Training for the Development of Drought Management Policies
(ZIZ News) — A 4-day national training workshop on the Development of National Drought Management Policies and Early Warning Information Systems officially got underway on Tuesday at the Ocean Terrace Inn.
The workshop was organized by the OECS Commission’s Reducing the Risks to Human and Natural Assets Resulting from Climate Change (RRACC) project and the National Drought Mitigation Centre out of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Senior Environment Officer, June Hughes spoke of the Federation’s involvement in the RRACC programme and commended the OECS for facilitating the training.
“St. Kitts as well as our sister island Nevis has been participating in the OECS RRACC project for the last few years. Here in St. Kitts we focussed on water conservation and auditing as a means of preparing ourselves to adapt to the changes being caused by climate change,” she said.
She continued, “Last year we held a national consultation on the drought and one of the recommendations of the consultation was the development of a drought management policy. I am extremely pleased that the OECS has seen it a necessity to provide training to the development of drought management policies for its member states.”
Representative of the OECS Commission, Cornelius Isaac said as climate change is affecting all the member states, policies that lessen the problem are important, stating “there is a need for the development of policies strategies and plans to mitigate the impacts of drought as well as outline rules and responsibilities which would enhance our resilience too drought events.”
“This training is targeted at representatives from key national agencies responsible for the disaster management, water resources management, water distribution, climate monitoring and related disciplines,” he added.
The workshop is the third in a series which seeks to build a regional template that can be adopted by all member states.