Montserrat held its first in-country consultation on Monday, 28 April 2025, as part of efforts to develop a Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Country Work Programme (CWP) to support disaster risk reduction on the island.
The consultation took the form of a high-level meeting at the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA) with elected leaders and senior government officials and allowed for a presentation on the planned approach for the development of the CWP, the areas to be addressed and the expected results.
The Country Work Programme is a blueprint for implementing CDM at the national level. and will align disaster management efforts with all phases of the disaster cycle – preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. It will encourage active engagement from key stakeholders across all sectors and will ultimately serve as Montserrat’s national roadmap for reducing vulnerability and strengthening resilience to natural and technological hazard events.
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), with funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has partnered with the University of the West Indies Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (UWI DRRC) to support the development of Montserrat’s CWP which will be implemented by the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA).
The CWP will be informed by the findings of Montserrat’s 2024 Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Audit which assessed disaster risk reduction systems and processes on the island based on regional and international disaster risk management standards. Findings from the 2024 CDM Audit underscored both notable strengths and critical gaps in Montserrat’s disaster management framework.
The high-level consultation was attended by the Acting Premier, Veronica Dorsette-Hector; Minister of Health and Education, Dr. Ingrid Buffonge; Leader of the Opposition, Paul Lewis; Deputy Governor, Lindorna Lambert-Sweeney; permanent secretaries; Policy
Advisor at the Governor’s Office, Phil Hickson and senior technical staff of the DMCA.
This consultation will be followed by an all-day meeting with technocrats on island from the public and private sectors. In line with the CDM, ‘all people through all phases’ approach, the representatives from various organizations will be consulted to provide feedback and input into the activities and deliverables of the five-year strategic plan.
The UWI DRRCs Disaster Risk Management Technical Programming Associate, Ms. Stacy-Ann Austin is leading the on-island consultations which also includes presentations by the Director of the DMCA, Mr. Alvin Ryan.
These stakeholder consultations mark a significant step forward in Montserrat’s ongoing commitment to building a safer, more resilient future through coordinated, comprehensive disaster management.
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