USAID CBJ FY 2002: Caribbean Regional

Summary: Hurricane Lenny was a late 1999 season storm that was formed in the Western Caribbean, south of the Cayman Islands. It was unusual in that it followed a west-to-east track through the Caribbean rather than a "normal" east-to-west track. As a result of this unusual direction, as well as the fact that the hurricane reached the intensity of a Category 4 level storm, large portions of the western coastlines of Antigua, Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia were adversely affected. Ordinarily, the east coasts of the islands take the initial brunt of a hurricane; therefore, western coastal defenses were unprepared for the impact. Infrastructure damage was extensive: sea defense walls collapsed, coastal highways were washed away, beaches were severely eroded, and businesses suffered. In Antigua-Barbuda, essentially all of the businesses were affected by the severe flooding. Antigua, Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia have invested in sea defense reconstruction and coastal highway repair; however, the quality of some efforts is very poor. Standards for uniform structures that will withstand major hurricane attacks need to be implemented. The beneficiaries of this program are the people of the affected countries.

Key Results: USAID is supporting reconstruction of key infrastructure such as roads, sea defenses and sea front walkways and training of key personnel to manage existing resources as well as to plan for and mitigate future disasters. This program has four key results: 1) key sea defense systems and selected sections of coastal roads reconstructed; 2) key personnel trained in specialized areas; 3) integrated coastal management plans developed in selected areas of Antigua-Barbuda and St. Lucia; and 4) economic activities reactivated.

Activities are on schedule for completion. The main activities end in August 2001, leading to full closure of the project by December 31, 2001. Design and tendering for infrastructure reconstruction activities are underway with construction starting in March 2001. Training activities will commence in May 2001, and work has begun on the development of coastal zone management plans for sections of St. Lucia and Antigua-Barbuda. A thorough review of the financial institutions that service micro and small enterprises found that none were strong enough to take on an activity of this nature, and the activity has been dropped.

Performance and Prospects: The program is meeting expectations. USAID has contracted Smith Warner International, in partnership with Consulting Engineering Partnership Ltd., to carry out environmental impact assessments, design reviews, and manage construction of sea defense systems and roads in Grenada, Dominica and St. Lucia. Environmental impact assessments for Grenada and Dominica are complete and sea wall designs in Grenada have been modified to make them more cost effective. The team is reviewing site plans for Dominica. Construction in Grenada and Dominica will begin in March and April respectively.

USAID is working with the Organization of American States (OAS), and the University of the West Indies engineering faculty to carry out specialized training in coastal engineering and resource management. Courses will include coastal zone/island systems management, coastal defense systems, monitoring and maintenance of coastal infrastructure, and the design of marine structures. These four courses are planned to commence in May 2001 with an end date of October 31, 2001. A needs assessment of persons requiring training is currently underway.

The integrated coastal management plans being carried out for selected areas in St. Lucia will be completed by the end of April 2001. Construction activities which take into account these plans will end by September 2001. The U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will develop the coastal zone management plans for the northwestern coast of Antigua, which is expected be completed by June 2001.

In November 2000, USAID conducted a capability assessment of lending institutions in the region that could provide credit to the microenterprise sector in a short period of time. The assessment revealed entities with weak financial structures in all four countries which made it impossible to work with them under the tight timeframe of the project. Thus, the reactivation of economic activities result has been eliminated.

Possible Adjustments to Plans: The elimination of the proposed microenterprise reactivation activity is the only change that has been made to this program.

Other Donor Programs: The Caribbean Development Bank and the World Bank are carrying out coastal road and sea defense reconstruction projects in Grenada and Dominica.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Local organizations include: Smith Warner International (Jamaica), , the University of the West Indies, and the governments of Grenada, Dominica, St. Lucia and Antigua-Barbuda. International organizations include the Organization of American States. U.S. organizations include NOAA.

U.S. Financing

(In thousands of dollars)

	Obligations		Expenditures		Unliquidated
Through September 30, 1999	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF	0	CACEDRF	0	SEED
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Fiscal Year 2000	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF
	5,100	CACEDRF	0	CACEDRF
	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA
Through September 30, 2000	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	5,100	CACEDRF	0	CACEDRF	5,100	CACEDRF
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Prior Year Unobligated Funds*	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
			Future Obligations		Est. Total Cost
Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	0	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF	0	CACEDRF	5,100	CACEDRF
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA

Caribbean Regional

Activity Data Sheet

U.S. Financing