A new and more reliable environmental reporting system is being developed in the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia. Like many Small Islands Developing States, this country is highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change, and environmental recording is key to address this issue.
Campaigned by the nation´s Department of Sustainable Development, this project is expected to improve the generation and storage of information on the state of the environment of Saint Lucia.
The reporting system will contribute to the implementation of environmental approaches in order to safeguard Saint Lucia´s biodiversity. It will also take the necessary approach towards climate change and desertification, which expose future generations to significant environmental risks or ecological scarcities.
The main purpose of this centralization of environmental data will be to support the compliance with three multilateral environmental agreements in Saint Lucia: the Conventions on Biological Diversity, Climate Change, and Desertification.
The Reporting System for Data Collection and Management will have the support of the Global Environmental Facility and the United Nations Environment Program, which will enhance local capacity building to ensure the effectiveness of the project.
The first training in information management took place between June 12 and July 5, where representatives from Saint Lucia´s Government, non-governmental organizations, and civil society were trained in how to operate the system efficiently.
Francesco Gaetani, UN Environment Programme Officer, says that the project will help institutions to coordinate and adopt legal frameworks that will aid future production and sharing of data. He also hopes that this new mechanism is replicated in neighboring Caribbean countries that also need better access to information to tackle environmental issues.
