COP 15 in Paris. A reminder of global warming and glacier melting. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS
by Alison Kentish (saint lucia)
Inter Press Service
SAINT LUCIA, Oct 26 (IPS) – A new report by the University lists six areas of grave concern and states that in the absence of behavior and priority change, the world could face catastrophe in areas like groundwater depletion and species extinction.Melting mountain glaciers. Unbearable heat. An uninsurable future. Space debris. Groundwater depletion. Accelerating extinctions. The United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security said this week that these six environmental “tipping points” can have “irreversible, catastrophic impacts for people and the planet.”
“Human actions are behind this rapid and fundamental change to the planet. We are introducing new risks and amplifying existing ones by indiscriminately extracting our water resources, damaging nature and biodiversity, polluting both Earth and space and destroying our tools and options to deal with disaster risk,” it stated.
In terms of accelerated extinction, it states that the current species extinction rate dire – at as much as hundreds of times higher than usual due to human action.
It says the life-saving resource groundwater, which is stored in reserves known as “aquifers,” is a source of water for over 2 billion people and is used overwhelmingly (around 70%) in the agriculture sector. It adds, however, that 21 of the world’s 37 major aquifers are being used “faster than they can be replenished.”
In terms of space debris, while satellites make life easier for humanity, including providing vital information for early warning systems, only about one-quarter of the objects identified in orbit are working satellites. This means that satellites critical for weather monitoring and information are at risk of colliding with discarded metal, broken satellites, and other debris.
According to the report, climate change and increasing extreme weather events have resulted in skyrocketing insurance prices in some parts of the world. The report warns that rising coverage costs could mean an uninsurable future for many.
Another tipping point, unbearable heat, is a cause for major concern. The report states that, “currently, around 30 percent of the global population is exposed to deadly climate conditions for at least 20 days per year, and this number could rise to over 70 percent by 2100.”
And a warming earth is resulting in glaciers melting at twice the speed of the last two decades.
Report authors say the six risk areas of concern are interconnected, which means that going beyond the brink of any tipping point would heighten the risk and severity of others.
“If we look at the case of space debris, it has to do with the practice of putting satellites into our orbit without regard for handling the debris that comes as a result. At present we are tracking around 34,000 objects in our orbit and only a quarter of these are active satellites. We’re planning thousands more launches in the coming years. We may reach a point where it gets so crowded in our orbit that one collision can create enough debris to set off a chain reaction of collisions that could destroy our space infrastructure entirely,” said Dr. Jack O’Connor, Senior Scientist at UNU-EHS and Lead Author of the Interconnected Disaster Risks report.
“We use satellites every day to monitor our world. For example, we observe weather patterns that can give us data to generate early warnings. We sometimes take these warnings for granted, but can you imagine if we pass this space debris tipping point and we are no longer able to observe weather patterns? Now a storm is coming to a populated area, and we can’t see it coming,” he said.
While the report is sobering, its authors are quick to point out that there is hope. Lead Author Dr Zita Sebesvari suggests using the tipping points’ interconnectivity as an advantage for finding solutions.
“These tipping points share certain root causes and drivers. Climate change is cutting across at least four out of the six points. Therefore, decisive climate action and cutting our emissions can help to slow down or even prevent; accelerating extinction, unbearable heat, uninsurable future, and mounting glacier melting,” she said.
The report was published just one month before the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28). Dr O’Connor says the report can be instructive for policymakers.
“I think the report is connected to the COP process. Reducing our emissions is key, and we will need to integrate this with other contributing factors such as global biodiversity loss.”
The authors say passing these tipping points is not inevitable. They say the points are meant to spur action, to adequately plan for future risks, and to tackle the root causes of these serious issues.
The reef surrounding Namotu Island, Fiji, has experienced serious coral bleaching caused by increasing ocean temperatures. Credit: Beau Pilgrim / Climate Visuals
by Alison Kentish (saint lucia)
Inter Press Service
SAINT LUCIA, Oct 10 (IPS) – The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) recently elected David Obura as Chair. The coral reef expert will serve a 3-year term that he hopes will underscore the need for science-led decision-making.David Obura always knew that his life’s work would involve the natural world. As a child with a love of nature, he always knew he would become an ecologist. Growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, he recalls fondly that his mother would take the family camping at national parks. With these excursions came opportunities for hiking, mountain climbing, and exploration. The family events also took him to one of the earth’s greatest wonders – the sea.
Two years of schooling on the west coast of Canada and a foray into scuba diving led Obura to begin making the connection between the sea and biology. It also led to a life-long career studying coral reefs and co-founding CORDIO East Africa, a non-profit organization that conducts research, monitoring, and capacity building for corals and other marine life in mainland Africa and the Indian Ocean.
Since 2012, IPBES has been bringing together leading biodiversity scientists, experts and knowledge-holders, producing reports that provide evidence and options for action on vital issues such as pollination and food production, land degradation and restoration, the sustainable use of wild species, and most recently, invasive alien species.
In early September 2023, Obura, who has been part of three IPBES assessments, made the move from the science and research side of the body to the policy side when he became IPBES’ first Chair from the African continent.
IPS spoke to Obura about the shift, the dual crisis of biodiversity and climate change, as well as his hopes for his three-year term.
================== IPS: You’re wearing a new hat – IPBES Chair. How have things changed? Obura: The reason I was attracted to doing assessments is because we are hoping that they will help provide solutions that stakeholders, governments and other actors are looking for, to understand how to act sustainably and how to build sustainable practices into what they do.
So, I have always been on that side of the aisle, scientists trying to bring a positive influence on policy. In some ways that can be very frustrating because all we can do is present the evidence, but it is really up to the policy and decision makers to choose what to do based on that information and other information that they have.
Often other things have a higher importance in their minds than science does, but we are trying to change that.
IPS: As Chair of IPBES, what are some of the areas that you would like to see receive urgent attention? Obura: When the opportunity to run for the Chair of IPBES came up, it was a surprise because I had not planned to stand, particularly as I have always been on the research side of things. I came to understand, however, through discussion with colleagues, that in the informal rotation of Chairs at IPBES, which is still a very young organisation, Africa and Eastern Europe had not yet held that position. There was a really strong case for a good African candidate and there were many countries involved. There was also a desire for someone with a strong science background, like mine, as opposed to a purely policy perspective.
For me, it’s a somewhat unfamiliar role that I am still learning to fully navigate. There are, of course, limitations on the role of Chair. I am there mainly to represent the interests and mandates agreed by our member State, and to help steer the strongest-possible strengthening of the science-policy interface. Part of this is to ensure that the key messages and options for action of the IPBES Reports are taken up and have even wider impact around the world.
I also hope to increase the role that science plays to inform decision-making in all countries.
In broader communications and outreach, I want us to reach out to a broad spectrum of decision-makers, also in the corporate sector, to help them to make sustainable, tangible changes for people and nature.
One key goal is to promote the findings and options for action of past IPBES Assessments, and to further leverage the potential that they have to transform actions around the world.
IPS: In the face of the climate and biodiversity crises, the research community has been clamouring for more funding and attention to ocean-based solutions. This is an area that you have devoted decades to. What do you think can be done to put those solutions in the spotlight? Obura: There is a lot still to be done. We really have reached planetary limits and I think interest in oceans is rising because we have very dramatically reached the limits of land.
What the world needs to understand is how strongly nature and natural systems, even when highly altered such as agricultural systems, support people and economies very tangibly. It’s the same with the ocean. It is therefore important for companies and businesses, for instance, to understand how dependent they and we are on these natural systems, in order to invest what’s needed to support the management necessary to keep these systems intact. Until we get to that understanding, we will not value nature and natural systems as much as we should.
IPS: Based on your personal research on coral reefs, does the state of coral provide a good window into what’s happening with climate change, and does it make an even more urgent argument for conservation? Obura: Sadly, yes, it does. Coral reefs are really at the forefront of climate-impacted ecosystems because they are one of the most sensitive. Corals are a quite delicate symbiosis between the coral animal and single-celled plant cells within their tissue. They are tied to the environmental conditions that they have lived and evolved in, and are very sensitive to temperature extremes. They are showing us how badly ecosystems can be degraded by climate change, particularly when combined with pollution, overfishing, extraction and local threats. Coral reefs are showing us some of the worst impacts that we can have on ecosystems, and how quickly impacts can cascade.
In terms of my own focus on coral reefs, my Ph.D. in the early 1990s, was on sedimentation impacts on reefs in Kenya, but from a university in the United States. When I was done and had returned to Kenya, the first global climate event on coral reefs drew the world’s attention in 1998. I have been looking at climate impacts ever since because they are increasingly trumping everything else.
IPS: IPBES has done some ground-breaking work, including a landmark collaboration with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which took a joint approach to climate change and biodiversity loss. What kind of support is needed to roll out initiatives like this? Obura: That particular collaboration emerged rapidly due to the emergence of this as a real, fundamental problem – recognizing that we cannot deal with the biodiversity and climate crises separately. The challenge was because that was a workshop report, rather than a full, multi-year government-approved assessment, so it does not carry as much weight as a full assessment. Following it, we have held discussions with the IPCC for further collaboration to bring even closer alignment between the two bodies. There was a decision made at the recent session of the IPBES Plenary, and it will certainly be one of my priorities to advance that process.
I also believe that the Sustainable Development Goals provide an incredibly powerful policy framework for us to use. In that respect, biodiversity is directly in two of the SDGs – life on land and life underwater – and climate change is has its own goal. But nature underpins all the goals, and ensuring this support to each goal is assured is vital for achieving the goals together. From food production to human health and One Health, the work of IPBES is vital in helping decision-makers implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
IPS: IPBES is built on strong science and crucial research. How important is data and knowledge sharing? Obura: Expanding the scope of open data and data sharing is critical. We have seen that very clearly in meteorological and weather services, because most primary data collected by any country, or any group are merged into common systems so that we can have amazing weather prediction happening now – all on the basis of open data. So, I think in the biodiversity fields, the more we can open up data and share them, the better the decisions we can make. Unfortunately, it is much more complicated with biodiversity – the data are much more diverse, often harder to obtain and until now, data have been tied up in the work of scientists, our publications and research projects.
I think we need to get to a space where data are seen as a public good. Of course, scientists and individual entities need to work on their priorities, but sharing data needs to come forward as an overarching priority. The more we can do that, the better we will be able to manage the existing crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
IPS: Any closing thoughts on your new role? Obura: It is a great honour to be in this position, realising that the critical challenge that we have on the planet is really one of equity among countries. IPBES has very strong principles on this through various Assessments that it has done. So, I really want to reinforce that cooperation among countries globally. We need equity across knowledge and decision-making, and this is something that I would like to bring to IPBES, especially coming from Africa.
Aerial view of the town of Soufriere in the south of Saint Lucia. Sea level rise is threatening coastal areas of small island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS
by Alison Kentish (soufriere, saint lucia)
Inter Press Service
SOUFRIERE, SAINT LUCIA, Jul 07 (IPS) – The World Meteorological Organization launched its State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report this week. Amid above average sea-level rise, drought and global warming, the new publication is calling for ramped up adaptation action to save lives and livelihoods.The World Meteorological Organization says adaptation efforts and the switch to renewable energy must increase for regions like Latin America and the Caribbean to face the challenges of a changing climate.
It states that storms, rainfall and flooding in some areas, along with severe drought in others, resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses and placed a ‘significant’ burden on human lives and wellbeing throughout the reporting period.
It adds that North and South Atlantic sea levels rose at a higher rate than the global average – threatening coastal areas of several Latin American countries and small island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean.
While the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season recorded 14 named storms, a near-average number, nine of those cyclones affected land areas, with Fiona and Ian becoming major hurricanes. Hurricane Fiona led to 22 deaths and caused an estimated US$2.5 billion in damage across Puerto Rico, making it the third costliest hurricane on record there. Hurricane Ian drenched Jamaica with 1,500 mm of rainfall that impacted local communities before striking Cuba as a category 3 storm which destroyed over 20,000 hectares of land for food production.
According to the report, temperatures have increased by an average of 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade over the past 30 years, which represents the highest spike since records began.
“Many of the extreme events were influenced by the long-running La Niña but also bore the hallmark of human-induced climate change. The newly arrived El Niño will turn up the heat and bring with it more extreme weather,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
The second most disaster-prone region in the world, Latin America and the Caribbean must now bolster climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, particularly in agriculture, food security and energy. This is also where Early Warning Systems (EWS) come in.
“There are major gaps in the weather and climate observing networks, especially in the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS); these gaps represent an obstacle to effective climate monitoring, especially at the regional and national scales, and to the provision of early warnings and adequate climate services. Early warnings are fundamental for anticipating and reducing the impacts of extreme events,” Taalas said in the foreword to the 2022 report.
The WMO is leading the United Nations Early Warnings for All initiative and its Executive Action Plan launched by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres during the World Leaders Summit at the 2022 Climate Change Conference, COP27. The Action Plan aims to protect everyone on earth with early warning systems within five years.
“Only half of our members have proper early warning services in place,” said Taalas. “In order to more efficiently adapt to the consequences of climate change and the resulting increase in the intensity and frequency of many extreme weather and climate events, the Latin American and Caribbean population must be made more aware of climate-related risks, and early warning systems in the region must employ improved multidisciplinary mechanisms.”
According to the report, multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) with the ability to warn of one or more hazards increase the efficiency and consistency of warnings through coordinated and compatible mechanisms. It adds that the Latin America and Caribbean Region experiences considerable early warning challenges. For example, in South America, only 60% of people are covered by these systems.
Over 15 research organizations and 60 scientists contributed to the 2022 report. They are calling for widespread education campaigns on the deadly risks of climate-related disasters and to reinforce public perceptions of the need to react to natural hazard alerts and warnings issued by national institutions.
“The ultimate goal is to ensure that responsibilities, roles and behaviours are well described and made known to everyone involved in the identification and analysis of risks related to weather, water and climate extremes and the early warning providers and recipients.”
With the confirmation that extreme weather and climate shocks are becoming more acute in Latin America and the Caribbean, coupled with global warming and sea level rise, the organization says multi-hazard early warning systems are needed to improve anticipatory action.
Researchers have been driving collaboration, funding, and state-of-the-art research into the earth’s largest carbon sink – located in the high seas. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS
by Alison Kentish (new york)
Inter Press Service
NEW YORK, Jun 08 (IPS) – The focus of carbon capture and storage has long been on coastal ecosystems like mangroves and seagrasses. If the world wants to meet its looming climate targets, then it’s time to head to the high seas — the home of deep blue carbon.Almost half of the world’s population lives in coastal zones. For islands in the Pacific and Caribbean islands such as Dominica, where up to 90 percent of the population lives on the coast, the ocean is fundamental to lives and livelihoods. From fisheries to tourism and shipping, this essential body which covers over 70 percent of the planet, is a lifeline.
But the ocean’s life-saving potential extends much further. The ocean regulates our climate and is critical to mitigating climate change. Researchers have long lamented that major international agreements have failed to adequately recognize the resource that produces half of the earth’s oxygen and whose power includes absorbing 90 percent of excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions.
And while its ability to capture and store carbon has been receiving increased attention as the world commits to keeping global warming below 1.5C, researchers say that coverage of that ability has concentrated on coastal ecosystems like mangroves, seagrass, and salt marshes. This is known as coastal blue carbon.
Protecting and conserving coastal blue carbon ecosystems is very important because of the many co-benefits they provide to biodiversity, water quality, and coastal erosion, and they store substantial amounts of legacy carbon in the sediments below.
Researchers welcome the exposure to topics on ocean solutions to climate change but say the conversation – along with data, investment, and public education – must extend much further than coastal blue carbon. Scientists at Dalhousie University have been driving collaboration, funding, and state-of-the-art research into the earth’s largest carbon sink – located in the high seas.
“It’s easy to imagine the ocean as what we can see standing on the edge of the shore as we look out, or to think about fisheries or seaweed that washes up on the beach – our economic and recreation spaces,” says Mike Smit, a professor in the Faculty of Management and the Deputy Scientific Director of the university’s Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI).
“Beyond that, what you might call the deep ocean, is less studied. It’s harder to get to, it’s not obviously within any national jurisdiction, and it’s expensive. The Institute is really interested in this part of the ocean. How carbon gets from the surface, and from coastal regions, to deep, long-term storage is an essential process that we need to better understand. We know that this deep storage is over 90 percent of the total carbon stored in the ocean, so the deep ocean is critical to the work that the ocean is doing to protect us from a rapidly changing climate.”
OFI’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Anya Waite, says the phrase ‘deep blue carbon’ needs to be a household one – and soon. She says the omission of earth’s largest repository of carbon from climate solutions has resulted in the issue becoming “really urgent.”
“If the ocean starts to release the carbon that it’s stored for millennia, it will swamp anything we do on land. It’s absolutely critical that we get to this as soon as possible because, in a way, it’s been left behind.”
Researchers at the Institute have been studying deep blue carbon and bringing researchers together to spur ocean carbon research, interest, investment, and policy.
“The ocean needs to be in much better focus overall. We are so used to thinking of the ocean as a victim of sorts. There is ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, and pollution, but in fact, the ocean is the main climate actor. It’s time to change that narrative, to understand that the ocean is doing critically important work for us, and we need to understand that work better in order to maintain the function that the ocean provides,” says Waite.
A lot of emphasis has been placed on coastal blue carbon – mangroves, seagrass, and salt marshes, but now the Ocean Frontier Institute intends to ensure deep blue carbon becomes part of the climate change conversation. Credit: Beau Pilgrim/Climate Visuals
Most Important, Yet Least Understood
The OFI is harnessing its ocean and marine ecosystems research to find strategic, safe, and sustainable means of slowing climate change, but time is not on the world’s side to achieve the “deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions” that the latest Synthesis Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states is needed to limit warming to 1.5C.
“We know that the ocean is changing, and how it absorbs carbon might change,” says Smit. “There are just too many open questions, too high uncertainty, and too little understanding of what will enhance natural ocean processes and what will impair their abilities to continue to work.”
According to Waite, the ocean’s storage capacity makes it a better place to remove carbon from the atmosphere than land options. In fact, it pulls out more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than all the earth’s rainforests combined. She concedes, however, that the ocean is more complex physically, making carbon capture and ensuring the durability of sinks more difficult.
“We really need to understand the full scope of the ocean’s carbon-absorbing function and bring that into conversation with policymakers, nations, the finance community, and insurance. There are all sorts of impacts when the heat and carbon budget of the ocean are not well observed. Then we don’t have a good prediction system for cyclones, heat waves, and other important phenomena that insurance companies, governments, and the military all need to understand to keep us safe. There are really strong societal reasons for us to do this work.”
The Economics
The OFI’s innovation and research are meant to inform policy and industry. The commercial side of deep blue carbon will be critical to converting ground-breaking research into in-use technology among climate mitigation companies.
Eric Siegel is the Institute’s Chief Innovation Officer. With a background in oceanography, he has spent the last 20 years at the interface of ocean science, technical innovation, and global business.
“We are trying to work more with industry to bring some of the innovations that our researchers are developing to support innovation in companies, but also trying to bring some of those companies into the research realm to help support our work at the Ocean Frontier Institute,” he told IPS.
“For example, carbon removal companies will need to monetize carbon credits as they will have to sequester the carbon. That takes innovation and investment. It’s a great example of companies that do well and generates revenue by doing good, which is mitigating climate. It’s also sort of a reverse of how, over the last couple of decades, companies have donated charitably because they have generally been successful in extractive technologies or non-environmentally friendly technologies. It’s a nice change from the old model.”
Siegel says presently, there just aren’t enough blue carbon credits that can be monetized.
“There are almost zero validated and durable carbon credits that are being created and are able to be sold now. Many people want to buy them, so there is a huge marketplace, but because the technology is so new and there are some policy, monitoring, reporting, and verification limits in place, there are not enough of them.”
Some companies have started buying advanced market credits – investing now in the few blue carbon credit projects available globally for returns in the next five to 20 years.
“I think that this is our decade to do the science, do the technical innovation, and set up the marketplaces so that at the end of this decade, we will be ready – all the companies will be ready to start actively safely removing carbon and therefore generating carbon credits to make a difference and to sell them into the market.”
The pressing need for solutions to the climate crisis means that work has to be carried out simultaneously at every link in the deep blue carbon chain.
“We don’t have the luxury of saying, okay, we have the science right now; let’s work on the technology. Okay, the technology is right; let’s work on the marketplace. The marketplace is right; now, let’s work on the investment. Okay, all that’s ready; let’s work on the policy. We have to do them all at the same time – safely and responsibly – but starting now. And that’s how we are trying to position Ocean Frontier Institute – different people leading on different initiatives to make it happen in parallel.”
A floating flipped iceberg in the Weddell Sea, off Argentina, with a block of green sea ice now showing above the water, joined to the whiter land ice. This picture was taken from the British research vessel RRS Discovery on a research cruise in the Southern Ocean in the Weddell Sea. The Ocean Frontier Institute says the ocean is the main climate actor and needs this acknowledgment. Credit: David Menzel/Climate Visuals
Global Collaboration – and the Future
The Ocean Frontier Institute is working closely with the Global Ocean Observing System. With Waite as Co-Chair, the system underscores that oceans are continuous. No one country understands or controls the ocean. It is based on the premise that collaboration between nations, researchers, and intergovernmental organizations is key to maximizing the ocean’s role in fighting climate change.
“Every nation that observes is welcome to join this network, and we then deliver recommendations to nation-states and the United Nations,” says Waite.
“The technical systems that observe the ocean are becoming fragile because nations have other things to put their money into. So, we need to get nations to step in and start to boost the level of the observing system to the point where we can understand ocean dynamics properly. This is in real contrast, for example, to our weather observation systems that are very sustained and have a mandate from the World Meteorological Organization that they must be sustained to a certain level.”
For OFI’s Deputy Director, data sharing will be critical to the collaboration’s success.
“The data that we collect from these observations can’t stop at the desks of scientists. We have to get them out of the lab and into the world so that people have some understanding of what is happening out there. It’s critically important, it’s also really cool, and we need to understand it better,” says Mike Smit.
The Institute’s Chief Innovation Officer wants the world to know that deep blue carbon is positioned for take-offs.
According to Siegel, “We need to start realizing that the ocean and the deep blue carbon is actually the big, big opportunity here.”
And as for residents of the Pacific Islands intrinsically linked to the ocean by proximity, tradition, or industry, Waite says their voices are needed for this urgent talk on deep blue carbon.
“Pacific island nations are uniquely vulnerable to climate change. Their economic zone, extending up from their land, is a critical resource that they can use to absorb carbon to maintain their biodiversity. Pacific island nations have a special role to play in this conversation that’s quite different from those who live on big continental nations.”
Deep blue carbon might not be a household term just yet, but the world needs to talk about it. Dalhousie University, through its Ocean Frontier Institute’s research and partnerships, is ensuring that conversation is heard across the globe.
NEW YORK, Apr 26 (IPS) – For the last five years, the United Nations Development Programme has worked with some of the world’s biggest producers of commodities like beef, soy, palm oil, and cocoa to protect livelihoods and the planet.In 2015, just over 30 cocoa farmers from Padre Abad in Ucayali, a province in the lush and ecologically diverse Peruvian Amazon, formed an alliance to tackle long-standing concerns such as soil quality, access to markets, fair prices for their produce and a growing number of illegal plantations. The result was the Colpa de Loros Cooperative, and from the start, the goal was to produce the finest quality, export-ready cocoa.
Membership would grow to over 500 partners covering 200 hectares of land today.
For almost four years, the cooperative’s small producers worked tirelessly on the transition of the area from traditional but environmentally taxing cocoa harvesting to growing premium cocoa that could meet export demand in the chocolate industry. This was no easy feat, as fine-flavor cocoa production demanded significant investment in technical training for members, initiatives to monitor deforestation, and data systems to ensure cocoa traceability, production, and sales. On the education side, it demanded a change from centuries-long cocoa farming practices to the principles of agroecology.
Then in 2022, as the farmers worked to meet demanding international certifications, the European Parliament passed a new law that is introducing rigorous, wide-ranging requirements on commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef and cocoa. Now the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is researching how it should step up its assistance to producers to meet the new criteria.
New EU Requirements
Colpa de Loros sells 100 percent of its cocoa to a European buyer, the French company Kaoka. When word of the new European regulations hit, the cooperative had already achieved organic production and fair-trade certification. It had also attained ‘fair for life’ certification, a Kaoka-led initiative.
Attaining these credentials meant that members had been working on a blueprint for environmentally friendly agriculture systems. However, for Peru, the world’s third largest cocoa supplier to Europe, the new regulations triggered frenetic action to maintain contracts with buyers and protect the almost 100,000 small producers who depend on cocoa exports to sustain their households.
“The law affects not only Colpa de Loros, but all producers,’ said Ernesto Parra, Manager of Colpa de Loros Cooperative.
“We already have laws which require analysis of pesticides, which makes costs higher. To ensure compliance with this rule, they implement measures like regular audits. Every grain must be free of contamination. There are organizations bigger than Colpa that are experiencing difficulties to respond, and no actions have been taken by the government to support them,” he said.
The European Commission has now also introduced new forest conservation and restoration rules. The Commission said the deforestation regulation would promote EU consumption of deforestation-free supply chain products, encourage international cooperation to tackle forest degradation, reroute finance to aid sustainable land-use practices, and support the collection and availability of quality data on forests and commodity supply chains.
Parra says this commitment to the environment complements the Cooperative’s core values.
“The cooperative aligns with this green pact signed by all actors in Europe to not buy chocolate from deforested areas or involving child or forced work. They not only promote the protection of the environment, but reforestation, land protection, recycling programmes, and biogas from cacao liquid. We agree that cocoa can’t come from deforested areas or make new plantations in protected areas.”
While the cooperative is firm in its environmental consciousness, Parra says the investment is needed in educational activities and technical support for rural farmers who are struggling to accept the realities of land degradation and climate change.
“Some of them are still burning forests. Organizations need to convince the base of producers and farmers to change. Not only their partners but all people in the communities. Incentives can help. For example, I can be carbon neutral, but I’m going to have a higher cost, and if the market does not recognize it, if I don’t have an incentive, the standard will be difficult to maintain. Our cooperative gives its own incentives: those who commit to the organic certification receive fertilizer produced by Colpa de Loros to increase production.
“It is a start, but this is not enough. The state or the market needs to offer incentives as well.”
UNDP Support – and Good Growth Partnership Scoping
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been working with the world’s commodity-producing countries to put sustainability at the center of supply chains.
From Brazil to Indonesia, the GGP has embraced an Integrated Approach, working with producers, traders, policymakers, financial institutions, and multinational corporations to build sustainability in soy, beef, and palm oil supply chains.
Peru has so far not been covered by GGP but is being scoped for possible assistance under a next phase of the programme.
In the meantime, the UN agency has been supporting Peru to achieve sustainable commodity production- a target that remains crucial in the face of the new EU regulation.
“The control and monitoring of all production processes had to be doubled, and UNDP is vital here. With its finance, the technical department was strengthened, agricultural technology was incorporated, and members received capacity building in sustainability and food security,” said Parra.
Each member of Colpa de Loros is responsible for 3-4 hectares of land. The GEF-financed Sustainable Productive Landscapes (SPL) in the Peruvian Amazon project, led by the Ministry of Environment with technical assistance from UNDP, has been supporting projects that enhance food production while protecting water and land resources.
“The organization’s cocoa is not conventional cocoa. It is a fine aroma cocoa. So, producers needed equipment for special analysis. Then all information needed to be organized in a digital platform. UNDP helped in these areas,’ he added.
“The GEF-financed SPL project provided US$150,000 to complement the work of the organization with maps, digital platforms, and traceability. As there is no global system of traceability, Colpa is using its own, which is expensive.”
Action Plans
The UN organization, working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, has also been assisting the Government and industry partners to develop and implement national action plans for the cocoa and coffee sectors. The Peruvian National Plan for Cocoa and Chocolate was unveiled in November 2022. It breaks down divisions between production, demand, and finance issues in agriculture. It also contains clear strategies to increase sustainability based on science, technology, and tradition.
The plan complements the values of UNDP and represents a win for both farmers and the environment.
“It is important to recognize that many Peruvian farmers’ cooperatives and companies, regardless of the EU regulation, are concerned about the potential impacts of their production systems on the environment, and they are increasingly conscious of the impacts that climate change is having on their production systems,” said James Leslie, Technical Advisor Ecosystems and Climate Change at UNDP Peru.
“Now, the concern is the feasibility of complying with the EU regulation and in the timeframe required. This concern is directly related to the fact that the EU markets are important for Peruvian agricultural products, particularly coffee, and cocoa. There is a concern that with the new EU regulation, there can be restricted or more challenging access to the market.”
The UNDP official says meeting stringent sustainable production requirements comes at a hefty cost to owners of small and medium-sized farms.
“There is not necessarily a price premium for their products due to certification,” he said. Incentives are a key factor in GGP’s work in encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable practices.
“It’s important also to recognize that there is a difference within the farmer population. Some farmers are organized and are part of cooperatives. For example, roughly 20 percent of cocoa and coffee farmers are organized in some way, which means that 80 per cent are not. Those unorganized farmers are less likely to be certified, and they are less likely to be accessing stable markets that provide some price guarantee.”
According to the UNDP, Peru ranks 9 in the world’s top ten cocoa producers and tops the world in organic cocoa production. The majority of farmers are small-scale and medium scale. Leslie says many of these farmers are either living in poverty or vulnerable to falling below the poverty line.
“Add to that additional restrictions and costs in order to access markets, and it poses a risk for these farmers—for their wellbeing and livelihoods,” he said.
The Future of Sustainable Agriculture
Looking ahead, Leslie says access to traceability systems is important. The farmers will need to prove that their production has met the EU requirements.
He says the Government will also need to expand technical assistance, increase investment in science and technology, including the purchase of climate change-resistant crop varieties, and ensure that farmers can receive finance aligned with the EU regulation’s sustainability criteria.
Clear land use policies will also be needed to delineate land that is appropriate for agriculture and particular types of crops. Areas that must be regenerated should be clearly marked, along with those that should be conserved, such as watersheds and zones of high biodiversity value.
For Colpa de Loros, Parra says the goal must be to strike a balance between sustainable land use and livelihoods.
“For deforestation, there is a big relation to poverty. The majority of the time a producer cuts down a tree, it’s because of need.”
He says the challenge is to create a supply chain that is sustainable, competitive, and inclusive – a goal that is attainable with adequate support and buy-in from every link in the value chain.
Discarded refrigerators. Scientists continue to stress the need for proper disposal of old fridges as some emit ozone-destroying chemicals. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS
by Alison Kentish (dominica)
Inter Press Service
DOMINICA, Nov 24 (IPS) – The world celebrates the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer once a year, but for Saint Lucia, the annual month-long observance highlights year-round work on ozone protection.For countries across the globe, September 16th is a day to reflect on progress in protecting the ozone layer. The United Nations designated day for the preservation of the ozone layer is marked by speeches, and educational and social media campaigns.
For that country, Ozone ‘day’ caps a month-long observance, and ozone protection is a year-round effort.
“The National Ozone Unit was established in 1997 and is responsible for coordinating our activities and programmes to ensure that we meet our targets under the Montreal Protocol,” Sustainable Development and Environment Officer in Saint Lucia’s Department of Sustainable Development Kasha Jn Baptiste told IPS.
“Our main obligation is reporting on our progress with the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances and coordinating relevant projects. Other duties include education and awareness, technician training, implementation and enforcement of legislation, and coordinating partners to ensure that we meet our obligations under the convention. This is a year-round job.”
Following summer activities with youth aged 15-18, the Department of Sustainable Development held a month-long observance in September. Events included media appearances and updates on Saint Lucia’s progress toward achieving the model protocol. The Department has held awareness events at all school levels, with more activities scheduled for October.
It is part of a year-round effort to educate the public and put youth at the center of ozone protection.
“One of the most important ways to continue to highlight the ozone layer is through increased awareness. We started with ozone day and usually concentrated on education activities around that day, but we realised that we must have activities year-round. We are also encouraging the teaching of ozone issues as part of our science curriculum,” said Jn Baptiste, who is the Focal Point for the Montreal Protocol in Saint Lucia.
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector
A major component of maintaining compliance with the Montreal Protocol involves stringent monitoring of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector. This includes refrigerants such as chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, a group of ozone-depleting chemicals that have been banned but remain in older fridge and air condition models.
In Saint Lucia, the Sustainable Development Department conducts year-round training for technicians.
“The refrigeration air conditioning sector is where we use the bulk of those products and technicians are the ones servicing these items. We want them to be aware of what is happening, how the sector is transitioning, and what new alternatives are available,” Jn Baptiste told IPS.
In a 2016 amendment to the Montreal Protocol, nations agreed to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which were being used as substitutes to CFCs. Known as the Kigali Amendment, its signatories agreed that these HFCs represent powerful greenhouses gases (hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon) and contribute to climate change.
“What is really important now is that countries like Saint Lucia have targets on the Montreal Protocol. We have been saying ‘HFC-free by 2030,’ so in October, Saint Lucia will launch phase two of our HPMP, the HFC Phase Out Management Plan. That will include activities needed to help us achieve that 2030 target. We will expand on what has been done in the past and include activities for training of technicians.”
Legislative changes
Officials are currently reviewing the country’s legislation to ensure compliance with Kigali Amendment targets.
“Our legislation needs to be updated to expand our licensing and quota system to include HFCs so that we can target these gases and control them under the Montreal Protocol,” Jn. Baptiste said.
“What is interesting is that the HFC phase-down can contribute to prevention of 0.4 degrees of warming by the end of the century. That’s important. 0.4 degrees is small, but we know that the Paris Agreement targets a 1.5 degree. The Kigali Amendment, if countries implement it, will be doing some of the work of the climate agreement. The Montreal Protocol started off with the goal of preserving the ozone layer, but it has evolved to address climate change issues – global warming issues.”
Sargassum seaweed envelopes the waterways near the Marigot Fisheries Complex, Dominica Credit: JAK/IPS
by Alison Kentish (dominica)
Inter Press Service
DOMINICA, Sep 02 (IPS) – The increasingly severe invasion of seaweed is impacting tourism, health, livelihoods, and the economy of Caribbean countries, which are hoping for a mix of solutions to the stubborn problem.In June 2022, swathes of matted, putrid seaweed took over the shores of beaches across the Caribbean. It was the worst seaweed influx reported since 2011, when ocean currents began depositing tons of the brown seaweed, known as Sargassum, across the region, leaving authorities grappling with the severe ecological and economic fallout.
For the small island of Tobago in the Southern Caribbean, the impacts were felt across sectors and demographics.
“For about six to nine months of the year, you have an influx of Sargassum seaweed appearing on our shores. That not only affects the fishermen, the hotels and businesses in the area, but it also affects the schools near the affected beaches,” Managing Director of Recycling Waste and Logistics Limited, Shawn C Roberts, told IPS.
Roberts is also the Coordinator at Tobago Recycling Resource Initiative (TRRI), the first multiple materials recovery facility in Trinidad and Tobago and a pioneer in green solutions to environmental problems like waste management.
To tackle Tobago’s seaweed woes, Roberts has turned to earthworms. The process is called vermicomposting and involves the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms and microorganisms.
“It’s a controlled decomposition of the seaweed. It’s nature taking care of nature and so far, it is helping to alleviate this annual invasion of seaweed,” he said.
TRRI has launched the Alleviate Sargassum Action Program. Known as ASAP, program officials organize cleanup exercises on affected beaches. They then blend the collected sargassum with the earthworms and other organic materials like shredded cardboard, grass cuttings, and animal manure to generate compost.
Roberts is hoping that other countries will realize the benefits of vermicomposting for seaweed management.
“You don’t really need any major capital input. If you have your shed, or even trees and shade, you can build your compost piles and monitor them. You just allow the earthworms and other microorganisms like soldier flies to do their job.”
Far away from shore, sargassum is an important sanctuary for marine life. When it is deposited by the ton along coastlines, however, it becomes a health and economic nightmare.
The United Nations Environment Programme has warned that the sargassum’s production of hydrogen sulfide erodes air quality and prolonged exposure is harmful, particularly for people with respiratory issues.
“This is detrimental for coastal residents and beach users, whether local or visitors. Beach users who live elsewhere have the option to avoid impacted locations, while residents may be unable to avoid prolonged exposure,” the UN agency said, in a 2021 white paper.
Some countries, particularly tourism-dependent nations like Barbados, spend millions of dollars annually on emergency clean-ups to rid their beaches of rotting seaweed.
As far back as 2015, academics at the University of the West Indies lamented that it would take ‘US$120 million and more than 100,000 people’ to get rid of the sargassum crisis in the Caribbean.
The calamity has spawned innovation, and Roberts’ initiative in Tobago is one of many across the Caribbean.
The University of the West Indies announced last year that it was spearheading a research project to power vehicles with sargassum seaweed and wastewater fuel.
The researchers said the initiative could help Barbados in its goal of becoming fossil fuel free by 2030, while providing relief from the Sargassum seaweed emergency for the tourism sector.
In Saint Lucia, young biotech entrepreneur Johanan Dujon has been converting sargassum into fertilizers, organic fungicides, and pesticides under his Algas Organics brand.
For Roberts, whose program started composting in October 2021, the goal for the region should be cost-effective and long-term green solutions.
“The ability to harvest sargassum in an environmentally safe practice is a challenge. Quick fixes are costly. If you are not careful, the solution can be very expensive and reactive,” he told IPS.
“As much as you need emergency clean-ups using heavy equipment, many authorities wait until the sargassum starts decaying to react. Our approach lies in having a planned harvesting management system where you have regularly scheduled cleanups. When the sargassum is fresh, that is when you have to target it. Stockpiling creates a backlog that is more difficult and has severe odor. Then it gets overwhelming and affects us all.”
According to researchers at the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab which produces monthly sargassum bulletins, in July 2022, the amount of seaweed in the Caribbean Sea was comparable to the historic high of the previous month.
“This indicates significant beaching events are still ongoing around the Caribbean Sea nations/islands,” the July bulletin stated.
“Vermicomposting presents a great opportunity for our countries,” says Roberts. “It allows less use of manual labor as it depends on the microorganisms to work, it is affordable, and it is natural.”
Coastal view from the Kalinago Territory in Dominica. Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS
by Alison Kentish (united nations)
Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 26 (IPS) – According to the 2021 World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report, extreme events have worsened the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Region, especially for the small island states of the Caribbean.The highest deforestation rates since 2009. The third most active hurricane season on record. Extreme rainfall, floods, and landslides displaced tens of thousands of people. Rising sea levels. Glaciers in Peru lost more than half their size. Add the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the mix, and 2021 was a challenging year for Latin America and the Caribbean.
It states that “sea levels in the region continued to rise in 2021 at a faster rate than globally, notably along the Atlantic coast of South America south of the equator, and the subtropical North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico,” a worrying development for the small island states of the Caribbean and large populations concentrated in coastal communities.
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season brought 21 named storms that included seven hurricanes and was the sixth consecutive above-average season.
It adds that extreme rainfall led to tens of thousands of homes being destroyed or damaged and hundreds of thousands of people displaced
The record-setting drought in Chile continued in 2021, marking the 13th consecutive year of the “Central Chile Mega-drought,” which placed the country at the center of the region’s water crisis.
“Increasing sea-level rise and ocean warming are expected to continue to affect coastal livelihoods, tourism, health, food, energy, and water security, particularly in small islands and Central American countries,” said Professor Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization.
Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Mami Mizutori said as the second most disaster-prone region in the world, Latin America and the Caribbean are proof of how complex risks can be, adding that shocks that affect one sector can create damaging consequences in another, impacting the most at-risk communities.
“The COVID-19 pandemic offers a quintessential example of how interconnected risks can create severe upheaval, particularly when intersecting with climate change impacts. Last year, the fallout from hurricanes Eta and Iota collided with lingering COVID-19 impacts. The result was that 7.7 million people in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua faced high levels of food insecurity,” she said.
While the report outlines the dire impacts of extreme weather and climate change on the region, it is also prescriptive in its calls for long-term regional and national solutions.
One of these is a ‘risk to resilience’ goal.
The UNDRR head says the Bali Agenda for Resilience is a critical instrument in understanding the nature of risks and promoting mitigation and adaptation measures. The document promotes policies to shield communities from climate and other disasters and thwart a predicted global rate of 1.5 disasters a day by 2030.
“First and foremost is the need for risk management to become a shared responsibility across sectors. Getting on track to achieve the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals requires decision makers to adopt comprehensive climate and disaster risk management that puts people first, using current data and timely information.”
The report also recommends the expansion of access to multi-hazard early warning systems (EWS). Investment in these systems has been touted as one of the most powerful tools to adapt to climate change, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has challenged the WMO to present an action plan that ensures all people everywhere are covered by an early warning system in the next 5 years. The WMO is expected to present that plan to the 2022 UN Climate Conference in Egypt in November.
“Altogether, there is a need for a 1.5 billion US dollar investment in the next 5 years to get 100 percent coverage of early warning services and improve basic observing systems. We have major gaps in island states, Africa, and some parts of Latin America, and that needs to be improved,” the WMO Secretary-General said.
The report’s launch coincides with the impending peak of the annual Atlantic hurricane season. According to officials of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), there is no question that countries in the region, particularly the small states of the Caribbean and Central America, remain highly vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate
“2021 was yet another very active season. Many countries experienced major flooding and landslides that were compounded by a volcanic eruption in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, causing major dislocation, damage, and loss, and there was heavy rainfall and floods across Guyana, Suriname, and regions of Central America, affecting housing, fresh water sources and increasing food insecurity,” said ECLAC’s Subregional Office Chief Diane Quarless.
Quarless added that for small states in the region, the post-disaster need to continually source or reassign already scarce resources has eroded the ability of countries to build back better. ECLAC is supporting the call to strengthen and expand early warning systems to improve forecasting and planning for multi-hazards.
The State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report provides science-based, timely information for policymakers on the realities of climate change and weather-related events and the best course of action.
The representatives of the UN agencies involved in sourcing and compiling the report says that the region has the needed data. It is now time to act.
River and mountain in the interior of Dominica. IPBES’ collaboration with the private sector funds research and evidence that helps businesses make better-informed decisions to protect biodiversity. Credit: JAK/IPS
by Alison Kentish (dominica)
Inter Press Service
DOMINICA, Jul 01 (IPS) – With the world facing a biodiversity crisis, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is ramping up collaboration with private sector agencies and philanthropic foundations to support science-based, sustainable decision-making research.In the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the changing climate often eclipses the loss of ecosystems and species in funding and awareness.
IPBES is also now making headway in its goal of ensuring that biodiversity issues receive a similar level of priority and awareness to that of the climate crisis – as well as increased funding. An important part of this involves diversifying its funding sources to include the private sector and philanthropic organisations.
Funded primarily by voluntary contributions from its member governments, IPBES recently announced landmark collaborations with the luxury industry’s Kering Group, global fashion retailer H&M, the BNP Paribas Foundation, AXA Research Fund and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“There is a dual purpose in the way we have engaged with the private sector over the last few years, both to find opportunities for their support and to engage them more closely with our work and its outcomes, so that they can use those in their own activities as well,” IPBES Head of Communications Rob Spaull told IPS.
To protect the objectivity and credibility of the Platform’s scientific research, formal collaboration with private sector companies follows a rigorous due diligence process that can take up to one year and is spearheaded by a legal team from the United Nations Environment Programme, which hosts the IPBES secretariat.
“We ensure that any kind of contribution that might be received from the private sector has no influence on the science that IPBES publishes. It was really important for our member States that we implement a model that protects the independence of the Platform,” Spaull said. “We accept contributions, but those contributions go into the IPBES Trust Fund.”
IPBES says the science is clear – businesses can be a vital part of the solution to the biodiversity crisis.
“We want to help the private sector move forward, and we want them on board with us. Our vision is that through their commitment to the work of IPBES, we also help the private sector to better understand and decrease its impact on biodiversity,” said Sonia Gueorguiev, IPBES Head of Development.
“More and more businesses are understanding how biodiversity is strongly interlinked with their core business, as companies rely on nature for resources, and they are recognising how important it is for them, both for ethical and economic reasons, to progressively incorporate biodiversity into their strategies and business models.”
IPBES has produced some of the world’s leading and most cited scientific reports, including the 2019 Global Assessment Report, which concluded that one million species of plants and animals face extinction, while human activity has significantly altered 75 percent of the earth’s land surface and over 60 percent of the ocean area.
For Spaull, IPBES’ budget pales in comparison to the Platform’s value, which includes the many years of voluntary expert contributions to every IPBES report.
“For example, on the Global Assessment Report, we did a bit of a back-of-the-envelope calculation and added up the different person-hours that were contributed free of charge by the experts over the three years that they worked on the report. It added up to more than 17 years of work, which was essentially a voluntary expert contribution to the Platform. The operating budget doesn’t actually reflect the immense value that is created by the Platform.”
These recent private sector collaborations are a solid foundation for IPBES’ funding diversification but represent a small fraction of what is needed for greater financial stability.
“They are a good start, but they are still a start. That is one of the reasons why we are looking forward to the future where hopefully, we will be able to expand into new sectors with other kinds of private sector and philanthropic organisations in a similar way,” said Spaull.
IPBES is already working on a number of new reports. Two highly anticipated assessments will be released in July, after four years of work, one on the Sustainable Use of Wild Species, and one on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature.
IPBES will publish another report next year on invasive alien species and their control and is already working on one about reaching simultaneously sustainable development goals related to biodiversity, water, food and health, as well as one on transformative change. A new business and biodiversity assessment is also planned that will assist businesses with assessing their impacts and dependence on biodiversity.
“The IPBES assessments enjoy strong global recognition and visibility,” Gueorguiev said. “As populations of plants and animals are shrinking and nature’s contributions to people diminish, individuals and providers of funds will make consumption and investment choices that will exclude those companies whose activities contribute to the decline of biodiversity. Public-private partnerships and collaborations are one of the solutions to both the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis,” said Gueorguiev.
“Biodiversity is set to become a social issue as unavoidable as climate change, and we are working with companies with strong sustainability leadership in their industries, which can enable them to set sustainability standards,” she said.
Castle, Comfort Dominica. Dominica is the latest Caribbean country to sign on to the UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework, to accelerate progress with sustainable development goals and recover from COVID-19 Credit: Alison Kentish/IPS
by Alison Kentish (dominica)
Inter Press Service
DOMINICA, May 02 (IPS) – Caribbean countries are signing on to the 2022-2026 agreement, hoping for increased development support to improve health, education and social services, while tackling climate-related challenges.When Dominica signed on to the United Nations Multicountry Sustainable Development Framework for the English and Dutch Speaking Caribbean (MSDCF) in March, the country joined others like Saint Lucia, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Aruba as part of a 5-year framework to plan and implement UN development initiatives.
Support for the 2022 to 2026 agreement has continued to grow since December 2021, when Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Guyana signed the cooperation framework, which hopes to help nations achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
For countries in the Caribbean, one of the most vulnerable regions globally, the framework is a critical instrument, based on building climate and economic resilience, the promotion of equality, and enhancing peace, safety, and the rule of law.
It is also crucial for a country like Dominica which in 2017 lost US$1.4 billion, or 226% of its GDP to Hurricane Maria. The small island state has been on a mission to build resilience across sectors through initiatives like its Climate Resilience and Recovery Plan, while grappling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
The country’s representatives have used platforms like the United Nations General Assembly to urge development partners to consider the unique vulnerabilities of small island states in their support packages.
The country’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says the UN framework will help Caribbean governments to implement programs that strengthen health, education, and social services while contributing to economic growth.
“We are operating in a tumultuous period defined by huge environmental and climate-related challenges, conflict, and economic uncertainty. The agreement proposes to help our small territories confront the trials of our time and achieve economic resilience and prosperity. It is cause for optimism as we devise ways to tackle our common problems together,” he said.
The agreement builds on a 2017-2022 framework which was signed by 18 Caribbean countries. Initiatives under that framework focused on areas such as building Caribbean resilience and the implementation of low-emission, climate-resilient technology in agriculture.
UN officials say that the new agreement, referred to as ‘the second-generation framework,’ considers lessons learned. Developed during the pandemic, it also acknowledges that COVID-19 has compounded structural vulnerabilities for Caribbean countries, which must now ‘build back better.’
“This new agreement opens a new era of cooperation to drive collaboration and mutual commitment for the people of Dominica,” UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Didier Trebucq said at the Dominica signing.
For months, leaders across the Caribbean have been speaking of being at risk of not meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, as they redirect scarce resources to cope with the protracted pandemic.
According to preliminary data from the UN, Goals 1 to 6, known as the ‘people-centered goals,’ have been severely impacted by COVID-19.
The Prime Minister of Barbados, the first leader in the Barbados and OECS grouping to sign the MSDCF, said the pandemic slowed progress towards meeting SDG targets.
“We’re going to have problems in the battle with poverty, we’re going to have problems in making sure that people don’t go hungry, we’re going to have problems in making sure that people have access to good health and well-being, as we know, is already happening in the pandemic. We’re going to have problems in delivering quality education and who have been the greatest victims of this pandemic if not our children across the world, many of who have been denied access to education because they don’t have access to things like electricity and online tools in order to be able to receive it,” Prime Minister Mia Mottley said, referencing Goals 1 to 4.
She said Goal 5 and 6 – Gender Equality and Clean Water and Sanitation are also at risk, noting that women have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, while countries like Barbados continue to be concerned with access to groundwater in the face of the climate crisis.
The MSDCF was developed by the six UN Country Teams, after rounds of consultation with government agencies, the private sector, development partners, and civil society organizations.
It will function at two levels; regionally by adopting joint approaches to common challenges and nationally to tackle country and territory-specific issues and vulnerabilities while helping governments to prepare for future external shocks.
According to the MSDCF, the vision is for the region to become more resilient, “possess greater capacity to achieve all the SDGs, and become a place where people choose to live and can reach their full potential.”
It promises to provide more effective support to signatory countries, through streamlined use of UN resources and in keeping with the goals of the recently approved UN Development system reform.
It hopes to accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs and facilitate faster recovery from the socio-economic and health impact of COVID-19, with one regional voice on a shared development path.
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