Against a backdrop of rising climate-driven natural hazard vulnerability across the Caribbean, a specialized delegation of Haitian government officials has concluded a five-day training and experience-sharing workshop focused on integrated disaster risk management, held in Kingston, Jamaica between September 21 and 25, 2026.
The delegation, drawn from Haiti’s Ministry of the Environment (MdE) and Directorate General of Civil Protection (DGPC), joined Jamaican counterparts to collaborate on strategies to boost cross-national coordination and build more resilient responses to frequent extreme weather and geological events that threaten the region. The entire initiative was backed by technical expertise and financial backing from the Caribbean regional team of the U.S. Forest Service International Programs (USFS/IP), which has worked for decades to strengthen environmental and disaster management capacity across small island developing states in the region.
Workshop discussions centered on a holistic, multi-hazard approach to risk management, covering core preparedness and response protocols for five of the most common and destructive hazards facing both nations: earthquakes, hurricanes, forest fires, floods, and landslides. Beyond technical response strategies, participants also examined existing inter-institutional coordination frameworks, identifying gaps and opportunities to speed up resource mobilization when crises strike, a critical priority for low-income and small island states that often face gaps in emergency resource access.
A central priority of the training, aligned with the core mandate of Haiti’s Ministry of the Environment, was targeted capacity building for forest fire prevention and control. The region has seen a steady rise in the frequency and severity of wildfires in recent years, linked to rising temperatures and prolonged drought driven by climate change, making this capacity building a timely and high-impact outcome. During sessions, participants delved into key topics ranging from crisis leadership and standardized incident command systems to the science of fire behavior, early detection protocols, risk mapping, and predictive modeling tools that help emergency teams forecast fire spread and allocate resources more effectively.
Hands-on practical simulations and structured working group sessions gave attendees the chance to test and evaluate command, communication, and coordination structures across multiple responding agencies, a key component of effective emergency response that often breaks down during large-scale crises. For the Haitian delegation, the workshop also provided a valuable opportunity to study Jamaica’s established national disaster management system, gaining firsthand insight into how local frameworks align with and leverage regional Caribbean emergency management mechanisms to boost response capacity.
Moving forward, the knowledge and best practices gained from this exchange are set to inform ongoing efforts in Haiti to strengthen national disaster prevention and response capacity, with a specific focus on improving forest fire management. The lessons are also expected to help Haiti refine inter-agency coordination protocols, creating a more unified and effective emergency response system that can better protect vulnerable communities across the country.