Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago Project - Approved!

The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources as the National Focal Point for the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification was assisted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to develop a proposal for a large scale Global Environmental Facility (GEF) funded project entitled “Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago.”

The four (4) year project is intended to conserve biodiversity in the country by setting up a protected areas system and enhancing capacity and finance for conservation management. It will also assist in the implementation of the new National Forest Policy and the National Protected Areas Policy.

In April, 2014, the final project document produced was endorsed by the GEF CEO which has recently been approved by Cabinet.  The approved project document and endorsement letter can be found below:

• Project Document: Improving Forest and Protected Area Management in Trinidad and Tobago
• GEF CEO Endorsement Letter 

The 2nd T&T National Communication under the UNFCCC is out!

In April 2013, the Second National Communication of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was published. 

Trinidad and Tobago, as a signatory to the UNFCCC, is committed to playing an integral role in helping to achieve the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC .i.e. preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system. Additionally, the country is required to publish these reports to update periodically and make available to the Conference of Parties (COP) its National Inventory of GHGs and its national programmes to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

As such, the Initial National Communication of The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago under UNFCCC was prepared and published in 2001. This Second National Communication focuses on the compilation and analysis of:

• the National Inventory of greenhouse gases (GHGs), 
• vulnerability and adaptation studies, 
• mitigation options and,
• recommendations for proper data collection and sharing, technology needs, capacity building, research and development constraints and challenges.

>> Click here to access the 2nd National Communication of Trinidad and Tobago under the UNFCCC.

The LECB Project

The Low Emission Capacity Building Programme (LECB) received approval from the Cabinet. The project document of the LECB Programme for Trinidad and Tobago was signed by the Minister of the  Environment and Water Resources, Senator, the Honourable Ganga Singh and the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. Richard Blewitt.

The LECB Programme partners with governments to implement national projects that support sustainable mitigation actions in both the public and industrial sectors. It was launched in January 2011 as part of a joint collaboration between the European Union (European Commission and Member States) and the United Nations Development Programme. This  collaborative programme aims to strengthen technical and institutional capacities at the country level, while at the same time facilitating inclusion and coordination of the public and private sector in national initiatives addressing climate change.   

The Ministry anticipates that the work of the LECB will commence in the near future. The next step is the hiring of a Project Manager and Technical Assistant; following which, the activities of the project shall begin. The main expected outputs include:

•  a greenhouse gas inventory 
• at least three Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), 
•  a Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system.