OECS Building Codes

The chain of islands which comprise the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States are historically subject to the frequent invasions of destructive hurricanes with the additional hazard of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Al I of these cause severe loss and severe damage to the housing stock in the OECS. The Governments of the OECS have recognised that this damage affects the poor to a significant extent. and have placed emphasis on the development of building standards which would prevent or mitigate the damage so caused. The Governments are also revising existing planning and building regulations so as to be more responsive to the current needs. The OECS Secretariat has therefore. with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme and through the UNCHS/UNDP Project for Programme Support to the Human Settlements Sector in the OECS CCAR/89/0061, developed standard building codes and guidelines which address directly the specific requirements of each OECS country. The codes and guidelines are based on the Caribbean Uniform Building Code <CUBIC) and other regional codes such as the Bahamas Building Code, the Jamaica National Building Code and the Turks and Caicos Islands Building Code. The codes and guidelines so developed should become part of each country's regulatory mechanisms for ensuring adequate building standards, a list of which is appended.