The Saint Lucia-China Friendship Association (SLCFA) says it’s ‘honoured and pleased’ by the local response to its invitation to participate in a brief workshop last weekend on an international proposal for a Zero Carbon Island Cooperation proposal supported by the international community.
SLCFA President Earl Bousquet says the April 11 event “drew positive responses from local, regional and international entities based here, government and non-government entities and public utilities, as well as environmental and Climate Change advocates from across the island.”
The workshop, held at the Coco Palm Hotel’s Conference Room, heard six investors and five officials from China’s Yantai City present their respective companies and the city’s major projects aimed at assisting in implementing Zero Carbon Island initiatives, based on positive model templates developed by Yantai City, especially in its Changdao Islands.
The presentations covered Water Treatment, Fisheries, Electricity, Green Energy, Tourism and Vocational Education in related subjects, including one on desalination that addresses historical concerns about costs and effect and another on creation of offshore fish farms.
The Yantai initiative is supported by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Grenada is the first Caribbean island to sign-up, but the initiative applies to all islands globally, as all are susceptible to climate change and require resilience initiatives.
Among the local entities represented were: the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Caribbean Water and Sewage Association (CAWASA), Ministry of Sustainable Development, Pitons Management Authority (PMA), Forestry Department (Ministry of Agriculture), Energy Division (Ministry of Infrastructure), Water Resource Management Agency (WRMA), Water and Sewage Company (WASCO), Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) and Inter-Island Architects Ltd.
Bousquet says “The workshop has fostered the necessary dialogue on international cooperation for the zero carbon islands initiative, which will help islands everywhere, including the Caribbean, to prepare for and better manage the effects of Climate Change, which will always be of concern to Saint Lucia and other Caribbean islands.”
The event was part of the SLCFA’s observance of its 20th Anniversary, celebrated on March 30th.
The SLCFA was established in Castries on November 5, 2004, and its president says its next anniversary activity will be on May 11 to coincide with Mother’s Day.