RECAP: Official launch of UNDP’s GUY-DOM Week of Activities

Strengthening the disaster management capacity of women in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Commonwealth of Dominica (GUY-DOM Project)

Under the theme ‘Preparing communities today for disaster resilience tomorrow” The UNDP GUY-DOM project officially launched its Week of Activities this morning, to bring to the public’s focus some of the project’s achievements to date.

Officiating at the Opening Ceremony were Mr. Ugo Blanco, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Barbados and Eastern Caribbean; Mr. Yasuhiko Kamada, counsellor, Embassy of Japan for the Commonwealth of Dominica; Honorable Fidel Grant, Minister of Green and Blue Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security; and Ms. Sawana Fabien, Project Coordinator.

At the Opening Ceremony transmitted virtually, by UWI TV, minister Fidel Grant, referenced Dominica as working towards becoming the first a climate resilient country in the world and reasserted the country’s commitment to the Paris agreement:

Dominica is firmly committed to living up to the commitments of the Paris Agreement. The 2030 Agenda is about transforming our world for the better. Combatting climate change and building a climate resilient society is a task to which Dominica is committed. As a country we are working to become resilient. This means we are contributing to building a world where each one of us embraces the challenge of pursuing sustainable development. The reasoning behind this is obvious: in order to eradicate poverty, we must build resilience and reduce environmental degradation.

Disaster risk reduction remains high on the country’s development agenda as it speaks to our survival as a nation.…Dominica is committed to continue to be an active world partner within the disaster

risk reduction system, helping to build resilience of our people and be an example to the rest of the world in years to come. Fidel Grant Minister of Green and Blue Economy Agriculture and National Food Security

In his remarks the UNDP Deputy Resident for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Mr. Blanco pointed to the disaster vulnerability of Caribbean island states and the differential needs of women and men within this vulnerability spectrum

As you are aware, Climate Change, coupled with dependent economies, fragile ecosystems and livelihoods, and the small populations of Caribbean islands make them extremely vulnerable to hazards; and this has immense implications for both their economic resilience and sustainability.

In this context, differential vulnerabilities and risks for women and men in this sector has especially been of the concern due to the disproportionate impacts experienced by women. Men’s and women’s unequal participation in agriculture becomes more evident when measuring the disproportionate access of women to land, credit, extension services and other productive assets, and gendered occupational segregation and differential wages.

It is imperative therefore that they are targeted interventions like this project to help narrow the differential impacts of both men and women and more importantly increase resilience to hazards.

Of paramount importance is also the design of policies and programmes that provide protection for women and other vulnerable groups in the event of hazards. This protection can include the provision of access to financing, insurance, land ownership and customer focused banking services. Adaptive social protection systems and income support mechanisms that respond adequately to shocks, will become increasingly important to ensure that the most vulnerable women and men in island-states can prepare for and recover from disasters.

He also located the project’s contribution within UNDP’s overall work in Dominica:

Within the wider context of UNDPs commitment to support Government of Dominica achieve its objective of becoming the first climate resilient country in the world …

In Dominica specifically, which houses our largest programme within the region, the focus remains on the blue economy, resilience building, biodiversity, digital transformation and agricultural development. This is managed through our Dominica Office which was established in 2017

The dedicated UNDP team who will continue to support Government’s reconstruction and climate resilience agenda in the framework of the Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan and the 2030 National Resilience Development Strategy.

Mr. Blanco expressed gratitude to the donors and government partner:

I want to express sincere appreciation to the Government of Japan for entrusting UNDP with the implementation this initiative in collaboration with the government of Dominica. I know this project is just one example of your continued development investment in the region which is very much valued and appreciated. To our government partners particularly the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and the Gender Bureau, our progress to date has only been possible through your strong leadership, engagement and guidance and I am confident that this partnership will be further enhanced throughout execution of this initiative.

The Councilor of the Embassy of Japan for the Commonwealth of Dominica, Yasuhiko Kamada, in his remarks that the Japan emphasized Japan’s commitment Dominica as it seeks to build resilience against disasters.

…This project represents another example of Japan’s commitment to development cooperation with the Commonwealth of Dominica.Japan understands the importance of upgrading disaster management and strengthening resilience, and we profoundly recognize the need to support Dominica and our other partner countries in the Caribbean, and will continue to render our support.

In her opening remarks project coordinator, Sawana Fabien, explained the project’s purpose

Strengthening national recovery frameworks, disaster preparedness, climate and community resilience is a part of that work, as is supporting women in their proactive role in emergencies. In so doing, communities are better able to protect against losses while simultaneously, bolstering economic growth, creating jobs, improving livelihoods, and ensuring that no one is left behind.

And offered this explanation for the focus on women

……although this project does not exclude men it focuses on women because it is recognized that women play a pivotal role in disaster management. For women, their contributions are often taken for granted, often become invisible and so their needs are not factored sufficiently in planning and implementation.

Hence on this project the specific and predetermined interventions pertaining to all three outputs –are gender inclusive, gender responsive and include a measure of gender mainstreaming.

Ms. Fabien shared some project accomplishments

…. the project’s key accomplishments through two intentional approaches, which are: building strong partnerships and reaching our beneficiaries in creative ways.

Output 1 – Disaster Preparedness

The project is supporting the expansion of hazard monitoring equipment to strengthen Early Warning Systems for Multi-hazard alerts. As of last

quarter the Dominica Meteorological Service and the Lands and Survey Division have been direct beneficiaries of hydrometeorological and geotechnical monitoring equipment.

With the partnership of CIMH and UoR, 327 farmers from the communities within the project’s target have been trained utilizing the knowledge of the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) tool facilitated by their extension officers.

Output 2 – Mitigation and Adaptation

A number of PICSA Trained farmers have received inputs and commitments of up to US$ 500 each

As of November, the project has sent out a call for proposals from qualifying women-led groups and cooperatives. Each of these qualifying groups can apply for up to 10,000 USD to support sustainable, climate resilient practices in agriculture.

Thirdly in partnership with Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) a gender Response Microfinance revolving fund has been developed and proposed for implementation. It offers a soft loan to beneficiaries to scale up their farming business or diversify into agribusiness projects.

… The Value Chain component of the project focuses on creating new markets, and linking farmers to existing ones, while assisting farmers with brokering relationships for enhanced market access of produce and value-added product.

The Opening Ceremony was moderated by Ms. Dionne Durand

The week of activities continues tomorrow with three planned activities: a radio phone in programme to discuss Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction, delivery of tools to trained farmers and an evening panel discussion on microfinance, value chain and Climate Smart Agriculture. Other highlights of the week are: a Champion Farmer’s Competition, a photographic exhibition a radio programme and panel discussion

The GUY-DOM is proud to partner with the following international partners

• Inter-American Institute of Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA)
• University of Reading (UoR)
• Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH)
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and national partners
• Bureau of Gender Affairs
• Climate Resilient Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD)
• Cooperative Development Division
• Department of Local Government and Community Development
• Division of Agriculture including the Agricultural Extension Unit
• Dominica Meteorological Service
• Dominica National Council of Women
• Forestry Division
• Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
• Ministry of Social Services, Family and Gender Affairs
• Office of Disaster Management

The GUY- DOM project is administered by a small team of 4 – Sawana Fabien, Project Coordinator; Sharon Vidal, Project Associate; Curticia Wade, UN Volunteer; and Ezra Blondel, Gender Analyst.

For more information on the week’s activities contact Ms. Sawana Fabien at [email protected] or Visit our UNDP Dominica Project Office Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UNDPDominica

View the dedicated DNO UNDP GUY-DOM project page here: https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/undp-guydom-page/