Do WE BURN TO LEARN? 

How disaster ready are we post-pandemic?

The St Vincent Situation as an example:
As the most recent developments with our Caribbean neighbours St Vincent and the Grenadines unfold, a sense of concern not only for the humanity of our brothers and sisters occupying that space, but also for our own safety in such life and death situations would arise. 

In the local parlance, there is a saying that goes "When your neighbour's house is on fire, throw water on yours". This approach certainly would resonate with our own population regarding our ability to prepare and manage situations that we have absolutely no control over, and mother nature's phenomena (in the case of SVG - a volcanic eruption). 

With the global pandemic still not totally out of the woods just yet, even if vaccines are being made available to the Trinidad and Tobago population (more so readily available to Tobago), there is something else that we must consider. What if...Just what if we were to experience some sort of catastrophic chain of events that threaten life as we know it here on this rock? For some, the memories of 1963, when hurricane Flora touched this island seem all too familiar, but for those that never had the misfortune of such an experience, it would be of little or no consequence whatsoever, or even a far removed occurrence to fathom. 

Are the structures in place sufficient?
In relation to DRM (Disaster Risk Management), Tobago has seen significant strides in the way dissemination of information and testing for disaster preparedness is handled. With the advent of organizations such as TEMA, one would feel a sense of relief knowing that there is in fact a structure designed to give some sort of instruction in the event that a calamity were to befall us in the near or distant future. The real question is, how prepared are we as a society on a mental level to deal with such events when there are still gaps that exist? 
Gaps such as a culture of complacency existing among the populace,  a lack of political will to advance DRM and prioritize disaster prevention and mitigation activities, and lack of high level champions to drive DRM. 

The answer is simple. And we are not referring to how much panic buying or panic fuelling of vehicles can occur, but rather a more simple observation along the lines of basic awareness and knowledge of what to do in the event of an emergency. Think of it as the 'calm before the storm' factor. This requires proper planning and structure which is not to be taken likely on any level. 

The government of Trinidad and Tobago saw it fit to set up a Covid19 recovery team that would be responsible for navigating this time of economic uncertainty. Surely some thought would have been given to the possibility of natural disasters becoming part and parcel of the planning and development of said strategies and output of that team. If however, consideration was not given to this, then we are going to face a tall order in due course of our 'recovery' 

Of great importance is the mitigation as it relates to disaster risk management.
All of this also contributes significantly to how any country's climate change adaptation policies and sustainability objectives work. Think of this, who would try to navigate past or through a pandemic without giving consideration to mother nature's wrath? After all a pandemic and everything from whence it came surely stemmed from man-made intervention or input, but natural disasters are even less predictable in nature. 

So, in observing the SVG scenario, we have to seriously give thought on a national level to capacity building in resilience. Note however there is a marked difference between Climate change mitigation and climate adaptation.
Climate change mitigation means avoiding and reducing emissions into the atmosphere to prevent the planet from warming to more extreme temperatures. Climate change adaptation means altering our behavior, systems, and in some cases ways of life to protect our families, our economy and the environment in which we live from the impacts of climate change.
The more we reduce emissions now, the easier it will be to adapt to the changes that cannot be avoided. 

Another reason why it is important for a united front approach to influence the governance structure as it relates to climate change adaptation, resilience building and disaster risk management, is that it gives us a golden opportunity to work together for a common goal.
What better way for us to define our humanitarianism and by extension sense of responsibility to our fellow man, by coming together (public, private, civil society) for a common purpose.
The belief going forward should be likened unto having 'faith as a mustard seed'.
Faith in not some sort of 'higher universal force', but faith in our own ability to get up and get. 

Remember a seed can do nothing unless it is planted, so that said 'faith' can only flourish if we collectively plant ideas of sustainable partnerships, which would lead to proper influence on governance structures and models that benefit not just our humanity as an island, and by extension a national community, but to the future of what we understand as being 'civilization'.