Cognisant of
the challenges faced with environmentally sound waste management in the
Caribbean region, and as a mechanism to augment and streamline the ongoing
activities in this area, the Basel Convention Regional Centre for the Caribbean
(BCRC-Caribbean), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) initiated the preliminary phases of development of a project
under the Global Environment Facility seventh allocation (GEF 7), for Small
Island Developing States (SIDS).
In this regard,
a meeting to develop project ideas for the Caribbean for onward submission to
the GEF was held on July 17th -18th, 2018 at the Hyatt
Hotel, Port of Spain. An overview was
provided on the GEF 7 replenishment and on the proposed GEF ISLANDs
(Implementing Sustainable, Low and Non-chemicals Development in Small Island
Developing States) Programme. The latter is being developed in the Caribbean
and Pacific regions through the GEF-7 Chemical and Waste focal area, and aims
to prevent the build-up of materials and chemicals in the environment that
contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mercury and other harmful
chemicals in SIDS, and to manage and dispose of existing harmful chemicals and
materials in SIDS.
On the first
day, presentations were delivered by the representatives from a range of
regional entities including the Caribbean Regional Organisation for Standards
and Quality (CROSQ), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Organisation
of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB),
and the UN Environment Caribbean Sub-Regional Office. The country
representatives from the various delegations around the region also provided a
synopsis of the chemicals and waste profiles in their respective territories,
inclusive of relevant legislation, policies and projects, as well as the
priority areas on a national level. Ms. Keima Gardiner, Waste Management
Specialist, presented on Trinidad and Tobago’s priorities.
The second
day of meetings commenced with a panel discussion consisting of technicians
engaged in chemicals and waste management throughout the region. This was
followed by break-out group discussions amongst the countries on the possible
interventions to achieve the programme’s goals, based on commonalities of
national priorities and waste streams, targets with respect to modernisation
and identification and filling of existing gaps. The outcomes of this meeting
were used as the basis for development of the Project Framework Document for
the Caribbean region for the GEF ISLANDS Programme.
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| Participants at the Meeting |
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