IN CELEBRATION of Earth Day 2020, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in collaboration with the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) will host two webinars.
The first webinar titled “The OECS Biodiversity and Ecosystems framework and Strategic Action Plan” will be held on Earth Day, April 22.
A second webinar on “The Green-Blue Economy Strategy and Action Plan” will be hosted on the following day, April 23.
Both webinars commence at 10:00 am (Eastern Caribbean time) and are part of a weekly webinar series coordinated by the Environmental Sustainability Cluster of the OECS Commission.
The OECS, recognising the current health and economic challenges facing Member States, has focused on efforts to increase island resilience.
This includes highlighting the pivotal role of marine and terrestrial resources and ecosystems in sustaining the region’s economy and its people’s livelihoods and that protection of biodiversity and ecosystems is vital to building climate, social and economic resilience in OECS Member States. This is in keeping with the Climate Action theme for Earth Day 2020.
A Green Economy is one which minimises ecosystem degradation, and is low carbon, resource efficient and socially equitable.
Within this, a Blue Economy focuses specifically on coastal and marine resources. In an OECS Green-Blue Economy, growth in employment and income levels is driven by investment into economic activities, assets and natural infrastructure which conserve biodiversity and ecosystem services that are critical to OECS countries and territories.
The webinars, which feature a key speaker supported by a panel of experts, will present two strategies being promoted by the OECS – the Green-Blue Economy Strategy and Action Plan; and the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Framework and Strategic Action Plan – to a broad target audience.
The webinars will also seek to accelerate visibility and support from partners and solicit stakeholder input to refine and validate key elements and priority actions of these strategies.
Government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, communities, the private sector, academia and technical agencies from across the region, and beyond, are invited to participate.
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