The endorsement followed the intervention of BVI special envoy and UN representative Benito Wheatley at the sixth high-level meeting on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 that took place in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Wheatley highlighted the economic impact of extreme weather on the BVI and other SIDS and the high financial cost of disaster risk reduction and other measures necessary to achieve climate resilience. He also emphasised the continued injustice toward several highly vulnerable SIDS classified as middle- and high-income that remain ineligible for development and climate finance that would give them access to concessional financing and grants needed to build climate resilience, respond to disasters, and drive sustainable development.
In response, participants reflected these concerns in the meeting outcome document which stated:
“The ministers and authorities recognized the high and increasing cost of reducing risk to improve human security outcomes and promote climate resilience. In particular, they highlighted the challenge for SIDS, including those classified as middle- and high-income countries as well as the associate members of the United Nations regional commissions that are deemed vulnerable yet not eligible for international development assistance.
“Underscoring the priority of securing just financing for all SIDS, they called for increased investment in adaptation, access to concessional financing at scale, the scaling-up of climate-smart investments, and the integration of multidimensional vulnerabilities into disaster risk reduction strategies. Financial support for SIDS is critical to building their social and economic resilience and reducing disaster-related losses.”
Early warning systems were also strongly encouraged across Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting was chaired by the prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis Terrance Drew on 5 December and held in the margins of the 13 Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management
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