Through the windows of the Saman Tree conference room of the Kapok Hotel in Port of Spain, one can easily observe the beauty of the waters of the Caribbean Sea under the clear blue sky. The coconut trees and palms decorate the landscape and the intense beautiful greenery set the ambiance to deliberate in the way forward to enhance the implementation of the International Biosafety regulatory measures adopted by countries.
In the midst of this, seven Caribbean countries met under the UN Environment – Global Environment Facility Project for “Sustainable Capacity Building for Effective Participation in the Biosafety Clearing House” in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from 3 to 6 October 2017, with the aim of enhancing their capacities to more effectively comply with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB).
With the use of interactive sessions and state of the art learning methodologies, these countries developed a Caribbean BCH Roadmap (Strategy) to help each country in the Caribbean to enhance the availability and exchange of relevant information at the Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) according to their current level of BCH implementation and to promote increased compliance with national and international requirements.
Countries shared and exchanged best practices, lessons learned, information and ideas to establish the pillars of an operational network of cooperation among the Caribbean BCH family to fulfil Article 20 of the CPB and related COP-MOP decisions on the BCH.
The Caribbean participants have headed home with one road map and a shared passion and commitment to work together to address the national challenges and work as a region to bring awareness and improve national compliance to promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
For workshop impressions, please visit: link
For more information, please contact Ileana Lopez and Rami Abdel Malik and at Ileana.Lopez[at]un.org and Rami.Abdel-Malik[at]un.org
