JAMAICA
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES AND
PREVENTION OF DISASTERS
XXIV GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MINISTERS OF HOUSING AND URBANIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE
CARIBBEAN (MINURVI) – MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA– AUGUST 25-28, 2015
OBJECTIVES

Definition of Sustainable Development
(What defines Sustainability?, Sustainable Communities, Prerequisites
etc)


What are the factors influencing Sustainable
Communities? (Economic, Social and Environmental)
Highlighting and examining the natural threats to
sustainability of communities in Jamaica. (Vulnerability,
Natural Hazards and Disasters)

Disaster Prevention (Methods, Planning, Response, Recovery)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Development which meets the needs of
the present generation without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
This generally requires:
(1) Economic growth
(2) Protection of the environment
(3) Sustainable use of ecological systems
(NSTC 1996, 4).
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
Disaster-resilient communities that minimize the
exposure of people and property to natural disasters
(Beatley, 1998, 243).

Where people and property are kept out of the way of
natural hazards, where the inherently mitigating
qualities of natural environmental systems are
maintained, and where development is designed to be
resilient in the face of natural forces” (Godschalk,
Kaiser, and Berke 1998, 86).
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
Sustainability is related to the quality of life in our
communities.
This requires an integrated view of economic and
social activities in relation to the environment.
Activities at the community or other level should not
take place at the expense of the environment, as the
environment is the base upon which communities are
built.
 Sustainability has been embraced around the world
and is increasingly a consideration at all levels of
planning and decision-making – local, regional and
national.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
[EDUCATION
AND
PARTICIPATION]
The importance of participation by residents in local
governance cannot be overstated [Environmental Action
(ENACT) Programme, 2001].
The sustainability of a community depends on:

Creating and maintaining its economic and environmental
health

Promoting social equity

Fostering broad-based citizen participation in planning and
implementation.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
WHAT CONSTITUTES SUSTAINABLE
There
are
three
communities:
1.
Economic
2.
Social
3.
Environmental
(3)
tenets
COMMUNITIES?
of
sustainable
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
Social
Economic
Communities that are
resilient to natural
disasters are those that
involve the participation
of residents in the
planning and decision
making processes.
Economic base provides a
platform for mitigation of
disasters. The basic economic
value underlying sustainable
communities is the desire to
preserve and enhance a
community’s capital assets. A
community’s capital assets
increase the capability to remain
viable in the face of shocks.
Sustainable
Communities
Environmental
A healthy environment is
critical to disaster prevention
as disasters are sometimes
feedback from environmental
abuse by humans. A healthy
environment involves minimal
ecological impact, minimal
waste or pollution, protection
and enhancement of the natural
environment .
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES AND SUSTAINABLE
SYSTEMS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Sustainable communities are built upon sustainable infrastructure and sustainable
systems. Sustainable systems refer to the political, governance, and social
structure which provides the basis for community development, while sustainable
infrastructure refers to physical structures such as land, roads, sewerage facilities,
etc. which should not only be built to serve the present generation but those to
come.
NATURAL DISASTERS
Natural disasters can have catastrophic impacts which may be economic,
social and environmental. Damage to infrastructure can severely impede
economic activity. Social impacts can include loss of life, injury, ill health,
homelessness and disruption of communities. Environmental damage can
range from the falling of trees to the reshaping of entire landscapes.

Small island developing economies are often particularly exposed to
natural hazards for fundamental reasons of geography.

Access to resources influence how each will be affected by different
hazards, and how they will cope with and recover from disasters.
Worldwide, loss of life from floods, earthquakes and storms is far higher
among less developed countries than in developed nations.
VULNERABILITY OF SMALL ISLAND
DEVELOPING STATES [SIDS]
The inherent features of SIDS leading to their special vulnerability
includes;

Small physical size,

Ecological uniqueness and fragility,

Rapid human population growth and high densities,

Limited natural resources, sensitivity and high exposure to natural disasters

Susceptibility to climate change,

Poorly developed infrastructure and limited capacity.
As a consequence, the effects of hazards present in these areas of the world are more
pronounced and cause greater damage. It is this greater tendency for damage that sets
SIDS apart from most other countries. The greater vulnerability of SIDS, in turn, translates
into greater impediments to Sustainable Development.
THE CARIBBEAN AND JAMAICA’S
VULNERABILITY TO DISASTER
The natural environments of Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) are vulnerable to a range of natural and
anthropogenic (human-induced) hazards that operate to
damage at rates and intensities above those found
elsewhere around the globe.

The Caribbean region because of its geographic location is more
susceptible to storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and in some few and
rare instances volcanic activity.
EXAMPLES OF IMPACT OF NATURAL
HAZARDS IN THE CARIBBEAN
Haiti suffered a catastrophic magnitude 7
earthquake in 2010 leaving as many as 316,000
dead and up to 1 million homeless
 On the 25th of July 1997 an eruption of a
volcano at the Soufriere Hills sent ash up to
40000 feet in the air with pyroclastic flows. As a
result of this volcanic activity
 Just recently Kick ‘em Jenny marine volcano was
active impacting the waters surrounding
Grenada and St. Vincent and affecting the
movement of ships in the water

JAMAICA
According to the Environmental Vulnerability Index, Jamaica is ranked as one of
the 35 "extremely environmentally-vulnerable“ countries in the world.
The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in 2010 stated that Jamaica is one of
the most vulnerable countries in the world to two or more natural hazards by
virtue of its geographic location, small size, topography and geology among
other things.
The country has been devastated by numerous hydro-meteorological events,
amounting to millions of dollars in damages, loss of lives, and reduction in
economic growth.

During the last decade the country has experienced ten major events with farreaching impacts, affecting approximately two million people and causing
approximately $US 1.21 billion (PIOJ, 2010).
JAMAICA
10 YEAR DISASTER RECAP
Nature of Event
Year
Cost of Damage
(JA$)
# Roads
Affected
# Communities
Affected
Casualties
Tropical
Depression Nicole
2010
20,573,500.00
189
130
48
Tropical Storm
Gustav
2008
15,051,000,000.00
151
76
12
Hurricane Dean
Port Maria Rains
2007
2006
23,000,000,000.00
48,862,500.00
269
9
169
24
4
-
November Rains
2006
533,200,108.00
17
93
-
Hurricane Emily &
Dennis
2005
5,976,910,000.00
14
15
1
Hurricane Wilma
2005
3,419,202,845.40
90
106
1
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Charlie
2004
2004
35,900,000,000.00
248,912,460.00
111
-
177
-
17
1
May-June Rains
Tropical Storm
Lili & Isidore
2003
2002
203,347,750.00
840,394,883.00
-
27
185
0
85,242,404,046.40
850
1002
84
TOTAL
JAMAICA
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO VULNERABILTY AND IMPACT

Population growth,

Uncontrolled urbanization

Rural and urban poverty resulting in the development of
unplanned
settlements
on
marginal
and
environmentally
sensitive lands (flood plains and unstable slopes.
The most vulnerable to disasters are the poor living in informal settlements which occupy
poorly drained coastlines, and flood fringe and unstable hillside terrain. They also create
damages to environmental resources, frequently leading, for example, to the degradation
of watersheds, the pollution of water bodies, the accumulation of human waste (both solid
and liquid), the impairment of drainage with increases flooding, and increases in hazard
vulnerability resulting in natural disasters.
IMPACT OF NATURAL DISASTERS
MITIGATION MEASURES AND COPING
STRATEGIES
Natural disaster reduction and sustainable development are
interwoven. Physical and social infrastructure should be developed
in a sustainable manner to ensure that they are able to survive
hazards throughout their lifetimes.
Disaster reduction begins with risk assessment and good
mitigation practices. Adequate building codes and proper
enforcement of these codes are essential components of
effective mitigation strategies. Of great importance also are
proper land use and management, especially in vulnerable
and
sensitive
areas
including
coastal
environments and geologically active sites.
and
riverine
BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
The
impacts
of
disasters
on
individuals
and
communities can only be minimized through building
resilience. Communities are made more resilient
through:
1.
Mitigation
2.
Preparedness
3.
Response
4.
Recovery
BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
The Office of Disaster Preparedness Emergency and
Management (ODPEM) was established in 1980 to monitor
and evaluate disasters risk, and has been and continues to
make progress to improving the resilience of the country at
the state level and directly within the communities


Jamaica has come a far way since the catastrophic hazard of
Hurricane Charlie in 1951. In keeping with the methodologies of the
ten essentials proposed by the UN Habitat City Resilience Profiling
Progamme, ODPEM uses the Disaster Management Framework to
coordinate disaster awareness and preparation at three distinctive
levels: national, parish and community.
ODPEM has been successful in transforming vulnerable communities into more
resilient ones. A perfect example is the Jeffery Town community located in the parish of
St. Mary. It is a small farming community that has been constantly devastated by
hazards and disasters such as: hurricane and attendant flooding and landslides.

The Jeffrey Town community has a low socio-economic background with high unemployment rate. The
hilly terrain and lack of proper draining system frequently led to flooding and landslides. However, based on
the community’s social, environmental and economic vulnerabilities, following the guidelines of the
ODPEM’s Disaster Management Framework, the community was able to ‘respond by building gabion walls
and terraces, which created a free-flowing drainage system through rocks that were supported by
galvanised steel baskets. They also planted trees, checked dams, cleared gullies, and added hurricane
straps to buildings. These simple but effective approaches to disaster risk reduction enabled Jeffery Town's
residents to comfortably feed their families, neighbouring communities and, in the process, earned global
recognition (Jamaica Observer, 2015).
BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

To truly make better advances in developing resilience to hazards, the issues of
informal settlements located near rivers and gullies and other disaster prone areas will
have to be minimized. Regularisation and development of these communities will have to
take place to put residents in safer housing structures with proper drainage systems. One
of the chief contributors to flooding in some communities is lack of proper drainage
infrastructure or living in low lying coastal areas.

ODPEM also indicated that in order to achieve sustainable communities, more focus
should be placed on the housing and education sectors to further the development of the
Disaster Management Plan. Due to a lack of standardized building practices in low income
communities, ODPEM along with the Parish Council Offices seeks to propel the revision
and legislation of the new Building Code (William-Raynor, 2014). According to the Jamaica
Institute of Engineers, 70% buildings are classified as informal and were erected without
professional input or proper authorisation.
ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
ODPEM has indicated that in order to achieve sustainable
communities, more focus should be placed on the housing and
education sectors to further the development of the Disaster
Management Plan. Due to a lack of standardized building practices
in low income communities, ODPEM along with the Parish Council
Offices seeks to propel the revision and legislation of the new
Building Code (William-Raynor, 2014).

According to the Jamaica Institute of Engineers, 70% buildings are
classified as informal and were erected without professional input or
proper authorisation.
MITIGATION STRATEGIES
In the past the primary approaches taken were post-disaster driven;
and intervention /mitigation strategies included:

Relocation of at risk communities,

Checking of dams,

Installing coastal defence mechanisms (sea walls), river training,
groynes and gabion baskets; and infrastructure maintenance.

Current approaches include some bank protection measures
(river desilting and drain cleaning), and relocation of at risk
communities.
MITIGATION STRATEGIES
ODPEM driven Mitigation interventions include:

Building Disaster Resilient Communities PROJECT (CIDA funded)

Hazard Management for Coastal Towns and Cities (IDB Funded)

Slope Stabilization Project (IBRD Funded)

Loss reduction at the Community Level : DIPECHO Community Disaster Management Project

Disaster mitigation programme to minimize the impact of flooding in Fort George, St. Mary (USAID
funded)

DFID Safer Building Practices Project. (1,103 homes in four parishes were retrofitted)
Non- governmental Organizations Interventions include:

Red Cross Safe Housing and Livelihood

Oxfam Livelihood /Mitigating agriculture risk
THE WAY FORWARD
Jamaica faces the dilemma after each hazard impact “scarce resources
earmarked for other development projects are diverted to deal with disaster
relief and reconstruction, thereby retarding economic growth” (VISION 2030).
Additionally the country faces several constraints to hazard mitigation
including the fact that the majority of interventions are post-event driven,;
and lack of resources (financial and otherwise ) to implement the more
technological approaches in a sustained basis .
Going forward as a nation we must accept:




that management of natural hazard to prevent disasters is a long term
developmental issue.
We should also reduce the economic losses through the reducing the level of
vulnerability of public infrastructure (cleaning drains, retaining walls, bank
erosion and infrastructure).
The role of community members in this participatory approach must be
established as paramount, as they have a key role to play in the reduction
of vulnerability to their respective communities.
As a nation, we must recognize that “disaster prevention/hazard mitigation
is cheaper than disaster response”.
THE END