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Environment
in the Caribbean: will integration take place?
By: Nicole Siméon, Panos Institute
Nairobi, 7 February 2003 (Panos). None of the
Caribbean Environment Ministers present at the 22nd ministerial
forum of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) agrees to say
that the presence of Caribbean countries is a great opportunity
for this part of the world.
Held in follow-up to the world summit on sustainable
development, Johannesburg, this forum did allow them to think about
what the Caribbean community of countries want; to seek solutions
together and to exchange opinions both on their individual as well
as global situation.
From Suriname to the Bahamas, passing Antigua and
Barbuda, Cuba and Jamaica, the situation is far from brilliant:
lack of access to drinking water, poor waste management, marine
pollution, degradation of watersheds, overpopulation with exception
to countries such as Guyana or Suriname, climate change, imminent
natural disasters…. many problems that confirm the vulnerability
of this region.
Based on its geographical position, each territory
has its specific problems. Nevertheless the urgency of common action
is no longer debatable. "In Johannesburg during the world summit,
we created a new group, a common initiative of the Caribbean and
Latin-American countries and we are finding ways to see how to get
the funds to fight for the safeguarding and survival of the environment,"
says Dr Clifford P. Marica, Minister of Labour, Technological Development
and Environment in Suriname.
For Ms. Diann Black Layne, the deputy permanent representative
of Antigua and Barbuda, "joint action is the best solution
to fight against this vulnerability." In other words, it is
time to stop saying that this is only someone else's concern.
The UNEP regional office for Latin America and the
Caribbean already submitted to UNEP Headquarters an evaluation report
on the state of the environment in the region, Mr. Ricardo Sanchez
said, the chief executive of this regional bureau in Mexico.
UNEP grants a major priority to the countries of the
Caribbean and Latin America and plans to optimize the impact of
its activities in the region, in particular regarding the small
island-states. In this regard, the Executive Director of UNEP, Mr.
Toepfer has decided to establish an office in the region to collect
data linked to environmental issues.
Thursday night, the Executive Director, behind closed
doors, met with all the Ministers present as well as the Caricom
representative. This is another proof that the countries that did
attend, work very hard to address their problems and seek solutions,
Mr. Sanchez adds.
The regional office had started an analysis and assessment
of the Convention on Climate Change with regard to Haiti, and its
relevance on the country, Mr. Sanchez said. This year, it will conduct
and finalize an assessment of the state of the environment in Haiti.
This assessment is a result of a workshop on the improvement of
the capacities of the environmental authorities in Haiti, which
was held in Cuba and funded by UNEP.
At the same time, "we are designing a project,
which meets the need of the Artibonite to address its watershed
management problems. This project would be initiated by the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNEP and donor countries such
as the United States, Canada, and some European Union countries,
in particular France and Italy," Ricardo Sanchez announces.
The changes are not going to be felt overnight, Mr.
Sanchez acknowledges, adding that in the implementation of this
integrated programme, political stability must be taken into account
by the organizations, as well as poverty and the need to improve
the capacities and infrastructure of Haiti itself.
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