Are we ready yet?
Dawn Marie De Four-Gill
Editor
Print this articleWe have completed yet another issue of The Pelican and as we move on to issue 4, I must again thank all of you who took the time to read our World Cup Cricket issue and send us your comments, congratulatory messages and suggestions. We tried to publish as many of your comments, as space would allow on pages 6 and 7.
This issue of The Pelican comes as a very active Hurricane season brews in the Caribbean. Forecasts predict the formation of at least 17 named storms in the Atlantic basin between June 1 and November 30. Nine of these are expected to become hurricanes, of which, five will develop into major hurricanes with sustained winds in excess of 111 miles (178 km)/hour.
With hurricanes and the region’s vulnerability on everyone’s mind, we felt it only fitting that the theme of our third Pelican issue should surround natural disasters’ preparedness, mitigation and management, and the environment and its sustainability for the future.
Indeed, over the past 15 years, UWI has been involved in significant projects focusing on matters such as the environment, natural hazards and sustainability; all testament to the University’s commitment and relevance to the Caribbean and its development. This issue provides a window into some of these projects and initiatives.
As fate would have it, as I draft these editor’s notes, the Seismic Research Unit (SRU) at the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies released its report on two earthquakes, which rocked the twin islands, Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday July 15. These quakes, of magnitudes 4.8 and 4.0 respectively, shook Trinidad at 9.37 pm and Tobago at 11.39 pm.
The SRU also comes into the spotlight in our cover story, Caribbean Tsunamis, where we look at the region’s vulnerability to Tsunamis and how we can better prepare for and reduce our risk of disaster. We then visit UWI’s Centre for Resource Management & Environment Studies (CERMES) in Barbados, and speak with Professor Mahon about the very interesting Sustainable Grenadines project.
Distinguished Geographer and Environmentalist, Professor Elizabeth Thomas-Hope shares her opinion on the environment and its sustainability. She beckons us to develop a new mindset and commitment towards appreciating the positive aspects of Earth as home.
In this issue, we also highlight outstanding faculty and alumni whose work has received international and regional recognition. We talk to Professors Le Franc and Grantham-McGregor, recipients of the first UNICEF Award for Excellence in Child Research; as well as the three laureates of the inaugural ANSA McAL Foundation Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence, Professor Forrester, Father Ramkissoon and Yao Ramesar.
The Rt. Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, graces our Pelican pages as well. In Conversations with Alumni, he speaks about his country’s recovery after Hurricanes Ivan and Emily, and more. We then end with a brief glimpse into how UWI is approaching overall research in the important area of disaster management and risk mitigation with an overview of the recently formed UWI Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction.
We are in the height of our 60th Anniversary planning here at UWI, and we would like to invite all our alumni and friends to join us for our grand celebrations in 2008. In this issue, we have included a form which seeks contact information for our alumni, so that we may share more details on this milestone event with them. Next issue we’ll bring you more on the Anniversary plans and UWI at 60. Watch out for it!
As I wrap up, let me thank all our Pelican readers for the overwhelming support over the past year. I want to also specially acknowledge our online Pelican readers. Look out for this issue as well as back issues at http://www.uwi.edu/pelican, and keep on reading!
