Natural disasters and other emergencies are not situations that can be completely avoided, but like insurance, it is good to have access to the requisite support in times of need. As we approach the 2024 North Atlantic hurricane season, we thought it opportune to reshare a conversation we had with Sylvester Cadette, of the International Telecommunication Union, in 2021 on the Tampere Convention in which we discussed, among other things: the Tampere Convention, what it is and why more Caribbean countries ought to accede to it; the challenges that are likely to occur when countries have not signed on to the Convention; reasons why countries are not signing on the Convention; plus the need for Caribbean countries to have more comprehensive emergency telecommunications plans in place.

 

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The earthquake that occurred in Taiwan on 2 April is a continual reminder of the vulnerabilities of our countries to natural disasters. Earthquakes are a regular occurrence in the Caribbean region, and rarely a week goes by without some incident in the region. Further, although we are about six weeks away from the official start of the 2024 North Atlantic Hurricane Season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, predictions are that we will have an “above-average” season with 23 named storms, 11 hurricanes, and five major hurricanes (Source:  Colorado State University). Further, the probability is high that at least one major hurricane will track through the Caribbean region, that is between 10–20°N, 88–60°W.

To varying degrees, the Caribbean region has been lucky over the past few years, as we have not had any truly devastating tropical storms or hurricanes over the past few years. However, with record sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic being reported, it is only a matter of time before our luck runs out.

The Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations is a multilateral treaty that facilitates the provision of prompt telecommunication assistance to support disaster relief efforts. However, although we live in a disaster-prone area, only five Caribbean/CARICOM countries are signatories of, or have acceded to, the Convention: Barbados; Dominica; Haiti; Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

It is in light of these and other phenomena to which Caribbean countries are vulnerable, we thought it opportune to repeat the conversation we had with Sylvester Cadette in 2021. As our countries and citizens increasingly rely on telecoms and ICT, we ought to ask ourselves whether our country is as prepared as it should be in the event of a disaster when emergency communications equipment and support would be desperately needed.

 

Introducing our guests

Sylvester Cadette

Sylvester Cadette is a Programme Officer appointed to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office for the Caribbean, in Bridgetown Barbados. Before joining ITU, he served as Director of Telecommunications and Advisor to the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and helped shape Dominica’s domestic and regional Telecommunications policy at senior policy levels both nationally and regionally.

Sylvester was also a member of the five-member Project Implementation Committee in the World Bank-funded Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Telecommunications Reform Project and was one of the key contributors to the formulation of the unique Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority/National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (ECTEL/NTRC) structure.  He also oversaw the implementation of ICT policy and e-business strategy development and awareness and leadership development; legislative and regulatory framework; capacity-building, enhancing skills base of workforce, business-oriented e-government initiatives, business skills development and e-business incubation in Dominica.

Sylvester is a national of the Commonwealth of Dominica, holds a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications and Broadcasting from the Ukrainian State Telecommunications Academy and speaks fluent Russian. He is also an alumnus of the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) and has received training from the United States National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University.

 

Insights into our conversation

In deciding to reshare this conversation with Sylvester that was recorded in 2021, I was shocked to learn that it is still only the five Caribbean countries listed earlier that are signatories to the Tampere Convention. Hence, this discussion is even more relevant and powerful.

One of the discussion points during our conversation is why Caribbean countries, in particular, have not acceded to the Tampere Convention, which I have been reflecting on in reviewing the recording. Although Sylvester shares a few reasons, I think one of the biggest ones is that countries believe that when a state of emergency has been declared, the fact that certain in-country processes are suspended or expedited is enough. However, challenges are more often experienced during the transhipment of the needed emergency communications equipment. On its way to the recipient country, the intermediary countries that are not signatories to the Tampere Convention may require that their processes – Customs, licensing, etc. – be followed, thus delaying the receipt of the equipment.

Below are questions that drove the conversation with Sylvester.

  1. What the ITU is about, and why it is important?
  2. Although it may appear that the Caribbean region is subject to the odd hurricane, that may not necessarily be completely accurate. Can you show us the bigger picture and tie that into why the Tampere Convention is important?
  3. For countries that are signatories to the Tampere Convention, what are the benefits, and what should happen when it is invoked?
  4. Since the majority of Caribbean countries have not acceded to the Convention, what are some of the challenges that are likely to occur?
  5. Why do you think more Caribbean countries have not acceded to the Tampere Convention?
  6. Since many Caribbean countries have provisions for emergency licences to be issued under exigent circumstances, do you think they make the activity and powers under the Convention unnecessary?
  7. What has the ITU Caribbean Office been observing as it relates to the emergency communications plans that have been established across the region?
  8. How are the emergency telecommunication plans that the ITU has been recommending structured?
  9. What other work is the ITU doing in the Caribbean?

 

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Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit: S Cadette; Microsoft Corporation; Direct Relief (flickr); Wikimedia Commons; Microsoft Corporation

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell