By Johann Earle In Jeju, South Korea
Caribbean members of the Inter-national Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have submitted a motion at the World Conservation Congress taking place in Jeju, South Korea calling on the Union to consolidate its presence in the Caribbean, promote its objectives there and facilitate the region’s participation in existing and new IUCN activities.
The motion recognises the intrinsic value of the Caribbean’s rich biodiversity, calling it essential for human well-being. The focus of the 2012 WCC is nature and voting will be on September 15, the final day of the congress.
The sponsor of the motion is Fundación Antonio Núñez Jiménez de la Naturaleza y el Hombre, Cuba and its co-sponsors are the National Environment and Planning Agency, Jamaica; Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies, Barbados; Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), Trinidad; Centro para la Conservación y Ecodesarrollo de la Bahía de Samaná y su Entorno, Dominican Republic ; Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine, Haiti; the Bahamas National Trust;
St. Lucia National Trust; Environ-mental Foundation of Jamaica; Grupo Jaragua, Dominican Repu-blic; Fundación Sur Futuro, Inc., Dominican Republic; and Jamaica Environment Trust.
In the recital clauses of the motion, the IUCN Caribbean members recognise the accumulated vulnerability of the insular Caribbean ecosystems to threats of both extreme events and gradual changes caused by climate change. They also recognise the impacts on the insular Caribbean ecosystems due to human activities including over-exploitation, pollution, introduction of invasive species and habitat degradation and destruction.
The members expressed concern about these impacts on ecosystem services, livelihoods and economies through loss of natural capital.
They noted the progress made in implementing Resolution 3.033 ‘Implementation of an IUCN programme for the Insular Caribbean’ adopted by the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress in Bangkok, 2004 on the IUCN Programme for the Insular Caribbean by national, regional and international stakeholders.
Caribbean members also noted the implementation of Resolution 4.067 ‘Advancing island conservation and sustainable livelihoods’, adopted by the 4th IUCN World Conservation Congress (Barcelona, 2008) on the IUCN Island Initiative and Resolution 4.079 ‘The European Union and its overseas entities faced with climate change and biodiversity loss’ calling for the development of an IUCN Programme on EU Outermost Regions and Overseas Countries and Territories.
“Recognising the work of the IUCN Secretariat, Commissions and membership and the establishment of the IUCN Caribbean Regional Committee, the Dominican Republic National Committee and a 100% increase in membership to promote the objectives of IUCN in the region; and also recognising the need to continue strengthening the IUCN presence in the region through a Caribbean Programme of Work; The World Conservation Congress, at its session in Jeju, Republic of Korea, 6–15 September 2012: requests the IUCN Director General to: a. Consolidate IUCN’s presence in the insular Caribbean, through regional implementation of relevant components of the IUCN Programme 2013–2016; b. Promote the objectives of IUCN, the 2013–2016 Caribbean Programme of Work and foster the involvement of relevant Secretariat programmes and Commissions in the region; and c. Facilitate participation of the insular Caribbean into existing and new IUCN activities such as the Global Islands Partnership (GLISPA), the IUCN Island Initiative (Resolution 4.067) and other global initiatives,” the motion said in the resolve clause.
Nicole Leotaud, Executive Director of the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) told Stabroek News that she and other Caribbean members of the IUCN will be engaging in a number of press conferences, workshops, knowledge cafe, exhibitions and other events at the congress.
She said that today, CANARI will host a workshop titled ‘Island leadership on global challenges. CANARI will also participate in a ‘Conservation Campus’ on ‘Building Capacity on Community based Adaptation to Climate Change in the islands across the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian regions.
On September 8, Caribbean participants will take part in a World Leaders’ Dialogue on the theme ‘Nature and Food Security: Can we feed the world sustainably?’ Another workshop which will see the involvement of the Caribbean members is one entitled ‘Conservation and Poverty, Landscapes and Livelihoods’ being hosted by the International Institute for Environ-ment and Development (IIED), also to take place on September 8.
There will also be a workshop on September 10 hosted by Conserva-tion International, the United Nations Environmental Programme, the World Bank and Birdlife International on using ecosystems and traditional knowledge to help people to adapt to climate change and this will also see the participation of the Caribbean IUCN members.
