Executive Secretary for OAS identifies air travel as a serious threat to regional resilience, recognizes Dominica’s ‘impressive’ steps

Kim Osbourne

Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the Organization of the American States (OAS), Kim Osbourne said the experience of air travel in the Caribbean poses a serious threat to the region’s resilience and thus must be speedily and irrevocably addressed.

She made the comments while delivering remarks at the Conference on Building a Science and Data-Based Agenda for Decision-Making on Resilience in the Caribbean.

“I thank all of you who have travelled near and far to share your intellect and expertise with us,” she said. “Drawing from our experience at the OAS  in arranging air travel for many of you, and your own experience in getting there, I wish to say that the experience of air travel in the Caribbean poses a serious threat to the region’s resilience and thus must be speedily and irrevocably addressed.”

According to Osbourne, at the OAS it is very clear that what is being embarked on today is more than an event, but rather a first step towards fashioning a cooperation framework, an action program for the establishment of a support system to help Caribbean countries to routinely use data and science in decision-making that leads to social, economic and environmental resilience.

Additionally, recognizing the compounding challenges and shocks routinely being faced by the region, “we decided to adopt a multi-hazard approach.”

She pointed out that the Covid-19 Pandemic has reinforced these essential points.

“That resilience building must be embraced as an evidence-based, decision-making process including governments, social partners, and citizens,” Osbourne explained. “Resilience will not be achieved by any of these actors acting alone and if citizens are not resilient governments and the private sector will remain vulnerable and vice versa.”

She explained that this technical conference was conceived as far back as 2018 after an active and destructive Hurricane season that affected several countries in the Caribbean including Antigua & Barbuda, and Dominica.

In the wake of that experience, “we began to think anew the ways in which the OAS could assist the vulnerable member-states of the Caribbean to break the cycle of disasters caused by hazard events and other external shock and move towards resilience.”

She said two complementary interventions were decided upon.

“A project to help build the resilience of small tourism enterprises and the technical conference aimed at fashioning a regional program and framework to improve the use of science and data in decision-making for resilience and sustainable development,” Osbourne explained.

Meantime, she stated that Dominica has made impressive and incredible steps to move beyond the rhetoric on resilience towards institutionalizing a culture of resilience at all levels of society and in all sectors of its economy.

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14 Comments

  1. Misguided
    October 23, 2022

    This is the misguidance by people in position the ordinary residents look to for credible information. My lady with all due respect if you are listening to the government of Dominica or you are reading their wonderful presentations on Resilience then forgive me it’s just a pretty picture that’s painted.
    Dominica is far from Resilience they talk the talk to impress the world but they are even more destructive than the natural disasters. Please Madame visit the country on your own don’t let government operatives take you to places they want you to see. You will see a completely disheartening picture of the Nature Isles of Dominica. Same OAS who observed and said there were no irregularities in the Stolen elections

  2. Lin clown
    October 23, 2022

    Despite what the jealous,crooked,traitors say or do more people are in,and will visit Dominica for the festival.And that is what they cannot stand.Dominica is marching on.Boy look people,to see the lies of the other side.We have nothing to show or prove to Ibo.

    Hot debate. What do you think? Thumb up 2 Thumb down 11
  3. Lin clown
    October 23, 2022

    What the haters has to do is take the thousands of diasporans around the island and show them,nothing is happing in Dominica.

    Hot debate. What do you think? Thumb up 2 Thumb down 9
  4. tom
    October 23, 2022

    Can somebody tell what the hell this lady was going on about. I have no idea. Perhaps someone could enlighten me.

    Hot debate. What do you think? Thumb up 5 Thumb down 3
  5. Ibo France
    October 22, 2022

    I didn’t do any proofreading so my first comment on this news item was replete with errors.

    It has become the norm that many officials from long established, and well revered international organisations, come to this part of the world, giving oral bouquets to these underperforming governments for ghostly accomplishments. This is a perfect example.

    Roosevelt regime is impressive for its implementation of climate resilient measures? Where is the beef? There is not even a skeleton of evidence of this.

    That is just a horrific distortion of reality. Look at the many polluted rivers, the poor drainage in most communities, and the destruction of the once pristine environment. Is joke this lady joking.

    • October 25, 2022

      You are the one distorting the truth and making a fool of yourself. No matter how had you try, Skerrit is here to stay. My best advice to you is to exile yourself somewhere far, far away so we will not here about you anymore. Good Riddance. Lennox has fallen; you need to fall as well.

  6. Lin clown
    October 22, 2022

    What Ibo believe or doesn’t believe is not important.For 22 years this ahole has not been believing anything positive in favour of Dominica.The thing is,these people think Dominicans are fools.

    Hot debate. What do you think? Thumb up 3 Thumb down 7
  7. Lawyer
    October 22, 2022

    Meantime, Osbourne stated that Dominica has made impressive and incredible steps to move beyond the rhetoric on resilience towards institutionalizing a culture of resilience at all levels of society and in all sectors of its economy.
    Madam Executive Secretary, were exactly has Dominica made these ‘impressive’ and ‘incredible’ steps??? Talking about move beyond the rhetoric! Man these people make you laugh. I wonder how much they getting paid to talk this utter nonsense? P.S.: talking about economy, Dominicas economy consists to 90% of passport selling. So the selling of Dominican passports is resilient now? You see the BS these people talk! If ever I’ve heard rhetoric this statement from this woman must be on number one.

  8. Ibo France
    October 21, 2022

    Correction:
    * to be misled
    *coming from a sojourner passing through ………

  9. Zandoli
    October 21, 2022

    The governments can immediately make it less costly to travel within the region by eliminating taxes and fees on airline tickets that originate and end with the region.

    Those geniuses think they can raise all kinds of revenue by taxing the hell out of an airline ticket, not realizing they are slowly killing the industry.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 2
  10. Ibo France
    October 21, 2022

    After reading the last paragraph of this article, I feel compelled to ask: Where is the evidence of resilience in Dominica? Why this misguided lady did not give concrete examples of this? She just gave a broad, general, vague statement to impress the do-nothing, totally clueless, despotic administration.

    I stubbornly refuse to misled by empty rhetoric, more particularly, coming from a so journey passing through the country for a few hours.. Bring the empirical data to convince me. These people have on credibility.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 7
    • Realist aka Expat
      October 21, 2022

      Ibo France, you beat me to the punch; I was thinking the very same thing. I was expecting evidence in the form of examples . Furthermore, due to the topic that is being discussed I expected reference made to Dominica’s proposed international airport.

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 3
      • Ibo France
        October 24, 2022

        Fully agreed! These foreign dignitaries do no serious research to ascertain the veracity of the relevant subject. They just accept as the irrefutable truth whatever is told to them from biased, governmental sources.

        Have you realised that lies have become the norm in society today? Verify before you trust any statement especially of a political nature. Truth is sidelined with any thing to do with the Roosevelt dictatorship.

    • Juanita
      October 23, 2022

      After reading the last paragraph of this article, I feel compelled to ask: Where is the evidence of resilience in Dominica? I have been asking the same question. Methinks there is a serious need for some across the board “Resilience therapy.”

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1

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