Sixteenth Session of the ICG/CARIBE-XVI held in San Jose, Costa Rica

The Sixteenth Session of the IOC-UNESCO Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Intergovernmental Coordination Group for Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG/CARIBE-EWS-XVI) took place from 25-28 April 2023 in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Over 60 representatives from Member States and Territories attended the meeting, 40 of whom attended in person and between 20 to 25 online. Twelve IOC-UNESCO Member States and two U.S. territories were represented in person, with an additional seven present online. This was the first in-person meeting of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and representatives were reminded of the significant value of conducting the work of the ICG face-to-face. The daily interaction of experts and the building of rapport among the Member States was critical to the successful outcomes achieved. 

The meeting also represented the first coordinated effort to begin implementation of the UN Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme (ODTP) 10-year Research, Development and Implementation Plan at the ICG and Member State level. Along these lines, participants conducted a comprehensive review of the ICG/CARIBE-EWS governance structure. They also decided to re-align the existing ICG/CARIBE-EWS Working Groups and Task Teams to correspond with the objectives of the ODTP, which are in turn aligned with two other UN global initiatives: the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Early Warning for All Initiative. As a result, the following revised ICG-CARIBE Working Group and Task Team structure was adopted:

- Working Group 1: Tsunami Risk Knowledge
- Working Group 2: Tsunami Detection Analysis and Forecasting
- Working Group 3: Tsunami Warning Dissemination and Communication
- Working Group 4: Tsunami Preparedness, Response and Mitigation
- Task Team CARIBE WAVE

The ICG/CARIBE-EWS also decided that the tsunami exercise CARIBE WAVE 24 will be held on 21 March 2024 at 1500 UTC. The selected exercise scenarios are Puerto Rico Trench and North Panama Deformed Belt (source of the 1882 earthquake and tsunami). Other highlights of the meeting included discussion on regional support for the IOC-UNESCO Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme, Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) technology for tsunami forecasting, as well as next steps for formal recognition of the Central America Tsunami Advisory Center as a regional tsunami service provider. Additionally, recommendations were made for identifying the risk, monitoring and warning and education of tsunamis generated by volcanoes. The stage for the discussion on volcano-generated tsunamis was set with an ICG field trip to Poás Volcano.

Another key outcome of ICG/CARIBE-EWS-XVI was the election of new leadership, at the ICG, Working Group, and Task Team level. An intrasessional Working Group on Elections, led by Ms Lorna Inniss (Head IOC-UNESCO Regional Secretariat for IOCARIBE), reviewed applications and decided on the following ICG leadership:

- Chair: Gerard Metayer (Haiti)
- Vice-Chair: Marie-Noelle Raveau (France)
- Vice-Chair: Mr Anthony Murillo Gutierrez (Costa Rica)
- Vice-Chair: Regina Browne (USA, United States Virgin Islands)

In addition, as part of the USAID/BHA Tsunami Ready Project, the International Tsunami Information Center Caribbean Office (ITIC-CAR) organized and hosted a Tsunami Ready workshop prior to the ICG meeting for Caribbean Small Island Developing States. Representatives from Barbados, Costa Rica, Dominica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Caribbean Tsunami Information Center attended the meeting. The workshop included an overview of IOC-UNESCO Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme indicators and verification processes, followed by a rich discussion on best practices and challenges of implementing the Tsunami Ready Programme in Small Island Developing States.