By Clinton W. Pickering
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By Clinton W. Pickering |
| MONTEGO BAY,
12 October 2004 (Panos):
Environmental safeguards are not being developed fast enough
to ensure a sustainable future for the Wider Caribben region.
Although many risks to Caribbean economic and social growth are
well-documented, various barriers keep us from effectively protecting
the environment. Sometimes, it is the lack of political will to put in place effective legislation. In other cases, it is the inability to police the breaking of environmental laws. And very often, the environmental agencies lack the needed finances. During the UNEP recent weeklong conference in Montego Bay, the funding issue was repeatedly put to the delegates. Thomas Laughlin, head of the US Delegation, put it bluntly. "Nobody will walk into this region or any other region and say hi, here's a billion dollars, fix all your problems. It's not going to happen!" As Deputy Director of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Office of International Affairs, Laughlin heads the international White Water to Blue Water (WW2BW) initiative, of which the USA is a major donor. "The United States is part of the Wider Caribbean and we do our best to be a good neighbour," he says. Luc St. Pierre, Programme Officer with UNEP for Information Systems, stresses that the Caribbean Environmental Programme (CEP) is not a funding mechanism. But it works hard at channelling funds from international and regional donor organizations that want to be involved in environmental issues to governments and groups who carry out important activities. There are a number of funding sources that can be accessed and CEP helps partners to get to it. CEP attempts to match priorities of the countries in the region, in particular the smaller ones, with those of donors. It promotes partnerships and the involvement of all stakeholders in environmental management, ranging from people who can provide information, to those that can influence decision-making and ultimately, the decision-makers themselves. Christopher Corbin. CEP Programme Officer for the Assessment and Management of Environmental Pollution says funding is on the decline. And sometimes regional organizations compete for the same resources. "The funding is dwindling and every meeting we go to, we hear the same thing: the agencies say they need to fundraise, the donors say they want to see greater accountability and greater focus." He says that the region will have to go to the Mauritius Conference in January 2005, which will discuss the special needs of small island developing states, with a very clear strategic approach as to the road towards sustainable development. "What are exactly the projects and programmes to be done and which aspects should be funded at the regional level and which at the national level? We need to identify what our priorities are short term, medium term, long term and who will pay for what. We need to start speaking with a more united voice because the donor agencies sometimes do have their own agenda. And this can be imposed upon us if we don't have our own priorities clear." "We have the responsibility to put our house in order, and to request the donor agencies to be partners in our sustainable development agenda," Corbin concludes. |