JAMAICA STORM GUSTAV UPDATE: RECOVERY ASSISTANCE: 2

UNCLAS KINGSTON 000806 SIPDIS SENSITIVE NSC FOR (DFISK) and (CGARCIA) STATE FOR WHA/CAR (ACADIEUX) (VDEPIRRO) (WSMITH) WHA for A/S (TSHANNON) and DAS (KMADISON) F for HFORE USAID for LAC WHA/EPSC (MROONEY) SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS AND FAS TREASURY FOR ERIN NEPHEW E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID EAIR EAGR EINV ECON ETRD IADB IBRD IMF TRSY AID, XL, JM SUBJECT: JAMAICA STORM GUSTAV UPDATE: RECOVERY ASSISTANCE: 2 OPTIONS REF: A) KINGSTON 795 B) KINGSTON 770 C) KINGSTON 761 D) KINGSTON 760 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Tropical Storm Gustav made landfall in Jamaica on August 28-29 with sustained winds of 73 miles per hour and dumped an estimated 250-375 mm of rainfall over 24 hours. The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) estimates damages of USD 31.5 million in agriculture; USD 166 million to infrastructure (roads and bridges) and USD 2.8 million to schools. Gustav has the potential to threaten already strained prospects for economic growth and possibly undermine the newly elected government's attempts to reform the economy and clamp down on rampant corruption. END SUMMARY. RECOVERY EFFORTS AND 2 SCENARIOS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Based upon the preliminary estimates from the GOJ, the USG assistance for disaster recovery should focus on three important areas: agricultural sector, civil infrastructure, and school repair (reftel A). USD 5 MILLION SCENARIO -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The impact of Gustav has compounded an already dire food security situation and threatens further loss of jobs in the agriculture-dependent parishes of Portland, St. Thomas, St. Mary and St. Andrew. On the infrastructure side, emphasis will be placed on providing technical assistance to carry out structural damage assessments and develop plans to repair roads and bridges in the most affected parishes as well as to carry out repairs to critical farmer-to-market roads. The following is a scenario for USD 5 million in assistance: AGRICULTURE: USD 2 Million - Encouraging alternative crop production and use of greenhouse technology in the vulnerable agricultural Parishes of St. Andrew, Portland and St. Thomas; - Providing technical assistance to small farmers to rehabilitate damaged crops and protect against agricultural damage from similar natural disasters in the future. - Enhancing the capacity of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to provide extension services to agricultural producers; INFRASTRUCTURE: USD 3 Million - Technical Assistance to carry out damage assessments to infrastructure in the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Mary, Portland, and St. Thomas; and - Repair of critical rural roads in the parishes of Portland and St. Thomas. USD 10 MILLION SCENARIO -------------- ¶4. (SBU) USD five million more in recovery assistance would enable recovery efforts to focus on a wider geographic area to include other critically impacted parishes. It also would broaden the type of agricultural assistance provided to protect livelihoods among economically vulnerable communities in agricultural parishes. It also would allow assistance to schools. Additional assistance would include: EXPANDED SCOPE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND AGRICULTURE: USD 4 Million - Rural roads and bridges in the Parishes of St. Andrew, St. Mary, Portland and St. Thomas; - Crop recovery programs that shift the focus from bananas and sugarcane to higher-value, more storm resistant products such as vegetables, condiments, coffee, cocoa, as well as environmentally friendly forestry initiatives. SCHOOLS / EDUCATION: USD 1 Million - Reconstruction and repair of schools, with a focus on the most affected parishes on the island. Assistance would support continued operations of educational programs, specifically Centers of Excellence in Teacher Training (a Presidential Initiative) and the Expanding Education Horizons project. HEG