Thursday, March 5, 2020, 9:30 a.m.—10:30 a.m.

Wembley Centre of Excellence, Hayes, Clarendon

SALUTATIONS

•  Mr. Pearnel Charles Jr., Member of Parliament Elect
•  His Worship the Mayor Councillor Winston Maragh
•  Mr. Michael Pryce, Chief Technical Director, Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries
• Ms. Delores Wade, Director Multilateral Technical Cooperation Unit, PIOJ
• Global Project Officer, Ms. Rissa Edoo
• GEF SGP National Steering Committee Chairperson, Ms. Leonie Barnaby
• National Coordinator, GEF Small Grants Programme in Jamaica, Ms. Hyacinth Douglas
•  Members of the Media
•  Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning!

I would like to take the opportunity to welcome you to this occasion. Indeed, it is an important and insightful event which gives us an opportunity to hear and learn more about the Community-based Adaptation (CBA) initiatives which clearly have demonstrated the power and ability inherent in each community to harness its resources towards improving adaptive capacity to natural hazards and to increase their resiliency to the multiple effects of climate change. Empowering lives and helping nations become resilient to crisis lies at the center of UNDP’s mandate, and so we are especially pleased with the success of this CBA project in Jamaica. Enhancing resilience to climate change must be done at all levels and this project demonstrates the importance of realizing national level policy prescriptions at the community level where most of the action occur. Thank you all for being here today.

First, let me begin by extending my heartfelt congratulations to all the local implementing partners – our Grantees who are among us today. The UNDP Multi-country Office in Jamaica feels very privileged to be a part of this partnership between the Australian Government Overseas Aid Program (AusAid) and the UNDP-implemented Small Grants Programme (SGP), designed to enhance Climate Change resilience in 42 countries since 2012. Through this global partnership, Jamaica received about USD 300,000 to finance the community-based component of this project. The results of the project reflect its relevance in helping to address some key regional, national and local issues relating to climate change such as our susceptibility to natural hazards and disasters. This was clearly highlighted just recently by the impact of category five storm systems on neighbouring Caribbean territories, and Jamaica’s own susceptibility to drought, landslides and floods. These disasters cripple many vulnerable communities.

Climate change is undoubtedly a critical development issue for Caribbean nations, and it is therefore important for us to continue to develop medium to long terms plans and implement strategies geared towards climate change adaptation and mitigation. Initiatives such as this SIDS Community based Adaptation (CBA) project provide assurance to Jamaica that we are not alone in the struggle to combat the impacts of climate change.

Indeed, the CBA project combines the support of a generous donor country, Australia, with the resources of the GEF SGP to create a partnership that embodies and reflects the true spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals to which all member countries of the United Nations subscribe, especially SDG number 13 which focuses on climate action.

Notably, the CBA project aligns with key elements of the Vision 2030 Jamaica and through its various activities, the project contributed directly to:

·       Reduction of the vulnerability and improve the adaptive capacity and resilience of local communities to the adverse effects of climate change

·       Providing Jamaica with concrete ground-level experience with climate change adaptation

·       Providing clear policy lessons and mainstream CBA within national processes and up-scale practices across the island.

The CBA initiatives in Jamaica have also supported Government’s plans for promoting youth in agriculture and the Rural Water Policy, of which some elements are being implemented at both national and community levels.  I am particularly pleased that the design of the project was informed by key national climate change knowledge products such as Jamaica’s National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) supported by UNDP.

The focus therefore on Agriculture, Coastal Resources and Human Settlements, three of the five priorities identified in the National Communications is well placed to make a difference, and indeed it has, based on our reports.

To date, under the able leadership of National Coordinator Hyacinth Douglas, six full sized projects out of eight have been completed, positively impacting the lives of some 12,000 community members from St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, St. Catherine and St. Ann, including persons living with disabilities.

 More importantly, and good news for sustainability of the investment, initiatives under the SIDS CBA project in Jamaica have been replicated and upscaled at the local, national and regional levels by several local and international donor partners.

The project results underscore a point, proven time and time by the GEF SGP that, it does not necessarily take large investments to generate big results.  This programme clearly shows that small grants, strategically invested and supported by the community can secure big wins. Big wins also come when we listen to the communities and partner with them, ensuring that we are guided by their experiences on the ground.

An overview of the projects undertaken under the programme since 2012 indicates that access to water has made a big difference. Where water catchments and storage systems have been rehabilitated or installed, farming livelihoods, incomes and local economies have been resuscitated. I am especially encouraged by the words of Luzan Elliot, from Pleasant Valley: "We use to have to carry water pon our head for miles, especially when we have drought, but now we have our tank again. We know the hardships when we don't have water, therefore, we will take care of our water tank.”

We join the beneficiaries and the Government of Jamaica in extending our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Government of Australia for supporting this climate resilience initiative and look forward to the possibilities of scaling up activities to complement and expand on the successes achieved thus far.

Please accept my best wishes for productive deliberations. We look forward to receiving feedback which can be used to strengthen future programmes.