OECS launches biodiversity awareness campaign
Written By: Alisha Ally
The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States launched its public awareness materials under the OECS Protecting the Eastern Caribbean Region’s Biodiversity Project, or the PERB for short. The launch was held at the Ministry of Economic Affairs Conference Room in the American Drywall Building Friday morning
(July 10).
Head of the OECS Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (ESDU), Keith Nichols.
According to Head of the OECS Environment and Sustainable Development Unit (ESDU), Keith Nichols, the focus of PERB is to make development issues urgent across member states and emphasize the need to protect the ecological systems that support the development agenda. He went on to say the key to fulfilling the agenda is education and awareness, especially when there are competing interests at loggerheads with conservation and preservation.
Crispin d’Auvergne made his remarks as a representative of National Focal Point
St Lucia and explained, “If you look at the growth in St Lucia, you will see that we are competing interests for our natural resources all over our island. Each sector is vying for its own piece of our natural habitat but without consideration for the needs of other sectors and that cannot continue to happen. Our very economy is dependent on the availability of sufficient natural capital to secure the requirements of all the sectors and to meet the needs of our growing population. We need to find ways in which each sector can grow but in an equitable manner.” He stressed the natural environment is pivotal to socio-economic prosperity, therefore, maintaining biodiversity is paramount.
In October 2007, the OECS entered into an agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), facilitating access to donor funds to continue work in the region on biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity conservation is a priority for the USAID since healthy, biodiverse systems form the foundation for economic and social development, which is a priority for this agency. At Friday’s event, USAID representative Michael Taylor says the biodiversity awareness campaign must not only educate the public but also target the policymakers behind the development process.
As an OECS ESDU document states: “The OECS islands form the eastern most boundary of the Caribbean region and these islands are rich in biodiversity, which features terrestrial systems such as coastal and rain forests, and marine systems such as mangrove wetlands, seagrass beds and coral reefs. However, there are signs of degradation of these fragile systems and as such, their associated species and environmental services are being put at risk.” A number of these species residing in OECS territories are endemic to the region, and this degradation is, for the most part, associated with poorly planned developments, population growth, unsustainable agricultural and tourism activities, pollution and overexploitation of natural resources.
The region’s governments have expressed their commitment to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity after recognizing the importance of biodiversity to our economic growth and way of life. Their commitment has been demonstrated through the signing of relevant regional and international agreements. One such agreement is the region’s St George’s Declaration, which includes a principle to protect and conserve biological diversity.
The development of the PERB Project was based on past work in the region that has highlighted issues affecting the OECS Member States, the needs of these countries and lessons learnt. The project comprises four components. The first two components focus on addressing issues at the national level and the other two components focus at the regional level.