CMC – The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it has launched a critical assessment tool that will aid in the recovery and rebuilding process in St Vincent and the Grenadines following the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano in April.
CDB said that together with several regional and international development partners and the St Vincent and the Grenadines government, it launched the Community Profiles and Livelihood Baseline Assessments (LBAs) last week created for 11 communities around La Soufriere volcano.
“In the aftermath of disasters like the La Soufriere Volcano eruption in St Vincent and the Grenadines, being able to assess who needs what kind of help to rebuild their lives and livelihoods, is critical for communities and governing agencies,” the CDB said.
It said that its Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF) funded the preparation of the documents as part of the Volcano Ready Communities Project implemented by the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC).
The CDRRF is a multi-donor trust fund managed by CDB, with financing from Global Affairs Canada, and the European Union. The United Kingdom government was also an initial funder.
Social Sector Division Chief at CDB, Deidre Clarendon, hailed the launch of the documents as “a significant step” in CDB’s mission to build “the economic, social and environmental resilience” of the Caribbean.
“We envision that these community profiles and LBAs will allow national, regional and international development partners to access critical data to inform development interventions within these communities. Equally, community leaders can use the information to articulate local needs, highlight existing vulnerabilities and develop an evidence-based rationale for concessionary funding.
