NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Red Cross Society (BRCS) and The Nature Conservancy plan to commemorate Earth Day on Thursday, April 22, 2021 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to launch a new partnership towards increasing climate resilience in communities across the archipelago.
The event will also mark the official launch of the Resilient Islands (Bahamas) Project, a collaborative effort between the two agencies, along with other national and community-based stakeholders.
Through the initiative, local communities will increase their resilience to climate change impacts through raised awareness, protecting nature, advocating for strengthened national policy, engaging youth and establishing strategic partnerships.
This is in alignment with the BRCS’ new 10-year strategy, which aims to expand its traditional humanitarian programs to include reducing impacts and accelerating recovery from climate related disasters such as hurricanes on families, livelihoods and community infrastructure.
As BRCS continues to assist residents on Grand Bahama and Abaco in their recovery post-Hurricane Dorian, the Resilient Islands project will work with communities in the medium-to-long term on designing community-based approaches to disaster risk reduction and resilience, which integrate the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems.
The Resilient Islands Project is already underway in three Caribbean countries through an existing partnership between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Nature Conservancy. The Bahamas program represents a scaling up of efforts and lessons learned through this regional collaboration.
