Thursday, June 5, 2014 - The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) is partnering with the University of Portsmouth, England for the fifth consecutive year to facilitate research by students pursuing studies related to the field of disaster management.
This year, Ms. Esther Robertson has been approved to pursue an internship in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) which will focus on the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities. Her research will also form the basis of her graduate thesis, the working title of which is “Climate change impacts which will affect coastal communities in the BVI and the adaptive capacity of these communities”.
As part of her research Ms. Robertson will spend her time here in the BVI assessing the public perception of and adaptation to climate change through administration of an online survey; interviewing stakeholders and engaging in community-level focus group discussions.
Director of the Department of Disaster Management (DDM), Ms. Sharleen DaBreo welcomed the intern saying, “We are pleased to be able to continue our arrangement with the University of Portsmouth. We have obtained significant gains from these research type internships and the students have integrated very well into the organisation.”
Ms. DaBreo is confident that the intern’s work will help to provide critical data that will be used to guide our public awareness and education programme and support similar efforts being implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour in the management of the national Climate Change Adaptation Programme.
Ms. DaBreo further explained, “These internships are self-funded and provides an opportunity for the staff at the DDM to obtain additional information to support their assigned portfolios which might otherwise be difficult to accomplish on an annual basis. DDM officers are also able to interact with the students, thereby creating new relationships and gaining exposure to formal level programmes in the area of disaster management which they might wish to pursue in the future.”
Explaining her choice of research, Ms. Robertson said she is keenly interested in “climate change and how communities in small island states can adapt livelihoods and lifestyles to climate change impacts.” Ms. Robertson will be required to share her initial findings with DDM staff as well as her full thesis, upon completion, along with all raw data collected.
The University of Portsmouth graduate student also regards her DDM internship as an excellent opportunity to gain practical experience in the field of disaster management with specific emphasis on climate change effects and adaptation.
Ms. Robertson currently holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and Environmental Science and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Crisis and Disaster Management.
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British Virgin Islands News