CopernicusLAC Panama representative attends the signature of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Risk Management
Claudia Herrera Melgar, the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre’s Stakeholder Liaison Officer, attended the signature event of the EU-LAC Memorandum of Understanding on Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Risk Management, where she presented the Centre and its activities in a technical workshop which took place as part of the event.
This landmark MoU was signed in Barbados on 15 May 2024 during a ceremony co-hosted by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the EU, represented by the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Mr. Janez Lenarčič.
The MoU brings together the European Union (through the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations – DG ECHO) and the LAC region through the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the Coordination Centre for the Prevention of Disasters in Central America and Dominican Republic (CEPREDENAC), and the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (SGCAN), as well the Republic of Chile, the Republic of Cuba, and the United Mexican States, with the presence of UNDRR and the CELAC presidency as witnesses of honour. The aim of the MoU is to increase cooperation on integrated disaster risk management between the EU and Latin American and the Caribbean. The CopernicusLAC is explicitly mentioned in the MoU and identified as the Centre to provide services on a regional scale, for disaster risk reduction and adaptation/mitigation of climate change.
The Signature of the MoU was preceded by a High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on the perspectives and objectives of the strategic alliance to be established between the two regions and was centered around three main topics, including Early Warning Systems, Climate Change, and Resilient Infrastructure.
Additionally, a technical workshop among the MoU actors was held in parallel to the high-level events. It provided an opportunity to discuss priorities and look for lines of cooperation within and among sub-regions, the broader LAC region, and between the EU and LAC region. Claudia Herrera Melgar, the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre’s Stakeholder Liaison Officer, participated in this workshop and delivered a presentation of the Centre’s activities.
