In response to the long recognised need to develop in the region multidisciplinary training and research in disaster management and risk mitigation, the University of the West Indies on Friday, July 8, 2005, launched the Centre for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction which will provide the requisite training and technical expertise to complement the work of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA).
One of the first actions undertaken by UWI Vice Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris when he assumed office on October 1, 2004 – two weeks after the passage through the Caribbean of Hurricane Ivan – was to assemble a UWI Hurricane Relief Task Force. All staff throughout the University was canvassed to determine their area of expertise, in the context of disaster management and mitigation and their willingness to participate in the work of the Task Force. The UWI was thus able to respond rapidly and effectively, in lending technical assistance to the worst affected island, Grenada.
The establishment of the Centre will provide an institutional mechanism for harnessing this capacity at the UWI and using it to develop and implement training, research, advisory and outreach services to enhance disaster management and mitigation in the Caribbean region. This development was welcomed by those present at the launch, including Dr. David Smith Programme Specialist for Environmental and Disaster Management, UNDP, Dr. Wayne Henry Liaison for the World Bank in Jamaica and UWI Pro Vice Chancellor for Research, Professor Wayne Hunte, who spearheaded the compilation of the technical database. Vice Chancellor Harris declared that this would become yet another UWI Centre of Excellence that responds to specific needs of its stakeholders and would provide the training and certification needed by the Caribbean Disaster Management community.