PRESS RELEASE – THE Department of Sustainable Development is pleased to report that Saint Lucia is receiving a second programme of support in the amount of one hundred and ninety thousand United States Dollars ($190,000 USD) under the National Adaptation Plan Global Network (NAP-GN), through the United States in-country programme.
The Programme of Support for the Eastern Caribbean is a three-year programme designed to address the needs and priorities of the region in terms of adaptation implementation, contributing to paving the way towards a more resilient future.
The US In-country Support Programme is managed by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
Four (4) priority initiatives have been identified for the second period of support. These are to be completed by September 2019, based on measures identified by stakeholders during the one-year NAP development process as well as a number of key supplemental outputs. These include the development of: A Climate Financing Strategy and Training in Understanding and Accessing Climate Finance; A Sectoral Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan (SASAP) for the coastal/marine/ocean sector; A private sector climate change engagement strategy and A research policy and strategy for climate change adaptation.
Under those four priority areas, the programme of support has, as objectives:
Increase understanding of the domestic and international, public and private sources of funding that could most effectively support implementation of the country’s NAP, and how these funding sources can be accessed; Strengthen the resilience of a sector deemed a priority for action due to its vulnerability to climate change impacts, its inherent economic benefits and its contribution to national livelihoods through the development of a Sectoral Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan; Increase the engagement of the private sector in climate change adaptation actions; and Identify and prioritize key research needs for climate change adaptation moving forward.
The Government of Saint Lucia welcomes this opportunity to further enhance the country’s commitment to climate action and to build the country’s resilience.
Minister with responsibility for the climate change portfolio, Hon. Dr Gale T.C. Rigobert, led a small team that pitched Saint Lucia’s NAP and SASAPs to donors during a special NAP symposium held in Barbados in April 2018. Clearly, this effort has begun to bear fruit.
The Cabinet of Ministers, in June 2018, endorsed the NAP, SASAPs for Water, Agriculture and Fisheries, a Communications Strategy and a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, which will open the door for enhanced planning, awareness-raising, monitoring and support for implementation.
Dr.Rigobert encourages all sectors to take ownership of their SASAPs and seize the available opportunities for support in order to secure our people’s ability to adapt to the ever-increasing vagaries of climate change. (GOSL)