The Island nation of Grenada is now the eighth country in the Caribbean to join ARISE, theย United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reductionโs (UNDRR) Private Sector Alliance forย Disaster Resilient Societies. In the Caribbean, global warming has increased the chance of devastating hazards and prompted the need for improved disaster risk reduction.
The Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce expressed that strengthening Grenadaโsย Private Sector is key to building a more resilient society, better prepared to face disasters. The hope is that by joining the network, Grenada will be able to strengthen capacity and better utilize resources to implement disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies.
Emmanuel Duncan, President of the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce, saysย โCreating a local ARISE network will help companies make risk-informed businessย investments and better factor risk into regulatory and institutional frameworks.โ Duncanย continued by stating โThe Grenada Private Sector will have the knowledge and tools to reduceย disaster risk and strengthen resilience through increased response prevention and recovery.โ
The ARISE initiative is designed to build risk-resilient partnerships between stakeholders and the private and public sectors to meet the targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Riskย Reduction 2015-2030. The Sendai Framework emphasizes the role of the Private Sector in applying business strategies that reduce and prevent risk creation and support recovery from disasters. This will ensure that the communities in which they operate are more economically,ย socially, and culturally resilient.
This year has been particularly difficult for the Caribbeanโs private sector. Alongside the annual hurricane season, it has also had to confront the challenges of the COVID-19ย pandemic. Businesses have been hard hit and many companies are now trying to rebuild their customer bases, supply chains and distribution networks. On the flipside, the crisis has provided an opportunity for the Private Sector to reevaluate its resilience. It has also been aย chance to revise National and local disaster risk reduction strategies.
The Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce has committed to broadening the ARISEย network membership in Grenada, educating stakeholders about disaster risk reduction and collaborating with them to create a more disaster-resilient Private Sector. The work of theย ARISE network could substantially impact the way economies develop in the Caribbean region. Sharing best practices and collaborating on initiatives can reduce the overall cost of implementing Disaster Risk Reduction strategies.
Raรบl Salazar, chief of the UNDRRโs Regional Office for The Americas and the Caribbean,ย highlighted the importance of developing private sector alliances and networks to help give the region the structure and the knowledge it needs to move forward. โDRR is a mechanism to promote sustainability, productivity, innovation and growth. It goes far beyond having aย damage and loss insurance,โ said Salazar.
UNDRRโs activities for Private Sector engagement through ARISE has been supported by USAIDโs Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance (USAID BHA).
