(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean region is being urged to take immediate action to ensure its national response mechanisms are fully in place to ward off the social and economic effects of invasive pests and diseases.
This call to action was made by the Caribbean Invasive Species Working Group (CISWG) at its recently concluded meeting held 27-28 October 2005 in Trinidad and Tobago.
Following its deliberations and based on expert views, the Working Group concluded that Caribbean countries needed to take immediate defense action against the Invasive Specie that transmits the Avian Influenza. It was noted that it would only be a matter of time before the dreaded virus reaches the Region.
To this end, the Working Group was informed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat of its proposal to convene a meeting to map a regional strategy to deal with Avian Influenza. The meeting will comprise competent national authorities of CARICOM Member States.
The meeting was informed that to date some CARICOM Member States had established national focal points to map and manage the national response to Avian Influenza. The Working Group recommended that States under its umbrella immediately strengthen their surveillance and tackle issues of quarantine, legislation and diagnosis and emergency response systems to delay and rapidly respond to the threat of Avian Influenza.
In terms of a coordinated Caribbean response to dealing with Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in the long term, the Working Group fine-tuned the project Caribbean Invasive Alien Species Information System (CIASIS), which has two components. These are to provide timely information on the status of pests and support pests risk assessment which are needed to facilitate trade and to establish an internet based network of diagnostic laboratories and specialists to be utilised in the fight against IAS.
Previously, the Working Group had submitted a Caribbean Regional Invasive Species Intervention Strategy (CRISIS) document to CARICOM Member States, countries of the French and Dutch West Indies and the United States for their consideration for adoption at the regional level. The strategy is a design for guiding the Caribbean region to take preventative action, mitigate and cope with the introduction, spread and impact of IAS, and for increasing awareness.
The Working Group also deliberated on the issue of public education and welcomed a proposal from the CARICOM Secretariat for its submission of a communication strategy for consideration and action.
The Caribbean Invasive Species Working Group comprises all English, French, Dutch and Spanish speaking countries/territories in the Caribbean Basin, including the States of the United States of America (USA) adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Working Group, which is chaired by the Caribbean Agricultural and Development Institute (CARDI), is comprised of CARICOM Secretariat; CAB International; Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO); the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA); University of the West Indies (UWI); University of Florida; CIRAD; Florida A&M University; IDIAF; USDA-APHIS and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
The membership of the Working Group was endorsed by the 19th Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). The COTED charged the Working Group to develop fundable proposals for strengthening the Region’s ability to safeguard itself against Invasive Alien Species.
