04 Nov 2019 Éditorial Climate change

Intercessional Meeting of the Forum Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean

Barbados will host the Intercessional Forum for Ministers of Environment from Latin America and the Caribbean, from Tuesday, November 5, until Wednesday November 6.

President of the Forum of Ministers of Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean, Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Trevor Prescod, will chair the meeting, which takes place at Hilton Barbados, Needhams Point, St. Michael.

The Forum serves as a regional platform both for formal and informal liaison and coordination among Ministries of Environment of the region, at the political and technical levels. It is seen as the main space for sharing of experiences in the design and implementation of the environmental agenda at regional level.

This upcoming intercessional meeting will provide direction and recommendations towards the regional ministerial gathering to be held next year under the Presidency of Barbados. Key topics of the regional environmental agenda as decided at the 21st Meeting of the Forum one year ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina, will be addressed, with the aim of building more prosperous, inclusive, resilient and secure societies in the Latin American and Caribbean region.  

Delegates attending the session will discuss and provide advice on how the Caribbean and Latin America can move faster in the commitments already assumed with regard to chemicals, climate change, sustainable consumption and production, as well as the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems.  They will also seek to provide direction for the forum on how to address restoration of ecosystems and environmental emergencies and the creation of an environmental data and information framework.

Minister Prescod, as President of the Forum, will not only chair the upcoming intersessional meeting, but will also be responsible for speaking on the behalf of the Ministers of Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean at international conferences, such as the United Nations Environmental Assembly, which is the global body for setting international environmental policy.  

The secretariat for the forum is provided by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.  (SFC/BGIS)

To view the release on BGIS website you can visit  
http://gisbarbados.gov.bb/

Leo Heileman