Statement by Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment of Saint Kitts and Nevis| High-Level Segment, 16th Meeting of the Conference of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity| Cali, Colombia| 30 October 2024

"The fight for biodiversity cannot be disentangled from the climate crisis. This is why our commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework is especially critical and why Saint Kitts and Nevis supports CARICOM’s position in protecting our Biodiversity hotspots." 

I greet you warmly on behalf of the Prime Minister, the Government and People of Saint Kitts and Nevis.   

As a coastal island nation, our realities are shaped by our environment. For generations, we have survived and thrived alongside nature. 

But this sense of balance has been disturbed by rising global temperatures. Despite negligible contributions to climate challenges, Saint Kitts and Nevis – and small island developing states across the world – experience their unjust and disproportionate impacts.  Hurricanes, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels threaten to decimate our unique biodiversity, demanding that we reconcile our actions and promote peace with nature.   

The fight for biodiversity cannot be disentangled from the climate crisis. This is why our commitment to the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework is especially critical and why Saint Kitts and Nevis supports CARICOM’s position in protecting our Biodiversity hotspots. 

• The Conference’s theme, “Peace with Nature”, resonates with our national agenda of transforming our Federation into a Sustainable Island State by 2040. 

Through this, we are reclaiming our resilience – clinging to sustainability as our last, clear lifeline.  

We remain steadfast in the revision of our National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans, aligning them with the KMGBF.  We are setting ambitious but achievable targets for conservation which include expanding our protected areas to cover 30% of marine and terrestrial landscapes and implementing nature-based solutions to restore ecosystems such as our mangroves and coral reefs. 

This is why we ceaselessly call for enhanced resource mobilisation, climate and biodiversity financing, strengthened international cooperation and the creation of multilateral environmental agreements that cater to the needs of all parties.  

Because for global action towards protecting biodiversity to truly work and work for all, we must ensure that all voices – rural, indigenous, youth and women – not only have equitable access to the tools and livelihood opportunities that will empower them but are substantively included and considered in decision-making processes. 

Saint Kitts and Nevis will not waste the work of our ancestors, nor will we forsake our islands. We are at war on two dangerous fronts: war with humanity and with nature. One must end and the other cannot continue. We ask that the international community stand instead on the frontlines of conservation, peace and environmental stewardship for a harmonious global co–existence with nature.