The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) signed a Letter of Agreement (LoA) recently, to join other regional agencies in a ground-breaking climate partnership being spear-headed by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH). Through the agreement, CARDI and CDEMA will be able to position the Caribbean’s agricultural / food security and disaster management sectors to become more adaptable to extreme climate events while enhancing various aspects of their operations.
The partnership, officially called the Consortium of Regional Sectoral Early Warning Information Systems Across Climate Timescales (EWISACTs) Coordination Partners, brings together lead regional agencies from climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, disaster management, energy, health, tourism and water) to develop state-of-the-art, tailored climate information that their stakeholders can use to manage drought, floods and wildfires.
Dr. David Farrell, Principal of the CIMH, which functions as the Secretariat for the EWISACTs Consortium, presented the LoA for signing to Mr. Barton Clarke, Executive Director of CARDI and Mr. Ronald Jackson, Executive Director of CDEMA, during CIMH’s 2016-2017 Dry Season Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF), which was held in at the Rex Resort in St. George’s, Grenada.
“The signing of this agreement is consistent with CARDI’s philosophy of engaging with partners for the provision of services to the regional agricultural community. Both of these are absolutely critical if we are to meet our food and nutrition security goals,” said Mr. Clarke.

Photo credit: Elisabeth Gawthrop / International Research Institute for Climate and Society
“CDEMA has long held the view that an investment into climate services, data and analytical processes to better understand the potential long range climate impacts as a very strategic one because it will enable all users of climate information to better plan for the present but adjust over time to meet the challenges of the future. We are therefore happy to be a partner with CIMH and CARDI and the other members of the Consortium in this initiative as it complements the priorities of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy.” said Mr. Jackson.
CARDI and CDEMA follow the lead of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) and the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) which have already signed on as Consortium Partners. In the coming weeks, the region’s lead public health agency, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is expected to formalize its membership.
Dr. Farrell noted, “The formal inclusion of CDEMA and CARDI in the Caribbean EWISACTS Consortium which was previously been signed onto by CWWA and the CTO/CHTA further strengthens the coordinated development and delivery of multi-sectoral climate services across climate sensitive sectors in the Caribbean. The sharing of resources, data, knowledge and know-how through the EWISACTS Consortium will support the development of a suite of climate products and services that will enhance policy and decision-making in climate sensitive sectors in the Caribbean as part of a concerted effort to enhance the climate resilience of the Caribbean.”
The agreement makes the Caribbean the first region globally to officially create and implement a joint commitment between climate-sensitive sectors and a climate services provider to build climate resilience. The Consortium of Regional Sectoral EWISACTs Coordination Partners is a multi-sectoral partnership established through the Programme for Building Regional Climate Capacity in the Caribbean (BRCCC Programme), a three-year project made possible through the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), executed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and implemented by the CIMH.
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