The Caricom Secretariat led a team including staff from the health ministry on a brisk four-mile walk in honour of World Environment Day.
Led by Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development Dr Edward Greene the team walked from the Secretariat in Turkeyen along the East Coast Highway up to the Ogle Airstrip road and back. Clad in green as a symbol of concern for the preservation of the environment the team walked in a show of solidarity with the aims and objective of the Day. A press release said the event was held under the theme ‘Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy’.
In addressing the walkers Secretary-General Edwin Carrington commended the pro-activity of the team calling the walk a “serious, symbolic and substantive event” and adding that the action was not just one to preserve the environment for the future generation but for the present generation. The walk was also in keeping with the promotion of physical activities leading up to the first Caribbean Wellness Day to be observed on September 13. The observance of the Wellness Day was one of the decisions taken when the Heads of Government met to design a plan of action to stop the epidemic of chronic non-communicable diseases. On returning from the walk the team engaged in a series of exercises led by Programme Manager, Human Resource Development Dr Morella Joseph.
Caricom said World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the general Assembly the same day, led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, the UNEP has advocated for countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. This year, World Environment Day highlighted resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and lifestyles such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.
