TPSD announces 2024-2025 Principals and Teachers of the Year
December 18, 2023
Joseph Desire Callahan, Sr.
December 18, 2023
Today, Governor John Bel Edwards announced the release of the inaugural Statewide Resilience Report and website launch, two significant milestones in Louisiana’s commitment to enacting lasting improvements to build the state’s capacity for resilience and climate adaptation.
“During my eight years in office, we have witnessed an increase in the frequency, severity, and variety of environmental events in our state,” said Gov. Edwards. “Not every storm has to be a disaster. Working together, we have made generational investments that provide us a path forward and increase the resilience of our communities, our economy and our ecosystems.”
Louisiana’s inaugural Statewide Resilience Report details the establishment of new governance structures designed to increase coordination and communication across government levels and agencies. The report helps to define the character of Louisiana’s continuing work to build resilience and identifies three key areas of focus for 2024— Insurance Availability, Affordability, and the Problem of Risk; Heat Action Plan Development; and Migration, Receiving Communities, Adapting in Place, and Cultural Preservation. The report benefitted from public input from in-person meetings, online surveys, and emailed comments to model a collaborative and inclusive approach to address environmental risk affecting communities across Louisiana. It was developed in consultation with the Interagency Resilience Coordination Team and the Louisiana Resilience Task Force.
The publication of the inaugural Statewide Resilience report is complemented by the launch of a statewide resilience website. This online platform serves as a hub for information, resources, and updates on the state’s resilience initiatives including meetings, outreach, and connections to other efforts to build resilience. The website can be accessed here.
Together, these developments reflect the implementation of Act 315 of the regular 2023 session, which established the Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) position and called for the creation of annual resilience reports. Charles Sutcliffe, Governor Edwards’s CRO, emphasizes, “The year 2024 is one of political transitions across Louisiana, but there is nothing partisan about coming together to lessen the negative impacts of disasters on the people of this state or in collaborating to help our residents and communities thrive in the face of a changing environment.” He continued, “Not every hazard has to lead to disaster. By working together through these new governance models, Louisiana can build its ability to adapt and move toward the future it wants and the future its people deserve.”
These achievements mark significant progress since Gov. Edwards announced building resilience as a priority of his second term, setting the stage for a Louisiana that is prepared to face environmental challenges and embrace a sustainable future. For more information, visit the Chief Resilience Officer’s website and access the Statewide Resilience Report here.
