Executive Director of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pleased With GP2025

GENEVA – The executive director of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Misha Lobban Clarke, says the eighth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2025) held here last week highlighted the importance of the private-public partnership.

Executive director of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Misha Lobban Clarke (CMC Photo)GP2025 was held under the theme “Every Day Counts, Act for Resilience Today” and constituted an important milestone between the high-level meeting on the midterm review of the Sendai Framework held in May 2023 and the five final years before the Sendai Framework Disaster Risk Reduction ends.

Lobban Clarke told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) “we have quite a bit of learning, but I think my biggest takeaway is the importance of the private-public partnership as a powerful mechanism for any country.

“We really do need to work hand in hand in partnership with government, civil society if we are going to bring about the kind of changes we need, and the changes that will end up benefiting not just the business sector, but our economy and our communities as a whole,” she said.

The BCCI is the Barbados focal point for the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) ARISE Network, which was started in 2015 to support the private sector to become a key partner in reducing disaster risk.

The ARISE Network has grown to over 550 members and over 30 networks across the world and Lobban Clarkes said “because we are the associations directly connected to the business community in our respective jurisdiction, and primarily, not just to execute or advance on the Sendai Framework agenda, but they feel that as private sector, we should have a seat at the table.

“We are key stakeholders, owners of capital. We represent owners of capital who can bring the financing, who can bring the resources to help leverage in supporting the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDRR, in advancing the Sendai Framework.”

Lobban Clarke noted that a key pillar of the Sendai Framework is that there must be collaboration across all sectors to advance the agendas.

“So, they bring to the table chambers of commerce, private sector entities to help mobilize work in partnership with the multilaterals as well as government, to advance on the primary pillars or key priorities of the Sendai Framework.”

Lobban Clarke said she had a “tremendous” experience at the Global Platform, the first time she was attending.

“I find that the Global Platform really provides that forum for the voices from the private sector and all other key stakeholders to share their perspectives, share what is unique to them, but also bring that shared knowledge, shared engagement to the table so that we can together, co-create the kind of solutions that we need.”

She said that whatever agenda needs advancing, be it the sustainability agenda or disaster risk reduction agenda, “it can’t be done alone.

“Government can’t do it alone. … They set policy. But the private sector then brings the resources to the table that can be leveraged to advance on these agendas.”

Lobban Clarke told CMC that civil society is the third sector that needs to come to the table.

“So, I found it quite engaging,” she said, adding that she sat on a panel and shared the perspective of the role of the private sector in supporting the advancement or acceleration of the disaster risk reduction agenda.

“And one of the things that I was able to share, is our stories. We need to share the stories of what we’re doing right in the region as Caribbean island states, because in the same way that a platform like this allows us to gain key learnings and key insights from what other countries are doing, we have stories to tell.”

Lobban Clarke told CMC she shared at the GP2025, the innovative private sector climate funding initiative that Barbados recently launched.

“It’s the first of its kind in the world, where a leading commercial bank, which is the CIBC Caribbean, was able to step up to the plate and provide for the Barbados government a debt-for-swap climate funding mechanism.”

She said this allowed the Barbados government to advance some major disaster risk reduction measures and environmental projects that are well needed for Barbados, but without incurring further debt.

“So, they introduced a very innovative guarantee financing mechanism, but that they did in collaboration with the multilaterals like the IDB (Inter American Development Bank),”  she said, adding “because for vulnerable, small island states, we really do need the partnership of the private sector like this to assist with funding the kind of projects that we need to support the advancement of the disaster risk reduction agenda.”

Lobban Clarke used the impact of a hurricane to illustrate the importance of DRR to the private sector.

“So, when a hurricane hits any country, it has far-reaching effects on an economy, on businesses. So, when a hurricane hits, if we have, particularly in the Caribbean islands, we have a majority of our businesses are what we call SMEs — small, medium-sized enterprises — and some of them do not have capacity. They do not have scale.

“And when those are impacted, what do we have? Disruption in business. We have the impact in terms of livelihood and far-reaching impacts, even on communities, and then, of course, disruption to our economy, resulting in downturns in our economy.”

She said it is very important, therefore, “that we are building in or integrating, or encouraging the integration of disaster risk reduction measures and, for example, business continuity plans, into the framework, operational framework of businesses”.

Lobban Clarke said that when businesses have business continuity plans, they are better able to plan for the risk and in terms of the impact of a disaster on their operations.

“More importantly, they’re able to build the mechanisms or build the structures and have those in place, for example, the right insurance coverage to recover quicker and to build back better from any disaster,” she told CMC.