Financial Crime World

Dominica Takes Steps to Strengthen Financial Protection and Emergency Response Amid Climate Change Risks

The Caribbean island nation of Dominica, still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria in 2017, has launched an initiative to strengthen its financial protection measures and emergency response systems.

Exposed to Overlapping Natural Hazards

According to government officials, Dominica is exposed to overlapping natural hazards that pose a significant risk to its economic and social development. Climate change has exacerbated these risks, with natural disasters capable of causing losses equivalent to over 5% of the country’s GDP each year.

The Climate Resilience Executing Agency of Dominica (CREAD)

To address this challenge, the government established CREAD in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. CREAD has collaborated with the World Bank on projects aimed at:

  • Improving data collection
  • Rehabilitating and reinforcing road networks
  • Constructing a new meteorological office

Gaps in Financial Protection Strategy

Despite progress made, there are still gaps in Dominica’s overall resilience strategy, particularly with regards to its financial strategy. To address this, a new project has been launched to support the government in strengthening financial protection measures and implementing policy reforms in sectors vulnerable to climate and disaster impacts.

Project Objectives

The project will focus on:

  • Supporting the government in identifying policy reforms for strengthening resilience, including:
    • Disaster risk financing
    • Adaptive social protection
    • Natural resource management
    • Agriculture
  • Providing technical assistance to the government to draft, revise, and review priority action items aimed at enhancing the country’s disaster risk management and climate change adaptation regulatory and institutional framework

Project Details

The project is valued at EUR 81,000 ($97,000) and will be implemented over a period of two years from November 2021 to March 2023. It is being implemented in collaboration with CREAD and other partners, including the Caribbean Regional Resilience Building Facility Component and the Adaptation Facility for Leveraging Investments in Resilience in the Caribbean.

Enhancing Long-Term Development

The initiative is seen as a critical step towards enhancing Dominica’s ability to plan for long-term development and mitigate the impacts of climate change.