About CDM
CDEMA has developed and promotes the practice of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) as an innovative concept for reducing the risk and loss associated with natural and technological hazards and the effects of climate change to enhance regional sustainable development.
CDM is defined as the management of all hazards through all phases of the disaster management cycle – prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation - by all peoples- public and private sectors, all segments of civil society and the general population in hazard prone areas. CDM involves risk reduction & management and integration of vulnerability assessment into the development planning process.” (CDERA 2001, 2006).
In 2001 the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), through broad based Stakeholder consultations, adopted a Strategy and Results Framework for CDM. The goal was to link CDM to development decision-making and planning. Five (5) years after the embracing of CDM by the region there was the recognition that whilst significant progress had been made in the advancement of CDM at the regional level, there was unanimity among CDM stakeholders on the need for strengthening and deepening CDM mainstreaming at the national and sectoral levels.
In 2007, CDEMA, then the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), revised and enhanced the Strategy within a Results Based Management (RBM) Framework. The revised Framework was informed by a review of the baseline study for and expected results from the 2001 CDM Strategy and Results Framework. The assessment also concluded that governance structures needed to be re-visited as was the need to build community resilience and mainstream CDM into national and sectoral planning. In addition, a number of crosscutting themes were identified during consultations:
- Adaptation to climate change and climate variability
- Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development and their link to the MDGs
- Use of information and communication technologies in CDM
- Integration of gender issues in CDM
- Institutional Capacity and Institutional Support to the CDM process.
In 2013, CDEMA led broad based stakeholder consultations amongst CDM stakeholders to inform the development of the 2014-2024 Strategy and Framework. Findings from a review of the progress made on the CDM Strategy 2007-2012 were also considered. The goal of the draft CDM Strategy 2014-2024 is to realize “Safer, more resilient and sustainable CDEMA Participating States through Comprehensive Disaster Management”. This goal is supported by four (4) priority areas and sixteen regional outcomes as represented in the CDM Logic Model.
The priorities of the 2014-2024 CDM Strategy are Institutional Strengthening; Knowledge Management to support evidence based decision making; Mainstreaming of CDM in Key Sectors; and Building Disaster Resilience. These outcomes/results guide the mobilisation of resources by the CDEMA CU on behalf of the Participating States as well as the development of multi-year CDM Country Work Programmes within the Participating States.
Gender, climate change, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and environmental sustainability are cross cutting themes in the implementation of the CDM Strategy.
Noting the resource constraints within Caribbean SIDS, and recognizing that efficiency and effectiveness can be arrived at through the strategic joining up of national resources under a national resilience agenda, CDEMA is advocating for the harmonisation of indicators for DRR reflected within Global Agendas such as the Sendai Framework, the Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change Adaptation.
The CDM Governance Mechanism is a framework for promoting a structured and harmonized approach for the development and implementation of CDM programming in the Participating States of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). It facilitates opportunities for cooperative financing and collaborative programming in support of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the region. The governance of the CDM programming attempts to:
- Strengthen national, sectoral and regional partnerships through participatory management;
- Strengthen regional capacity for leadership in advancing the disaster loss reduction agenda;
- Enhance mainstreaming of DRR into sectors;
- Promote a programme based approach to the implementation of CDM;
- Minimize duplication of efforts; and
- Promote the efficiency of use of scarce resources
The membership of the CDM Governance Mechanism includes the CDM Coordination and Harmonization Council (CDM CHC) and Six (6) Sector Sub-Committees. Please see diagrammatic illustration below.
To date all the Sector Sub-Committees have been operationalised except the Finance Sector. It is noteworthy that members of the CDM CHC have established the following specialized sub-committees to support the work of the CDM CHC and the 6 sectors:
- CDM Database Sub-Committee
- CDM MER Framework Sub-Committee
- Gender Working Group
The CDM Coordination and Harmonization Council (CDM CHC) was established in December 2007 with the following key functions:
- The provide overall guidance to CDM development and implementation.
- To facilitate the effective coordination and harmonization of the CDM implementation process.
- To facilitate learning and knowledge management of CDM among key stakeholders.
Specific Roles and Responsibilities of the CDM Coordination and Harmonization Council
- Contribute to and provide recommendations for the development and implementation of a CDM monitoring and evaluation framework.
- To consider reports on CDM implementation and provide guidance towards sustainability.
- Identify and Provide recommendations for the integration of ongoing initiatives as well as planned initiatives that will support the achievement of the outcomes enshrined in the enhanced CDM Strategy
- Discuss and address issues and opportunities to further good governance of the CDM
- Nurture opportunities for synergies between development partners, participating states, representatives of the private sector, civil society and other relevant stakeholders responsible for the mainstreaming of the CDM strategy in development planning.
- Provide policy guidance for the maintenance of the CDM database to ensure effective sharing of CDM knowledge.
- Share annually with the CDM Programming Consultation meeting, progress on CDM implementation
- Identify a technical committee to support the planning process for the CDM Conference
The CDM Coordination and Harmonization Council comprise development partner representatives, sector leaders, participating states and private sector. The group will include:
- Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (Chair),
- Caribbean Development Bank (CDB),
- Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA),
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
- United States Agency for International Development (Development Arm and OFDA),
- United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID),
- European Union (EU),
- CARICOM Secretariat,
- Organization of American States (OAS),
- Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS),
- University of the West Indies (UWI),
- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO),
- Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO),
- Pan American Health organization (PAHO),
- Caribbean Electric Utility Services Cooperation (CARILEC),
- Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC),
- United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
- Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC),
- Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC),
- Four representatives of CDERA Participating States – one representative from each sub-region.