Jamaica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project

Jamaica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project

The Project Development Objective  is to enhance Jamaica’s resilience to disaster and climate risk. The Jamaica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (JDVRP) is intended to support the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) in disaster risk management in the wider context of sustainable development.  Activities to be implemented are intended to reduce disaster and climate vulnerability; by making infrastructure more resilient;  improve the capacity of government institutions, to generate and use hazard and risk information to shape local and national development, and to assist the GoJ to manage its fiscal liabilities associated with disasters,  to work towards an ex-ante risk financing strategy.

IMPLEMENTING AGENCY

  • Jamaica Social Investment Fund

MINISTRY/HEAD

PROJECT BACKGROUND/CONTEXT

  • (extracted from Draft WB Project Appraisal Document) …”For the past 25 years in particular, the impact of disasters on Jamaica’s GDP has greatly increased. Between 1990 and 2000, damages from disasters in Jamaica cost 12.6 percent of GDP. This only worsens, as recorded disasters between 2001 and 2010 were tripled compared to any other decade.  During this period there were 10 major events with far-reaching impacts affecting approximately two million people and causing nearly US$1.21 billion (2010) in damages. Hurricane Ivan in 2004 alone resulted in over US$351 million (2010) in damages; an amount equivalent to eight percent of the GDP. From a sectoral perspective, infrastructure bore the highest economic impact at 45 percent of the overall costs, largely in the transportation sub-sector (roads and bridges).
  • Natural disasters represent a significant contingent liability for Jamaica comparable to others such as commodity price fluctuations and exchange rate volatility.  Using simulated data from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) as of August 2013, the fiscal cost (e.g. explicit public sector liabilities) of natural disasters in Jamaica is estimated at approximately US$120 million for hurricanes (wind), US$62 million for floods and US$42 million for earthquakes on average per year (Average Annual Loss – AAL). The probable maximum loss for a 100-year hurricane (i.e. 0.01 percent likelihood of occurring in any given year) could be in the region of 20 percent of GDP .  The losses resulting from natural hazards are correlated to the high exposure of the country’s assets. The total exposure value of infrastructure assets in Jamaica is calculated at approximately US$18 billion in 2014 ; this accounts for urban construction, rural construction, and national infrastructure.”
  • The project is intended to support the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) in disaster risk management in the wider context of sustainable development.  Activities to be implemented are intended to (i) reduce disaster and climate vulnerability by making infrastructure more resilient; and ii) improve the capacity of government institutions to generate and use hazard and risk information to shape local and national development; (iii) assist the GoJ to manage its fiscal liabilities associated with disasters to work towards an ex-ante risk financing strategy.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION/SCOPE OF WORK

Activities to be included under the JDVRP will include:

  • Critical facilities
    • Construction of 3 Fire Stations serving 140,000 people
  • Multi-hazard risk assessments and formulation of designs for 6 coastal sites
  • Development of Spatial Planning Tools
  • National Disaster Risk Information Platform
  • Coastal Risk Atlas
  • Construction and retrofit of 4 major Urban Drainage networks
  • Construction and retrofit of approximately two kilometers of Coastal revetments in Kingston and Black River
  • Infrastructure
  • Government officers (Planners and Regulators)
  • Construction Practitioners (Contractors, Artisans)
  • Community masons
  • Private sector
  • Equipment and facilities to strengthen the seismic monitoring network and increase resolution to better measure seismic activity
  • Training program to support the implementation of the National Building Code (approximately 120 persons) to include:
  • Training exercises and drills to support improved emergency response capabilities
  • Procurement of three (3) pumper trucks and three (3) water trucks to improve the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s emergency response capacities as well as rescue equipment.

The contingency emergency response component allowing the government to reallocate undisbursed funds for post-disaster immediate response and recovery activities. The component will fund eligible civil works, relief items and social safety net programs.