From OECS

The Premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Dr. Natalio Wheatley, announced that his government would be donating almost half a million US dollars (1,068,000 XCD) to the Hurricane Beryl recovery efforts in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. Each country will receive a total of $200,000 US dollars.

The Premier made this announcement during the opening of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Environmental Sustainability Exhibition at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College on July 24, 2024. The OECS hosted the 11^th Council of Ministers on Environmental Sustainability (COM: ES 11) in the British Virgin Islands on July 24 – 25, with Dr. Wheatley serving as the Chair. In his remarks to the meeting’s participants, he mentioned that “this very meeting, originally slated for July 3 and 4, had to be postponed on account of three OECS member states being affected by unprecedented, record-breaking Hurricane Beryl.”

He further reminded attendees that “Hurricane Beryl left a trail of devastation in its wake in Grenada’s Carriacou, where approximately 60% of homes were damaged or destroyed, and critical infrastructure such as roads and power lines were severely impacted. St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Union Island faced similar devastation, with an estimated 70% of buildings sustaining damage and essential services disrupted for weeks. The storm’s ferocity and the unprecedented damage it caused in these islands are stark indicators of the increasing severity of climate-related disasters. As Premier of the Virgin Islands, I offer my deepest empathy for the leaders and people of all Caribbean countries affected in some way by Hurricane Beryl.”

The issue of climate change has been central to the discussions of the Council of Ministers on Environmental Sustainability with its regional and international partners, given that OECS member states are on the front lines of the climate change battle and facing such devastating impacts.

Dr. Wheatley sympathised with his fellow ministers and pledged solidarity with them in this existential battle. He stated: “Having experienced catastrophic damage from category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and still actively recovering, the Virgin Islands is all too familiar with the realities on the ground right now in these countries and the long road to recovery ahead. The Virgin Islands stands in solidarity with you, and rest assured that just as the OECS Member countries were there to support the Virgin Islands in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria, we are here to support St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.”

The two-day OECS Council of Ministers gave special focus to the support of impacted member states, increased recognition of OECS vulnerabilities, and the urgency for resilient prosperity, in line with the SIDS4 outcome, “Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS).”