Regional approach needed to manage environmental, natural resources issues – COTED

Georgetown, GINA, April 19, 2008

Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud today outlined the decisions taken by the twenty fifth meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). Addressing a press conference, at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Persaud said that the meeting affirmed the need for a Regional approach to tackling environmental and natural resources management issues.
            They also agreed that the St George’s Declaration, which requires the Region to identify and quantify climate change vulnerability and risk through building Regional capacity to collect and analyse data, and expanding the overall knowledge base on climate change impacts and associated physical and economic vulnerabilities, should be considered in the formulation of the proposed CARlCOM Environment and Natural Resources Policy Framework.
Emphasis was placed on the importance of ensuring that the proposed Framework is consistent with existing and emerging sector and other specific frameworks being developed at the Regional level. In this regard the CARICOM Secretariat was mandated to coordinate a series of consultations with National and Regional stakeholders to develop the Community Environment and Natural resources Policy Framework.
The secretariat was given 12 months within which to develop the first communication to Member States on the Community Environment and Natural Resource Policy Framework for approval at the next COTED meeting on the environment.
Recognising the set of key statistics required under the Caribbean Community Single Market and Economy (CSME), Persaud said that the meeting noted other statistics and indicators have been generated from the key environmental initiatives within the Region, namely the Integrated Watershed and Coastal Area Management (lWCAM) Project, and committed to integrating these within the process of developing core indicators for the Region.
In this regard the secretariat was mandated to identify the deficiencies in capacity, whether human, financial or technical, that constitutes impediments to data capture and storage within the next 12 months or the next Meeting of the COTED Environment
On the issue of climate change Minister Persaud reported the meeting agreed that alternative mechanisms should be examined to coordinate the Region's participation in Climate Change Negotiations under the auspices of the CARICOM Secretariat and in collaboration with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC).
The meeting considered the draft climate change strategy for the Region and recognized the need for more consultation before the document was finalized.
With regards to the Region’s water resources, COTED approved the process for the development of a common water framework.
The Ministers  responsible for water, environment, agriculture and health in the Region  were mandated by the meeting to provide the highest level of political support to advance the initiation of national Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) development and processes where they have not yet commenced and to support them where they exist.
In addressing the Region’s renewable resources, Minister Persaud reported that the meeting acknowledged the progress made by Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Project (CREDP) in the development of capacity-building for Renewable Energy in the Region and encouraged member states to communicate to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) their continued support of its work.
The meeting further mandated the Secretariat to ensure that in the implementation of its energy work programme the achievements of CREDP are built upon in strengthening the Region's approach to the increased use of renewable energy resources.
The meeting urged the Secretariat to make every effort to finalise arrangements with the European Commission to implement the Capacity Support for the Sustainable Management of Energy Resources in the Caribbean Region project at the earliest opportunity.
Member States were asked to continue their on-going efforts to reform their energy sector with a view to diversifying sources of energy including the increased use of renewable energy and to assess their own national situations in determining the way forward on national biofuels policies;
In relation to the management of the Caribbean Sea, member states were requested to provide support to the development of an action plan for the Caribbean Sea Commission and to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Special Designation for the Caribbean Sea under Annex V of the MARPOL 73/78 Convention, which deals with pollution by garbage from ships, enters into force as soon as possible.

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