Castries, St Lucia – June 28, 2024: The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), in collaboration with the Government of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), is set to host the 11th Council of Ministers Meeting on Environmental Sustainability (COM) in Tortola from July 3-4, 2024.
Themed “From Aspiration to Focused ACTION,” the meeting aims to strategize and make collective decisions among the OECS Member States to advance the implementation of the St. George’s Declaration of Principles for Environmental Sustainability. Key focus areas include minimizing environmental vulnerability, improving environmental management, and protecting the region’s resource base for optimal social and economic benefits. The meeting will address pressing issues such as climate change, biodiversity conservation, sustainable energy, and waste management.
This year’s meeting marks the first to evaluate actions and partnerships supporting progress along the Roadmap to 2030, endorsed in July 2023 at COM10 in Anguilla. Ministers will review recommendations from newly established Ministerial-led Standing Committees on cross-cutting and enabling themes, complemented by contributions from aligned Partners. Following the recent fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SDIS4), COM11 will feature a panel of Ministers and key experts to discuss the implications and positioning of the OECS region in implementing and leveraging the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) towards resilient prosperity through environmental sustainability.
Premier and Minister of Finance, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, Honourable Dr. Natalio Wheatley, expressed his enthusiasm about hosting the event: “Hosting COM11 in the Virgin Islands is a significant opportunity for our region to discuss critical environmental issues and collaborate on sustainable solutions. The Virgin Islands is committed to advocating for environmental sustainability in the Caribbean and beyond.”
Simultaneously, the OECS will host its annual Environmental Sustainability Exhibition at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College auditorium from July 2-4, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The exhibition will feature Virtual Reality immersion, educational videos, informational spreads, and displays on climate resilience, environmental management, ocean, and biodiversity. This year, the Commission has partnered with The Hydrous, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring ocean empathy and marine stewardship, to study the effectiveness of using virtual reality technology in reaching students, policymakers, and other stakeholders.
Dr. Ronald Smith-Berkeley, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change in the British Virgin Islands, praised the collaborative efforts in organizing the event: “This conference and exhibition underscore our commitment to environmental sustainability and the future of our region. The efforts made by officials across the Civil Service are truly commendable.”
The meeting is mainly supported by the European Union through the BioSPACE and Integrated Landscape Management projects, which seek to conserve marine and terrestrial biodiversity, and optimize the contribution of land to agriculture, food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the preservation of ecosystems and the essential services they provide.
The OECS comprises eleven members across the Eastern Caribbean, including Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.
