-during 37th COTED meeting
THE 37th special meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), commenced at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat Thursday, with emphasis on environment and sustainable development. The two-day meeting which attracted ministers and member states of the Caribbean Community will also address issues pertaining to the importance of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), Sustainable  Land Management in the Caribbean, Climate Change and Renewable Energy, and preparations for the United Nations RIO+20 review process.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, during the proceedings, welcomed the initiative as critical to the region, since it plays a major role in enhancing the quality of life of people.
He said that while the region has not lost sight of the importance of the environment and sustainable development to the benefit of its people, the forum comes at a time when increased global attention is focused on the link between the quality of life of people and the ability to sustainably manage the environment.
“It is in this context, that our leaders at the 32nd Regular Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government in St. Kitts and Nevis last July, requested the CARICOM Secretariat to convene this meeting so that we could consolidate the Region’s preparations for the 17th Conference of the State Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in December,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, government believes that a community’s collective interest would be best served if there are harmonised regional positions on the environment and sustainable development, including climate change.
Referring to the 2009 Liliendaal Declaration issued by CARICOM Heads of State and Government, he said that the document serves as a guideline for regional negotiators and lauded the work of the major players.
“In less than a year, the United Nations Rio+20 Conference will be held. As a Region, we need to take stock of our collective effort towards implementing the provisions of the Rio Convention, the Mauritius Strategy and the Barbados Plan of Action, notwithstanding constraints faced,” he said.
He encouraged the leaders to recognise progress made thus far to transform economies, while sustainably managing its environment, making mention of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) which sets goals as to how a country can progress onto a low carbon trajectory.
Hinds told the gathering that this can only be achieved if the right economic incentives are in place without compromising a country’s sovereignty.
The prime minister credits several projects, including the Amaila Falls Hydro Power project, Hinterland Electrification Programme, and the Small and Micro Enterprise Development project as initiatives towards obtaining a green economy.
“The Government of Guyana therefore welcomes the space that this meeting offers for us to propose a regional approach to those critical issues which may well appear intractable, were we to tackle them as individual states,” he said.
Ambassador Colin Granderson, Assistant Secretary-General Foreign and Community Relations, CARICOM, while noting that the meeting is a timely one, said the community needs to prepare itself to effectively protect and advance its interest at upcoming conferences that are of critical importance to its sustainable development.
“As the international community prepares for Rio+20, the notion of a green economy has become central. This notion provides fresh impetus as well as an overarching framework capable of transforming the global economy into a more productive and truly sustainable and socially responsible global system, which would give due consideration to issues of development and equity,” he said.
Noting that small developing states continue to take the lead on the implementation of plans and programmes to facilitate sustainable development, he said that they are, however, increasingly constrained by adverse factors underlined in agenda 21 of the Barbados Programme of Action.
Meanwhile, Barbados’s Minister of Commerce and Trade, and Chairman of COTED, Haynesley Benn, while noting that the region is collectively bearing witness to the impact of climate change and natural disasters, said the meeting comes at a time when the economies are in constant flux.
He said that while the Region looks to the Rio+20 conference to secure renewed political commitment, decisions adopted at the 37th Special Meeting will be critical to negotiations in the international process.
“There is therefore too much at stake to delay our levels of ambition at this meeting. We have already identified a challenge of an implementation deficit for the region, notwithstanding our strength in conceptualising solutions, we can do more,” he cautioned.
He said that while the meeting will pave the way for global attention, it will also see regional issues being placed on the front burner, while showcasing accomplishments across social, economic and environmental spheres.  (GINA)