Resilience about more than just natural disasters, says Misick

Sustainability and resilience frameworks should not focus solely on how to respond to natural disasters but should be all-encompassing.

That was the view shared by Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands Charles Washington Misick as he delivered remarks at the official opening ceremony for the 45th Regional Conference for the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic (CAA) Region of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on Monday.

He noted that while most Caribbean countries make preparation for seasonal natural disasters, primarily hurricanes, stakeholders need to make sustainability and resilience within government entities and other institutions a priority.

“We associate resilience with sustainability because, after all, this is a hurricane region…. We tend to associate sustainability with our infrastructure, the ability to recover from storms. I believe what we are looking at today is a more comprehensive definition of sustainability,” the host premier said.

“When I think of sustainability, I think of turbulent change, adaptation, sustainability in terms of infrastructure – institutional, our social systems [and] ecosystems.”

The conference in Providenciales, which is being held under the theme, Building a Resilient Region in the Face of Global Challenges, is being attended by parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth who will discuss key issues affecting their citizens, including banking standards, healthcare, crime and security, and climate change.

Given the region’s vulnerability to global shocks in finance and food production, Misick stressed that sustainability must be seen as the way forward.

“If we are going to do the best we can to lead [and] manage successfully, then it’s going to be critical that we adapt to the changes, that we build resilience in our institutions, in our government – whether it be in the ministries of the environment or finance – just generally to build resilience while we focus on the sustainability of our economy.

“At the end of the day, sustainability can only happen if our institutions are strong, resilient, and able to adapt to changes. It’s a topic that is appropriate for the time, and for the region,” Misick said.

Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee Ian Liddell-Grainger expressed similar sentiments, adding that greater cooperation among Commonwealth leaders is needed.

“We work together because achievement by any measure over the last millennia is done by working together. That is the most crucial thing we can give. Climate change affects us all – health, security, the economy of our countries – regardless of how large or small we are,” he said. (SB) ]]>