7 December 2010: A project coordinated by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Centre, with support from the regional UNDP Programme Caribbean Risk Management Initiative (CRMI), has produced a film titled “Looking South Across the Oceans: Promoting Cooperation Among Small Island Developing States” from the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The film was featured at the fifth Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management being held from 6-10 December 2010, in Montego Bay, in Jamaica. The film focuses on the potential of South-South cooperation by demonstrating that many solutions to the challenges posed by natural disasters and climate change are adaptable. The film shows that SIDS in the Pacific and Caribbean are sharing knowledge and experiences in order to strengthen the resilience of their communities to natural disasters and climate change. The project is also supported by the UNDP’s Special Unit for South-South Cooperation and by the UNDP-Japan Partnership Fund. Other partners in the Caribbean include the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), INSMET (National Cuban Meteorological Institute), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the University of the West Indies (UWI). Key partners from the Pacific region include the Pacific Islands Applied Geo-Science Commission (SOPAC), the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the University of the South Pacific (USP). National agencies in both regions also play an important role. [UNDP Pacific Centre Press Release]