KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Water, Environment and Climate Change Minister, Matthew Samuda, says Jamaica is leveraging its international partnerships and support to assist the country’s rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which left damage estimated at more than US$9 billion.
He said that experts are scheduled to arrive here early in the new year to help with redesign and planning.
“We even expect to get some benefit from some architects and engineers to help the national reconstruction efforts,” said Samuda as he led a team from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) on a tour of communities in St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland hardest hit by the hurricane.
The Andrew Holness government is seeking to access between US$5 million and US$20 million in grant funding from the Fund, which recently launched a US$250-million initiative for countries impacted by the storm.
Samuda said the tour of the affected areas was designed to give the multilateral partners a clear, on-the-ground understanding of the scale of damage across coastal towns and communities, where homes, public buildings, and critical infrastructure were severely impacted.
“We’ve been saying this for a long time that there were genuine climate risks, and to see mangled steel and iron in this way is quite shocking. So, there’s no doubt, as we proceed, that we’ll have to build very differently if we’re going to be able to manage [other potential disasters],” he said.
Minister Samuda said while the FRLD will not solve all of Jamaica’s rebuilding challenges, the Government is determined to pursue every available avenue for support.
He noted that, through the Climate Change Division and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), proposals are being advanced across multiple funding avenues, including the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, and the Climate Investment Funds.
In the meantime, Samuda said that Jamaica must fundamentally rethink its approach to construction and development.
He noted that with Jamaica’s multi-hazard risk profile, which includes earthquakes, future construction must carefully consider angles and distances from the sea and rivers.
FRLD executive director, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, said that seeing the devastation caused by the hurricane “creates a powerful sense of urgency to provide support” and that the Fund is expected to support both the rebuilding of critical infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, and the human side of recovery, including assistance to families whose lives and livelihoods were disrupted.
“I have no doubt the Minister and his team will put a very compelling proposal to our board, and that’s why we’re glad to be here to see the reality on the ground.
“Jamaica is not waiting for the rest of the world to rebuild, and if we can be a part of the solution, obviously it’s going to be an honour for us,” Diong said.
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