CARICOM and UNEP extend cooperation on environment

CARICOM LAUNCHES PHASE III CARIBBEAN HUB SUBPROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION-UN ENVIRONMENT FUNDED CAPACITY BUILDING RELATED TO MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS PROJECT IN AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC (ACP) COUNTRIES PROJECT

Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and Acting Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) Mr. Arnold Kreilhuber have signed a new Project Cooperation Agreement approving continued capacity building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) support for the region.

The programme on capacity building, related to MEAs in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, results from a partnership between the European Commission (EC), the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States (ACP Secretariat), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The aim of this Programme is to empower key stakeholders to address environmental challenges and to reap the benefits of improved environmental management at the national and regional levels.

[caption id="attachment_25927" align="alignright" width="640"] From left to right: Mrs. Helen Royer, Director Human and Social Development, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat with Ms. Shunae Samuels and Ms. Teshia Jn Baptiste Caribbean Hub ACP MEAs Project Phase III Project Assistant and Project Coordinator[/caption]

The CARICOM Secretariat has hosted the Caribbean Hub from 2009, and throughout the first two phases of the Programme, the Hub has worked to mainstream the relevant Conventions on biodiversity, chemicals and waste management into institutions and national development plans by promoting an integrated and synergistic approach to environmental management.

As part of the Sustainable Development work programme of the Human and Social Development Directorate of the Secretariat, Dr. Douglas Slater, Assistant Secretary General, Human and Social Development “recognizes that the COVID-19 has caused delays and has thrown us off course temporarily – but notes that the potential opportunities to build the capacity of the Region with current and cutting edge information remain a priority”.

The ACP MEAs Phase III aims to further enhance the mainstreaming and implementation of the biodiversity, chemicals and waste MEAs clusters with tailored awareness raising activities and the development of knowledge building and knowledge sharing tools for targeted audiences, especially decision-makers, technical officers and Convention negotiators. 

A key area of focus is on building enforcement and compliance processes and mechanisms within Member States to enable them to fulfill commitments under the selected MEAs and to participate more effectively in the international negotiating arena.

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