This might sound dull, but it’s important. Planning is everything. This applies to the complex issue of climate change as much as anything else. So I was pleased to hear that the Climate Change Division of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation recently held a two-day workshop for planners, budget officers and policy people. This is all part of the mainstreaming of climate change in all Government departments and agencies, which is vital for our progress going forward.
Here’s how it went…The Ministry’s press release is below.
BUDGET, POLICY AND PLANNING OFFICERS RECEIVE TRAINING ON BUDGETING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
July 27, 2017
Approximately 32 budget, policy and planning officers from the public sector are now better equipped to implement strategies to integrate climate change adaptation into national and ministerial budgets. The officers participated in a two-day workshop at the offices of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service on July 25 and 26, 2017, hosted by the Climate Change Division of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and the National Adaptation Plan Global Network (NAP-GN).
The initiative was geared towards building the capacity of the participants to identify the climate change risks to their industry and understand how it will affect the budgeting and planning process. Principal Director of the Climate Change Division, Una May Gordon, emphasized the importance of the workshop and encouraged participants to work with the Division to ensure that climate change resilience efforts are properly targeted and that the financial resources to support the work is allocated.
Alec Crawford, Senior Researcher for Resilience at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, who was the workshop’s facilitator on behalf of the NAP-GN, emphasized that the objective was two-fold. He said, “The aim of the workshop was to ensure that budget and policy officers from across the government understand what the national adaptation planning process in Jamaica entails and be able to relate it to their work in the different sectors. When they are able to make the link between the national goals and the operations within the different ministries, departments and agencies of government, it should be easier for them to integrate adaptation initiatives into their work, which is most important.”
In addition to learning about the national adaptation planning process in Jamaica, participants got information about integrating climate risk management into planning and policy processes; institutionalizing financing for climate change adaptation; adaptation funding opportunities; tracing and monitoring of public expenditure on climate change adaptation and other topics.
Olive Neblett, Corporate Planner from the Office of the Cabinet, commended the organizers and shared that the presentations were very enlightening. She said, “The session which spoke to integrating climate risk management into planning and policy processes served as an eye-opener for me. It emphasized the fact that climate change is more of a developmental problem rather than just an environmental one. While my organization is not primarily involved in climate change projects, based on what I have learnt, I should now be better able to provide technical assistance to ministries in crafting pertinent policies to support climate change adaptation.”
Adrian Thompson, Senior Accountant at the Forestry Department, found the workshop very beneficial. Mr. Thompson said, “The workshop was extremely relevant especially as it relates to the mandate and functions of the Forestry Department. I appreciated learning about the different ways of introducing financial planning for climate change adaptation within budget processes and I also learnt a lot from the presentation which explored the external financing options for activities related to climate change.”
Other participants testified to the workshop’s usefulness and learnt best practices which they will apply to their work going forward. Among them were Antoinette Emmanuel, Corporate Planner at the Ministry of Transport and Mining and Hermine Downer, Director of Accounts at the Water Resources Authority, who found the presentation on tracing public expenditure and monitoring especially valuable. In commenting on the session, Ms. Emmanuel said, “The information was particularly useful in demonstrating how to score and prioritize climate change adaptation initiatives. The concept is also transferrable to other areas so it is something I will take into consideration while performing my duties generally.”
The primary mandate of the Climate Change Division is to coordinate the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation strategies in policy formulation, development planning and decision-making.
For further information, please contact:
Una May Gordon – Principal Director l
Climate Change Division – Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation l 16A Half Way Tree Road, Kingston 10, Jamaica l Tel: (876) 633-7500 l Email: Unamay.Gordon@megjc.gov.jm l July 27, 2017
Petchary's Blog 
This is not a dull topic; it’s wonderful there are forward-thinking people who are on the ‘offensive’ instead of waiting until a crisis puts the country in the defensive mode. Working together helps everyone dodge chaos….
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You are so right – we must work together to build our strength. We don’t know what the future will bring, but we must prepare as best we can! Thank you for your encouragement…
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