Caribbean delegates ended a two-day meeting in St Lucia on Wednesday identifying opportunities for collective action towards the full implementation of measures contained in Declaration of the 1992 Rio Summit.

The organisers said the conference looked at access rights to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters as enshrined in Principle 10 of the Declaration.

The meeting was organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).

During the meeting, ECLAC presented a preliminary version of the regional agreement on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters, drafted at the request of countries from the negotiating committee on the regional accord.

In addition, participants analyzed the challenges seen in terms of strengthening capacities and cooperation as well as countries’ specific needs for the implementation of the Bali guidelines.

The two-day meeting is being followed by a workshop on climate change, natural disasters and coastal vulnerability in the Caribbean.