RP21 Concept note

Jamaica’s hosting of the VII Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas and the Caribbean under the theme “Building Resilient Economies in the Americas and the Caribbean”6 is aimed at raising awareness of the challenges facing Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean region and the wider Americas. This will be the first time a regional platform will be held in the Caribbean, one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to extreme weather events and seismic activity. The United Nations lists Jamaica among the countries most exposed to natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides and flooding. The experience of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean addressing multiple-hazards, reducing disaster risk and building resilience will offer a great environment for the VII Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and will provide an excellent setting to reflect upon the advances and challenges in disaster risk reduction in the Americas and the Caribbean.