Sustainable land management the focus of two-day workshop
Minister of State Joseph Harmon addresses focal points from the Caribbean on Sustainable Land Management
Minister of State Joseph Harmon addresses focal points from the Caribbean on Sustainable Land Management

Guyana and several other Caribbean countries are building capacity in the area of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) to guard against the mismanagement and degradation of land and ecosystems in the region.

A two-day workshop towards this cause began on Monday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. The event saw the attendance of Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.

The event is being hosted in collaboration with the Partnership Initiative for Sustainable Land Management (PISLM), a sub-regional body established by CARICOM and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

A release from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) stated that those represented were focal points from Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Haiti, Suriname and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The workshop is geared towards strengthening the region’s negotiating skills within the organs of the UNCCD and positioning the Caribbean to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.

At the opening ceremony, Harmon reminded the gathering that the loss of land and resources remains a continuous impediment to a global resolution regarding humankind’s main threat.

He stated: “Land and its resources maintain the climate, provide food, medicine, freshwater, sustains livelihood, maintain ecosystems and support other benefits derived from the environment. It is paramount that we pay attention to these issues and use the skills garnered through this workshop to improve your negotiation at the global, regional and national levels.”

Harmon added that the workshop is well-timed and therefore encouraged the delegates to make best use of the opportunity.

“It is expected that an agenda be set for sustainable land management at the end of this two-day workshop to better position the Caribbean Small Island States as a global leader in meeting its obligation in SDG15. Therefore, our work over the next two days is critical and I encourage you participants to work diligently and in good faith,” he said.

He stated further that it would help to influence final decisions related to the strengthening of the positions of the sub-regional land management agenda; the tabling the Caribbean vision for SLM and setting PISLM’s agenda for the next two years.

On Thursday and Friday, Minister Harmon and his counterparts within Caribbean SIDS will meet once again to further deliberate on deliverables coming out of the two-day workshop.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of the GLSC and Chairman of the PISLM task force, Trevor L. Benn urged those attending to collaborate towards the provision operational policy guidance to the Caribbean sub-regional grouping of the UNCCD.

He reminded the gathering that they should also take into consideration the policy directives which are provided by the various ministerial bodies.

“This workshop will provide an opportunity for UNCCD focal points from the Caribbean to increase their knowledge as it relates to negotiating in the various bodies of UNCCD,” Benn said.

The PISLM, he relayed, has been providing a framework for assisting country parties with the implementation of the UNCCD and country action plans to combat land degradation.

The body also aids with addressing the land management component of the Barbados Program of Action (BPOA) and the Mauritius strategy (MSI) in Caribbean SIDS.

Meanwhile, both Harmon and Benn believe that the workshop will also aid in the setting of a common position regarding Committee on Science and Technology (CST17), set to be hosted in Guyana in January, 2019.

Attending representatives at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday

“Guyana’s hosting of the 17th session of the committee for the review of the implementation of the convention creates an opportunity for Caribbean SIDS to collaborate and showcase our best practices under a common accord,” Harmon said.

Benn took the opportunity to provide the gathering with an update on Guyana’s preparation for the hosting of the conference next year.

“The hosting of CRIC17 in Guyana will also be the first of its kind of the UNCCD process to be held in the English-speaking Caribbean and we have already advanced the planning and preparation of hosting the event with major support from the PISLM support office.

“We are expecting 500-600 persons from 197 countries from all regions of the world to attend this event. The hosting of CRIC17 also creates an opportunity for Caribbean countries to effectively collaborate and highlight our best practices as it relates to the implementation of the convention,” he noted.

The UNCCD provides the global framework for addressing land degradation and SLM issues in Small Island developing States (SIDS).

Given the scope of this mechanism, if used effectively, it could significantly contribute to poverty eradication and food security in keeping with the convention’s mandate.

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