicans are invisible.” Where it pertains to human we all are all expendable. After Charles quoted the word resilient the clown Roosevelt declared Dominica will become the first resilient nation on earth.

      That is a very stupid notion, one can be determined and endeavor to build strong to withstand hurricane at greater magnitude, but there is nothing human hands can build that the forces of nature cannot destroy. Wind Flood Fire and Earthquake can destroy anything, no matter how strong the construction of what ever it maybe.

      Year in and year out hurricane, floods fire and tornadoes messes up some part of the  United States, the richest nation on earth, costing billions; do you hear this crap about  building resilient structures?

      In the developed world they build…

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