ACP-MEAs

Our Caribbean Community is one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world, home to plants and animals that are found nowhere else. We are proud of that accolade and are steadfast in our efforts to manage and protect our biodiversity. Listen as Julius Smith of the Ministry of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago describes the Caribbean. Mr. Smith was among a large contingent of regional stakeholders at a five-day event in Georgetown, Guyana, earlier this month that focused on the environment and the status of national plans to protect biodiversity in Member States. https://vimeo.com/938674843

Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General, on Monday outlined the ongoing initiatives the Community is undertaking to tackle global challenges, especially those related to the environment. The Secretary-General was at the time delivering the feature address at the opening ceremony of the Sub-Regional Dialogue on National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans and Workshop on Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework for the Caribbean Countries. The event was held in Georgetown, Guyana, from 15-19 April. Listen as Dr. Barnett highlights the initiatives and achievements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fRHqflBEs0

Honourable Vickram Bharrat, M.P., Minister of Natural Resources of Guyana; Representatives of Caribbean Governments; Representatives of Regional and International Organisations; Mr. Joseph Cox, Assistant Secretary General, Economic Integration, Innovation and Development and Other Members of Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat; Special Invitees; Distinguished Delegates; I am pleased to welcome you to Georgetown, Guyana, the home of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, and specifically, to this important Dialogue on the Global Biodiversity Framework. The 2022 United Nations (UN) Biodiversity Conference in Montreal underscored that biodiversity is the foundation of the global economy.  It is estimated that more than half of global economic output is dependent on the healthy functioning of global biodiversity systems. In our Caribbean Region, the economic, social and environmental characteristics of our countries make us particularly dependent on healthy ecosystems. CARICOM Member States are richly blessed with natural and environmental resources. However, we remain particularly vulnerable to biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution.  Although CARICOM countries are not major emitters, we bear the inordinate burden of the impact of the emissions of others. Historically, deforestation, land degradation, and air and water pollution put the Region’s rich biodiversity, including its endemic flora and fauna at risk. As Small Island and Low-lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS), we are constantly reminded of the challenges to our sustainable development. Because the solutions to many of our challenges do not lie only in our hands, we remain engaged with our international partners, discussing, negotiating and advocating for global changes that are critical to the survival of all on this planet. We do this in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, as part of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), as well as in international biodiversity discussions.  We are determined to lead by example, wherever we can, in efforts to tackle global challenges. Ladies and gentlemen, there are ongoing significant regional initiatives in this regard. For example, the Region has articulated its first Caribbean Community Environment and Natural Resources Policy Framework. This is to be formally launched at the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) scheduled for 27-30 May 2024, in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. This Policy Framework, which has been approved by Environment Ministers, is designed to serve as the umbrella policy for the sustainable management and use of the Community’s environmental and natural resources. The Framework acknowledges the vital role that land, air, water and oceans play in sustaining the economic, social and environmental development of the Community. The Framework also provides the basis on which a Caribbean Community Biodiversity Strategy, aligned to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, is being finalised for Ministerial approval. The Strategy will guide our Member States and development partners towards harmonised action for the management, conservation, and fair and sustainable use of the Region’s biodiversity resources.     Secondly, the Region has been implementing Vision 25 by 2025, our comprehensive strategy to reduce the near US$6B food import bill in CARICOM as we focus on building food and nutrition security. The Region is taking action to strengthen food production, improve intra-regional trade, and create wealth and economic opportunity within the agriculture sector in every CARICOM Member State.  Biodiversity is critically integrated into food security through agricultural production, mitigating the negative effects of pollution, increasing crop production, and supporting nutrient cycling. Thirdly, CARICOM has played a very constructive role in the successful completion of the negotiation of the new High Seas Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).  The CARICOM grouping negotiated en bloc, and led in the negotiations on Marine Genetic Resources and Cross-Cutting Issues. We continue to coordinate as a Region as we move to the signature, ratification and implementation of the Treaty. As we do so, we applaud the Government of Belize which became the first CARICOM country to ratify the BBNJ Agreement, setting the pace for wider Caribbean engagement. Ladies and gentlemen, While we are proud of what we have accomplished so far, we remain acutely aware that implementation requires adequate human resources, training and capacity building, research, technology transfer and development, and most importantly, adequate and accessible financing. Partnerships and cooperation remain critical to implementation of the Region’s policies and programmes. In this regard, CARICOM reiterates its appreciation to the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Secretariat, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), for their support for CARICOM’s regional environmental initiatives. We look forward to a continued and expanded partnership. In this regard, I wish to highlight the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Multilateral Environmental Agreements Project, funded by the EU and UNEP.  This initiative has allowed the CARICOM Secretariat to be the coordinator of the Caribbean hub of this Project.  In fact, the Project team collaborated closely with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Government of Guyana, to ensure that together, we could successfully prepare for and host this week’s Dialogue. Commitments such as the ACP Multilateral Environmental Agreements Project empower key stakeholders to address environmental challenges, and reap the benefits of improved environmental management at the national and regional levels. Given the impact made and the prospects for greater results, it is critical that this work continue. Ladies and Gentlemen, During this week, governments, international organisations, indigenous peoples, local communities, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholder groups in the Region are all at this table to address our critical challenges. My expectation is that this rich mix of participants, experience, and expertise will yield excellent exchanges while addressing common challenges and proposing solutions. I urge your active engagement as you deliberate on how we protect and restore nature, prosper with nature, share benefits fairly, invest and collaborate. I wish you a productive meeting. Thank you very much. Please see photographs of the opening ceremony here