Caribbean Sub-Regional Workshop on the Updating of NIPs and POPs Wastes under the Stockholm Convention

On December 8 - 10th, 2014 the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer (BCRC-Caribbean) hosted the Caribbean Sub-Regional Workshop on the Updating of National Implementation Plans (NIPs) and Persistent Organic  Pollutants (POPS) at the Hilton Hotel, Port of Spain. 

The Training Workshop was facilitated by representatives from the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions; Ms. Jacqueline Alvarez and Ms. Tatiana Terekhova and the International POPs Consultant, Dr. Roland Weber.

Eight (8) English speaking Caribbean countries who are signatory to the Stockholm Convention participated including representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis,   St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago was represented by Ms. Keima Gardiner (Environmental Engineering Specialist) and Ms. Amrita Bhagan (On-the-Job Trainee) from the Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources.

The Workshop involved:

• a preparatory webinar session prior to the commencement of the workshop
• presentations that facilitated discussions amongst participants on case studies and group exercises
• awareness building of the available support tools that can be acquired for reviewing and updating of their NIPs and inventories as well as toolkits for use particularly with consideration of the POPs newly added to the Convention and the implications of utilizing these chemicals, and strategies for developing appropriate management actions for their sound use.
• a site visit to Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) in Claxton Bay
  
  

Participants of the Caribbean Sub-regional Workshop including Ms. Bhagan and Ms. Gardiner (front row, from L-R)

 

 

Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Management Mechanism for POPs in the Caribbean

A Regional Validation Workshop was hosted by the Basel Convention Regional Centre for the Caribbean on  September 25th, 2014 to  September 26th, 2014 at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, Port of Spain. 

The workshop was attended by one Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Operational Focal Point and one Stockholm Convention National Focal or Official Contact Point from each of the following eight (8) Caribbean territories: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

These countries represent the member states involved in the GEF funded full-sized project “Development and Implementation of a Sustainable Management Mechanism for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Caribbean”. Ms. Keima Gardiner, Environmental Engineering Specialist, Environmental Policy Analyst represented the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources at the Workshop.

The workshop was convened to:

• finalise all technical administrative and financial elements of the project as discussed in the Town Meetings held in July, 2014 in the respective territories 
• refine the budget and work plan for the project 
• provide an official forum for consensus building and project validation 

 

Representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) were present to facilitate information sharing among project member states and foster collaboration in advance of official project implementation. This was done by providing participants with resource material and empirical information on UNIDO's experiences with POPs and unintentional POPs (uPOPs) in other countries. The Regional Consultant for the Project, Ms. Camille Roopnarine, gave an in-depth review of the project components as it related to the expected outputs, affiliated activities and budgetary allocations for each. 

At the end of the Workshop, regional stakeholders agreed in principle with the outcomes and this was to be confirmed through the provision of individual co-financing agreements.

Group photo of the participants including Ms. Gardiner (front, 4th from the left) at the GEF funded Regional POPs Project with representation from Caribbean states, UNIDO and BCRC-Caribbean.

This place is a Zoo!

World Environment Day 2012 was commemorated with an open day and petting zoo at our office building! 

Staffs of the EPPD and the Green Fund Executing Unit of the Ministry of Housing and the Environment, along with the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean Region (BCRC-Trinidad and Tobago), decided to give the public a truly hands-on experience this year as we commemorated World Environment Day 2012 at the El Socorro offices.

We held an Open Day that had a multi-pronged effect: it allowed the residents, businesses and schools within the El Socorro area to become more acquainted with the mandates and activities of the different environmental offices housed in our building, whilst also commemorating the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5^th, 2012). 

As we interacted with the public, we were able to impress upon them the need for environmental conservation, preservation and rehabilitation, as well as sensitize both adults and kids on some of the local species of biodiversity such as the ocelot. The Open Day also commemorated the 1^st Anniversary of the EPPD’s relocation to the El Socorro area from Port of Spain in 2011.

 
The Open Day was well received by all, especially the children who were most impressed with our “Mini Petting Zoo” which was provided by the Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago.