Premier Hon. Sharlene Robinson led a delegation to the CARICOM-High Level Donor Conference at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters on November 21, 2017 in New York. The objectives of the High-Level Donor Conference were to mobilize support and commitment of pledges, to help rebuild countries ravaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria and assist Small Island Development States (SIDS) with building resilience, given its inherent vulnerability.
The two-day conference explored how United Nation (UN) and CARICOM member states can cultivate a shared vision geared towards “Building a More Climate-Resilient Community”. The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) as a CARICOM associated member state, were provided the opportunity to deliver a presentation on the country’s recovery needs, priorities and recovery strategies following the impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Premier Robinson in her presentation to the United Nations and CARICOM under the theme Vision for A Resilient Caribbean – Building Partnership for Transformation said; “…Hurricanes Irma and Maria impacted all islands across the Turks and Caicos Islands. The immediate challenge apart from the provision of the basic human needs of food, water and shelter, were to restore communications- most essential in an archipelago, restore electricity, water, provide support to the hospital and to aid in the safe departure of tourists. Humanitarian Aid Critical assessments have shown that four to five feet of coastal erosion was recorded at the popular Grace Bay Beach. This paints a lucid picture of the adverse effects on our coastal environment, that is hinged on our main bread winner – Tourism. There is an urgent need to engage in coastal protection efforts. Humanitarian aid, particularly development action is also critical for the Turks and Caicos Islands at this time, CDEMA’s Initial Damage Assessment Report revealed that 80% of the housing stock was damaged due to the impact of Hurricane Irma. Five hundred and eighty (580) households across the islands received Levels 1 through 4 damaged to their homes (level 4 being totally destroyed).
Premier Robinson also leveraged the opportunity to encourage experts with strong technical experience in urban and land planning and building code application; particularly, roofing design to assist the Turks and Caicos Islands in our rehabilitation process. Premier Robinson asked the conference to volte-face traditional development principles, such as, “relief first and development later.”
Premier Robinson ended her remarks by saying; “Building back better is expensive, not an easily attainable goal, especially when a high percentage of our population have been adversely impacted with no insurance benefits. I urge all partners to honor your pledge to the 2030 Agenda commitment which states “leave no one behind,” and collaborate with us in achieving a proactive, climate-smart, community driven, bottom-up approach to a more sustainable and resilient Turks and Caicos Islands.”
The CARICOM-UN High Level Pledging Conference took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
