CARIBBEAN ENGINNEER AND ENVIRONMENTAL
CONFERENCE
Puerto Rico, September 2008
By Marcela Ramirez and Art Bradshaw
The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Engineers Office, with
collaboration from the U.S. Army War College Center for Strategic Leadership,
organized a successful 4-day conference to promote cooperation between USG,
Caribbean states, military leaders, civil authorities and the academic community on
environmental engineering issues and disaster response activities.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the conference were to:
 Use environmental security, environmental engineering and disaster
preparedness to build institutional capacities and create a lasting environmental
security cooperation program between Caribbean states and USG
 Provide a free exchange of ideas forum about how military/security forces can
work with civilian authorities to address environmental engineering and disaster
response issues
 Encourage cooperation activities between the military, governmental, nongovernmental, academic sector and international organizations to efficiently
manage their resources and enhance their environmental security capabilities
 Identify engineer and environmental barriers and find ways to overcome those
barriers for success
 Continue to foster a dialogue with a follow-on environmental security training
workshop to be developed in 2009
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The Caribbean Engineer and Environmental Conference was conducted at the El San
Juan Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 2-6, 2008, by the CSL and the Office of
SOUTHCOM Engineers, with the invaluable support of the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS) and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (UPRM).
The participants were representatives from the military and civil works agencies from the
following islands: Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad &
Tobago, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Puerto Rico. Bringing
all these people from the islands represented a success, considering the natural
disasters occurring in the region (due to Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna) and that it was
the first event organized by the SOUTHCOM Engineers office in the Caribbean after
years of a “dormant” environmental program due to office re-structuring.
Presentations by experts from the CSL, USGS, SOUTHCOM Science and Technology
Office, Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, and the Tropical Research Center from
the UPRM, provided a wide range of insights and collaboration ideas in the topics of
Environmental Security, Tools for Disaster Management, Environmental Engineering,
Indicators of Sustainable Development, and Natural Disaster Partnerships.
RECOMMENDATIONS BY PARTICIPANTS
Participants at the conference were divided in two working groups in order to share
ideas and experiences, and identify strengths and challenges regarding environmental
engineering activities in relation to natural and man-made disasters, and crisis
management issues.
Here is a compilation of relevant recommendations and comments from participants:
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It’s very important to have trained engineers to inspect and classify structural
damages after a disaster hits. The region has experience with prevention
techniques but there is a need for response and reconstruction techniques
During an emergency it is necessary to identify who will represent the
country/community in the chain of command
There is a lot of focus on how decisions are made but not much discussion on
what tools they have to make those decisions
Need to plan well and be prepared: get informed!!
Environmental issues have been recognized as a key area to be included in
decision-making process
All organizations need to reflect on how to better manage environmental threats.
There must be greater focus on disaster risk prevention vis-à-vis disaster
management; it is the key to being pro-active instead of reactive. Today’s
problems are tomorrow’s crises.
Collaborative efforts in environmental engineering and disaster management
should be a primary consideration for every nation; engineering activities must go
beyond “constructing something.”
Building partnerships is tantamount to resolving regional issues.
Lines of communications between commands must be clear during emergencies.
The Caribbean region needs to pay attention to other natural disasters beyond
hurricanes, such as earthquakes, pandemics and volcanic events.
It was also decided to use the PNN (Participating Nations Network) web site to share
information and best practices among participants.