Canning Paper Presentation: Natural Disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Latin American and Caribbean region is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world to climate change and natural disasters. In the last two years alone, the region has seen massive earthquakes in Ecuador and Mexico, fatal mudslides in Colombia, one of the most destructive tropical storms on record in Hurricane Maria, and the destruction of whole Guatemalan villages with the eruption of the Fuego Volcano.

The latest Canning Paper outlines the scale and diversity of the threat natural disasters pose to Latin America and the Caribbean, and examines what options are available to governments and citizens to prepare, mitigate and respond to their occurrence.

The event will include a summary of the report’s findings, further commentary and analysis from a panel of experts, followed by an opportunity to ask questions and network.

The panel includes: Mat Youkee, author of the Canning Paper, journalist and analyst covering Latin America and the Caribbean from his base in Bogotá, Mike Noyes,  Director of Policy Advocacy and Programmes at ActionAid UK, Dr Richard Teeuw, principal lecturer at the School of Earth and Environmental  Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, Dr Carmen Solana, volcanologist specialising in hazards from effusive volcanism, Mark Cleverley, Head of Public Sector and Partnerships at Ecometrica, and Andrew Thompson, journalist at LatinNews and political risk analyst with detailed knowledge of Latin America. The event will be chaired by Cristina Cortes, CEO of Canning House.

Mat Youkee works as a freelance journalist and analyst across Latin America. His work includes political risk evaluations, industry sector analysis, due diligence investigations and the development of market entry strategies. His work has been published in Americas Quarterly, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Slate, Roads & Kingdoms and Latin Finance.

Mike Noyes is currently the Director of Policy Advocacy and Programmes at ActionAid. Mike’s work focuses on supporting emergency responses and Disaster Relief Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation and Capacity Development, working with local communities and women leaders. Previous positions include Head of Humanitarian Programmes in Asia and Latin America at CAFOD, in which he gained experience working on the ground in Latin American and Caribbean countries affected by natural disasters, including Haiti.

Dr Richard Teeuw: Richard runs the Crisis and Disaster Management MSc course at Portsmouth University. His research focuses on low-cost approaches to using satellite imagery for assessing hazards, vulnerability and risk, as well as geoinformatic capacity building in low-income countries. He recently led a UK survey team in Dominica, assessing infrastructure damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

Dr Carmen Solana: Carmen's main interest is the reduction of the impact of Natural Disasters on the population, which led her to obtain the UN Diploma on the Analysis and Management of Natural Risks. She has experience on a variety of subjects, from monitoring active volcanoes to evaluating environmental impact of a landfill.

Andrew Thompson: Andrew is a journalist and political risk analyst with detailed knowledge of the Latin American region. He worked in a number of roles for BBC World Service, including heading the Latin American Service and of the Americas Region. Andrew has also worked as a a foreign correspondent in Mexico City (The Guardian), Buenos Aires (The Times) and Rio de Janeiro (BBC).

Mark Cleverley: Mark is a technology strategy executive with experience working with public sector clients on solutions to transform government value delivery. He is currently Head of Public Sector and Partnerships at Ecometrica, which provides monitoring systems on the health of the earth, using data from satellites and drones to create sustainability reporting insights for business, government and society.

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