Climate Change Awareness in Schools continue

The importance of climate change education and awareness is highlighted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). As Trinidad and Tobago is signatory to the UNFCCC,  the country is required to carry out educational awareness programmes and initiatives on climate change.

In this regard, the EPPD has been conducting public awareness programmes in schools across the country. The following are some of the recent schools that members of the EPPD have visited thus far:

 ASJA Girl's College - January 29, 2015

 

Ms. Aditi Thanoo, EPPD giving part of the climate change presentation to the girls of ASJA Girl's College

Ms. Candace Leung Woo-Gabriel, EPPD delivering the other part of the presentation to the ASJA girls

 

Woodbrook Secondary School - February 2, 2015

Ms. Thanoo delivering the climate change presentation to the Geography Form 3 class of Woodbrook Secondary

Form 3 Geography class of Woodbrook Secondary listening attentively to the climate change awareness presentation

It’s official! The NIP has been submitted

As a signatory of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the Government of Trinidad and Tobago submitted its National Implementation Plan (NIP) as required under Article 7 of the Convention on January 22nd, 2015.

 

The National Implementation Plan for Trinidad and Tobago can be found via the following link:

• Trinidad and Tobago NIP

For more information on the Stockholm Convention on POPs and to view Country Parties' NIP submissions including Trinidad and Tobago's NIP, visit the Stockholm Convention's website.

 

Sub-Regional Workshop for the Caribbean Countries in support for the Ratification and early Implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury

The Sub-regional Workshop for Caribbean countries in support for the Ratification and early Implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury was held from 19th to 21st January, 2015 at the Hilton Trinidad, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. 

 

The Workshop was  hosted by the Interim Secretariat of the Minamata Convention in conjunction with the Basel Convention  Regional Centre for the Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean). Designed to ensure the appropriate enabling  environment is created at the country level, the Workshop was intended to  facilitate the effective and efficient implementation of the Minamata Convention in the interim period until it enters into force.

In attendance were government representatives of twelve (12) Caribbean countries and delegates from Latin American countries. Additionally, local and sub-regional stakeholder organisations involved in the manufacture, use or management of mercury were also present. Ms. Keima Gardiner, Environmental Engineering Specialist from Environmental Policy and Planning Division, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) was among the representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago delegation.

Representatives from regional, inter-governmental, and non-governmental organisations also participated in the meeting. These organisations included: CARICOM, United  Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Global Environmental Facility (GEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP), United States Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), officers from UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) and its Division of  Technology, Industry and Economics and IPEN. 

Permanent Secretary of the MEWR, Ms. Vidiah Ramkhelawan delivered the feature remarks at the Workshop. She encouraged participants to utilise the three day session to expand their knowledge base in an effort towards developing resolute, collaborative and comprehensive decisions with respect to the environmentally sound management of mercury in their respective territories.

The forum involved an exploration into each of the Articles of the Minamata Convention with group  activities for certain key provisions and culminated with participants creating a draft country road map for the ratification and early implementation of the Convention.

Participants of the Sub-Regional Workshop for the Caribbean on the Implementation of the Minamata Convention in January, 2015 including Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh (Head, Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit, MEWR ( Front row, second from the left), Ms. Ramkhelawan (front row, middle)  and Ms. Gardiner (back row,  first from the left)