SECTORAL RECOVERY CAPACITY ASSESSMENT FOR GRENADA’S HOUSING SECTOR CONTEXT KEY RESULTS The capacity of Grenada’s housing sector The Caribbean region is highly prone to disasters, causing destruction to implement climate-resilient and inclusive of infrastructure and property, loss of income, and costs as individuals and recovery projects in a timely, efficient, and businesses work around disruptions. Disasters jeopardize sustainable de- effective manner is evaluated as basic or in- velopment and economic growth prospects and have a disproportionate cipient. impact on the poor. Indeed, the economic damages and losses related to natural hazards in the Caribbean represent a yearly average of 3.6 percent Strengths: of the regional Gross Domestic Product.1 • Progress has been made in integrating Fast and inclusive recovery efforts in the aftermath of disasters can DRM, gender and disability considerations lower social and economic burdens and allow a more rapid recovery for housing into national and sectoral of development levels2. With climate change and the prospect of more governance frameworks, specifically into frequent hydrometeorological disasters, resilient recovery planning and the National Sustainable Development investments have become a priority for the region. This involves assessing Plan and sectoral strategies. and building the capacity needed to ensure the fast and efficient restora- tion of services, economic activities and infrastructure. Constraints: • The competencies, operational capacity, Sectoral Recovery Capacity Assessment (SRCA), developed by the skills and resources available within the Canada-Caribbean Resilience Facility (CRF)3 and the Caribbean Disaster sector to undertake resilient and inclusive Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), analyzes the capacity of key recovery projects are basic, particularly in sectors for efficient and coordinated recovery and provides recommen- terms of technical capacity and human dations to improve recovery processes along three main axes: Governan- resources, in the knowledge and skills ce, Competencies and Resources and Tools. Results are part of CDEMA’s required for recovery project planning Comprehensive Disaster Management Audit tool. and implementation and in the availability of natural hazard and risk information for THE HOUSING SECTOR IN GRENADA: decision-making. • Is highly exposed to natural hazards and vulnerable to climate change. • Is under-insured • 30 percent of the housing stock had to be completely replaced after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 THE SRCA FOR GRENADA’S • A large proportion of the housing stock is structurally weak and located in high- risk areas HOUSING SECTOR To assess the capacity of Grenada’s housing sector to plan, design, imple- ment, monitor, and evaluate climate-re- silient and inclusive recovery projects, the SRCA was implemented in the country’s housing sector under the leadership of the Housing Unit at the Ministry of Social De- velopment, Housing and Community Em- powerment (MSDHCE) and the National Di- saster Management Agency (NADMA), with 1 Rozenberg, J. et. al (2021). 360° Resilience: A Guide to Prepare the Caribbean for a New Genera- the support of the CRF and the Caribbean tion of Shocks. World Bank, Washington, DC. 2 Hallegatte, S., Rentschler, J. and Walsh, B. (2018). Building Back Better: Achieving Resil- Disaster Emergency Management Agency ience through Stronger, Faster, and More Inclusive Post-Disaster Reconstruction. World (CDEMA). Bank, Washington, DC. 3 The Canada-Caribbean Resilience Facility (CRF) is hosted by the Global Facility for Disas- ter Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) at the World Bank Group. RECOVERY CAPACITY INDEX (RCI) FOR THE 11 KEY ELEMENTS ASSESSED SELECTED RECOMMENDATIONS TO SUPPORT READINESS FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY IN GRENADA’S HOUSING SECTOR4 Institutional readiness Data and information for risk-informed decision-making • Establish a clearinghouse and data management unit, a national Policies data repository, a digital and georeferenced cadaster and an • Finalize, approve and implement the MSDHCE’s National inventory of public assets Multi-Hazard Disaster Emergency Management Plan. • Generate hazard and risk maps, including multi-hazard maps • Approve the National Disaster Bill and the National Land Policy Resilient infrastructure • Screen for climate resilience all critical infrastructure projects • Revise and integrate resilient and inclusive recovery in the national project pipeline and the National Adaptation considerations in: the National Disaster Management Plan Plan and ensure they are ready to finance by conducting the necessary studies (e.g., feasibility studies). • Elaborate a national climate-smart housing strategy and a national urban development strategy • Create an overall asset management and maintenance process to ensure the sustainability of infrastructure Knowledge and tools investments • Create a technical assistance plan with a range of risk • Recruit specialized staff in areas specific to disaster risk reduction interventions to encourage and guide homeowners management in retrofitting their property • Institutionalize training in disaster risk management, recovery, gender and disability inclusion for public and private sectoral stakeholders Finances • Accelerate the implementation of the National Disaster Risk • Integrate DRM, gender and disability inclusion knowledge Financing Strategy as requisites in public recruitment protocols • Estimate and include a contingent annual recovery allocation in the MSDHCE’s budget • Review insurance premiums and access requirements to resilience and recovery financial mechanisms for homeowners 4 Detailed recommendations are provided in Annex 1 of the Sectoral Recovery Capacity Assessment report.