OVERVIEW OF THE ODPM
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) is Trinidad and Tobago’s strategic disaster management coordinating agency. It is a Division of the Ministry of National Security and our principal focus is to strengthen the nation’s ability to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover effectively from severe hazards and complex emergencies that may threaten our society. To accomplish this, we take an integrated approach to reducing disaster and climate risks and managing disaster situations, when local level capacities are overwhelmed.
Our organisation’s vision is “To become the premier regional Disaster Risk Management Organization”.
Our mission is “To build national Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) capabilities with our partners, and coordinate response and recovery operations in order to protect the people, environment and economy and ensure a disaster-resilient nation.”
To achieve our vision and mission, we take a comprehensive approach that seeks to encourage all organs of society, to participate in reducing existing disaster and climate risks, preventing new risks and managing residual risks.
The organisation comprises five (5) main units: Preparedness and Response; Mitigation Planning and Research; Public Information and Education Community Outreach; Administrative Support and Finance; and Project Management. In unison, these units collaborate with our partners, to deliver to Trinidad and Tobago and the wider region, high quality, disaster management services.
Our office also leads the National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Multi-sectoral Committee. This Cabinet appointed committee consists of representatives from the public and private sectors, and civil society organisations.
In addition, the ODPM is the national focal point for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which is the global disaster risk reduction and management strategy. Similarly, we are responsible for implementing in Trinidad and Tobago, CARICOM’s regional strategy, the Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy. In line with this, the ODPM is the country’s focal point for disaster response within CARICOM’s Southern sub-region. Along with Trinidad and Tobago, the other countries within the Southern sub-region include Grenada, Guyana and Suriname.
The ODPM’s main areas of work include but are not limited to the following:
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OUR OUTLOOK
To become a world-renowned, national disaster coordinating agency that is committed to working with our partners to develop Trinidad and Tobago into a disaster ready and resilient nation that will contribute to the nation’s and the region’s achievement of sustainable development.
